Why breast cancer awareness in the Arab world should be a year-round campaign

Like every year, October is being marked around the world with breast cancer awareness campaigns. (Supplied)
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Updated 19 October 2023
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Why breast cancer awareness in the Arab world should be a year-round campaign

  • Self-examination, regular screening and making better behavioral choices seen as key to prevention and early diagnosis
  • Poverty, poor health infrastructure and turmoil blamed for low rates of breast-cancer detection in many Arab countries

DUBAI: The well-known saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” could not be more true than in the case of diagnosis and treatment of many forms of cancer.

Like every year, October is being marked around the world with breast cancer awareness campaigns, which highlight the importance of early detection, self-examination and screening in addition to making better behavioral choices.

In Saudi Arabia, Roshn Group, Saudi Arabia’s leading mixed-asset real estate developer, and Lulu Group are among the many companies partnering with the Zahra Breast Cancer Association for raising awareness about the disease across the Kingdom.

While the phrase “you have cancer” uttered by one’s doctor may be dread-inducing, early intervention has been seen to save many women in the Arab region from further pain and suffering.

Two years ago, 44-year-old schoolteacher and mother of two Hadeel Khwanda, a Syrian living in Dubai, began experiencing shooting pain, itching and other health issues. Despite her doctor saying the problems were stress related and would go away with time, they continued into the summer break.

Still concerned, Khwanda sought a second opinion from another doctor who requested a biopsy. Khwanda was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer, which initially came as a shock.

“There is no history of cancer in my family,” she told Arab News. Though she had to undergo a lumpectomy, four chemotherapy sessions and 35 radiation sessions, Khwanda’s decision to undergo early testing likely saved her life.

INNUMBERS

2.3m New breast cancer cases detected worldwide in 2020.

685,000 Deaths from breast cancer worldwide in 2020.

12.5% Proportion of all new cancer cases per year that are breast cancer.

Breast cancer, according to the World Health Organization, is the most prevalent cancer worldwide, affecting post-pubescent females from all walks of life.

WHO statistics estimate that 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. However, medical specialists say the true figure may be even higher, as fewer women received tests during the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2015 to 2020, a total of 7.8 million women were diagnosed.

“When we were growing up and we heard that someone had cancer, it would be the most shocking news, and it was such a rare thing,” Bina Mathews, an Indian resident of Dubai, told Arab News. “Now, many have it.”

Mathews’ battle with cancer began in October last year. The 52-year-old communication professional and mother of two went for a Pap smear test, which she had done annually since her grandmother passed away from ovarian cancer 17 years ago. The test detected “abnormal cells,” and her gynecologist suggested repeating the test after six months.

During her own personal research, Mathews said she read that “if a woman gets this, it is better to do a mammogram.”

The last mammogram she underwent was uncomfortable and painful as the machines used belonged to an older generation. This time, she opted for ultrasound imaging as well. Her mammogram showed a lump in her left breast, and she was eventually diagnosed with stage one breast cancer.

After a lumpectomy, 16 chemotherapy sessions, and 20 radiation sessions, she finally completed her treatment in August this year.




Female skydivers form a pink ribbon above the Palm Jumeirah Island as part Skydive Dubai’s October Breast Cancer Awareness activity on Sept. 22, 2018 in Dubai. (Skydive Dubai/Getty Images)

Mathews recalled the large number of cancer patients she encountered during treatment. Waiting rooms in oncology departments at hospitals and clinics were crowded.

“The chemo rooms are packed, and the scanning machines are like railway stations. People come out and they (medical staffers) just have time to prepare for the next patient, even in radiation. There are so many people, and so many young ones … this is heartbreaking,” she added.

In the Arab region in particular, researchers now warn that practically all types of cancer, including breast cancer, are being reported at an increasing rate, which will likely continue for the next few years.

“The Gulf States and the Eastern Mediterranean Region countries show a disturbing rise in the number of cancer patients. Long-term projections show that by 2030 there will be a 1.8-fold increase in cancer incidence,” according to a scientific paper written by three medical specialists, including Dr. Mostafa Ahmed Arafa, cancer research chair at the College of Medicine at King Saud University in Riyadh.

