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Minal Khan wants you to take time out and check for signs of breast cancer, because you deserve that time to care for yourself.

The actor posted a picture on Instagram on Thursday wearing a shirt emblazoned with a pink ribbon — a symbol of breast cancer awareness.

In her post, Khan said she wore the ribbon for the women who were fighting breast cancer, survivors who inspire countless others and all the women “learning to put our health first”.

The actor said she used to be one of those people who would consider it “selfish” to take time out for herself, but has since realised that caring about her health was not selfish at all, it was an act of “self love”.

Khan asked her followers to take a minute for themselves, to check for any signs of breast cancer, which often presents as physical changes — size, shape, colour — in the breast and lumps in the breasts and armpits.

October is breast cancer awareness month — often referred to as ‘Pinktober’ — and people wear pink ribbons during the month as a way to spread awareness about the disease.

Pakistan faces a particularly difficult struggle with the disease, with estimates from 2024 suggesting one in every eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in her life.

Lahore’s Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital estimates that 83,000 women in Pakistan are diagnosed with the disease annually.

Doctors recommend women examine themselves once every month for signs of the disease, in a two to three minute process called a self-breast examination.

The exam requires women to first check for visual changes in the breasts while standing in front of a mirror. Abnormalities in the size, shape, skin colour and nipples should be treated as cause to consult with a doctor.

The second part of the exam requires women to feel their breasts and armpits for any lumps. This is first done standing upright and then lying down. Women are advised not to perform the test more than once a month, as this could cause them to miss subtle changes.

The disease is curable and early detection increases the chances any patient will be able to beat the illness.