There is a correlation between the increasing cancer rates and some factors specific to the Arab region, such as political turmoil, rising poverty, poor health infrastructure and late diagnosis, according to Bashir Abou Reslan, executive director of the Advanced Care Oncology Center in Dubai, a privately owned center established to meet the increasing demand for cancer treatment.

“These factors neither increase nor decrease the number of (cancer) cases, but they do prevent people from knowing if they have cancer” due to lower rates of testing, Abou Reslan told Arab News.




Bashir Abou Reslan, Executive Director of Advanced Care Oncology Center. (Supplied)

ACOC was established in 2017, initially offering PET scan imagery and chemotherapy and expanding later to include radiation therapy. The center has treated nearly 7,000 patients in the past five years, and currently receives between 50 and 100 patients daily for consultation and treatment. Nearly 40 percent of them have breast cancer.

The center is one among many institutions which have pledged to spread awareness of the importance of regular breast cancer screening, and offers free screenings during October and November.

Abou Reslan said he offered free screening packages to some prospective patients. “I knew some of them personally. I asked them later, ‘Why didn’t you come?’ And they replied, ‘We are scared to know,’” he said, adding that recovery rates for cancer detected in early stages are “very high.”

He added: “But when it is detected at later stages, things will become very difficult.”

Moreover, Abou Reslan pointed out, while previous generations of testing machines were less accurate and more painful, today’s instruments are faster and more comfortable, with a 20-minute exam granting women peace of mind for an entire year.

“Myths about breast cancer need to be demystified,” said Dr. Millicent Alache Bello, a breast cancer surgeon at King’s College Hospital London in Dubai.

“People are still scared of biopsies. But breast cancer, if it is picked up early, can be a treatable condition.”




Participants wearing pink shirts form a human ‘pink ribbon’ during a Breast Cancer Marathon in Algiers, Algeria on Oct. 21, 2016. (Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Bello said individuals should pay close attention to their lifestyle and maintain healthy habits, such as exercise.

“Awareness shouldn’t be just in the month of October. It should be a regular thing that happens all the time,” she said, adding that governments, the private sector, and other parties should also be involved in spreading awareness of breast cancer.

As the main partner of Zahra Breast Cancer Association’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, Roshn Group has said it is sponsoring two breast cancer awareness walks, entitled Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, in Riyadh and Jeddah.

“These walks provide a supportive community for breast cancer survivors and metastatic breast cancer thrivers, caregivers and families alike,” the Public Investment Fund-backed giga-project said, adding that it has activated breast cancer awareness and education booths across its offices and sales centers in Riyadh and Jeddah to communicate the importance of early detection.

For its part, Lulu has announced that a portion of the proceeds from sales of reusable shopping bags at the company’s hypermarkets in Saudi Arabia throughout October will result in a donation to the National Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign.

In the UAE, the Pink Caravan initiative, a project of the Friends of Cancer Patients Society launched in 2011 in Sharjah, travels across the country offering free physical exams and X-ray tests.

Patients who have suspicious test results are referred to specialized clinics for further checkups. Should the patient be diagnosed with cancer, the society offers psychological and financial support through its medical partners, including the ACOC.

In a statement sent to Arab News, the Pink Caravan initiative explained that this year’s figures were nearly double that of last year’s, thanks to the caravan “offering free medical tests to all people regardless of their race, nationality, or religion, and the continuous work to cover all parts of the country, including the remote areas, to spread awareness of the importance of early cancer detection.”




Participants walk in honor of breast cancer awareness during day one of the LIV Golf Invitational – Jeddah at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club on Oct. 14, 2022 in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia. (LIV Golf via Getty Images)

Rahma Society for Cancer Patients in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Charity International and the Dubai Charity Society also provide support. To date, 77,271 women and 16,505 men have received these free tests, with 80 of them receiving a cancer diagnosis.

Other private sector entities participating in awareness campaigns and providing financial support to patients include the UAE Marriott Business Council, which supports Al-Jalila Foundation.

Both society and the corporate world can play an effective role in raising awareness about the importance of prevention and routine screening, including girls’ high schools, media outlets and insurance companies, according to Abou Reslan.

Insurance companies tend to look at early screening tests as “none of their business, but actually it is their business, because early cancer detection can save insurance companies a lot of payments for treatment and expensive medications,” he said.

He suggested that insurance companies could, for example, connect insurance policy renewal with annual screenings for the early diagnosis of breast cancer for women over a certain age.

According to statistics from the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for localized breast cancer, or cancer which has not spread outside of the breast, is 99 percent.

“People should come out of the idea that cancer means death … this is a disease that can be firmly controlled if it is detected early,” Abou Reslan said.


Israel PM says okayed Lebanon pager attacks

Updated 10 November 2024
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Israel PM says okayed Lebanon pager attacks

  • Hand-held devices used by Hezbollah operatives detonated in supermarkets, on streets and at funerals in mid-Sept.
  • They killed nearly 40 people and wounded nearly 3,000, and preceded Israel’s ongoing military operation in Lebanon

JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he okayed a deadly September attack on Hezbollah communications devices which exploded in Lebanon, the first time Israel has admitted involvement.
Hezbollah had previously blamed its arch-foe for the blasts that dealt a major blow to the Iran-backed militant group, and vowed revenge.
“Netanyahu confirmed Sunday that he greenlighted the pager operation in Lebanon,” his spokesman Omer Dostri told AFP of the attacks.
Hand-held devices used by Hezbollah operatives detonated two days in a row in supermarkets, on streets and at funerals in mid-September.
They killed nearly 40 people and wounded nearly 3,000, and preceded Israel’s ongoing military operation in Lebanon.
Hezbollah began low intensity strikes on Israel in support of Hamas following its ally’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which triggered the Gaza war.
Strikes have intensified since war broke out in Lebanon in late September, when Israel escalated its air campaign against Hezbollah and later sent ground troops into south Lebanon.


Israel PM says okayed Lebanon pager attacks

A photo taken on September 18, 2024, in Beirut’s southern suburbs shows the remains of exploded pagers on display.
Updated 59 min 20 sec ago
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Israel PM says okayed Lebanon pager attacks

  • Hand-held devices used by Hezbollah operatives detonated two days in a row in supermarkets, on streets and at funerals in mid-September
  • They killed nearly 40 people and wounded nearly 3,000

JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he okayed a deadly September attack on Hezbollah communications devices which exploded in Lebanon, the first time Israel has admitted involvement.
Hezbollah had previously blamed its arch-foe for the blasts that dealt a major blow to the Iran-backed militant group, and vowed revenge.
“Netanyahu confirmed Sunday that he greenlighted the pager operation in Lebanon,” his spokesman Omer Dostri told AFP of the attacks.
Hand-held devices used by Hezbollah operatives detonated two days in a row in supermarkets, on streets and at funerals in mid-September.
They killed nearly 40 people and wounded nearly 3,000, and preceded Israel’s ongoing military operation in Lebanon.
Hezbollah began low intensity strikes on Israel in support of Hamas following its ally’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which triggered the Gaza war.
Strikes have intensified since war broke out in Lebanon in late September, when Israel escalated its air campaign against Hezbollah and later sent ground troops into south Lebanon.


Netanyahu says spoke again with Trump about Iran ‘threat’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Sunday he had spoken three times with US president-elect Donald Trump.
Updated 10 November 2024
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Netanyahu says spoke again with Trump about Iran ‘threat’

  • “We see eye to eye on the Iranian threat in every aspect,” Netanyahu said
  • Analysts believe Netanyahu had hoped for a Trump return to the White House

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Sunday he had spoken three times with US president-elect Donald Trump over the past few days about the “Iranian threat” to Israeli security.
“In the last few days, I have spoken three times with President-elect Donald Trump... Talks designed to further tighten the strong alliance between Israel and the US,” Netanyahu said, quoted in a statement issued by his office.
“We see eye to eye on the Iranian threat in every aspect,” he added during a weekly cabinet meeting, according to the statement.
Netanyahu also said he had talked to Trump about “great opportunities before Israel in the field of peace and its expansion.”
The United States is Israel’s top ally and military backer, and the election came at a critical time for the Middle East amid wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
Analysts believe Netanyahu had hoped for a Trump return to the White House, given the longstanding personal friendship between the two as well as the former president’s hawkishness on Israel’s arch-foe Iran.
During his first term, Trump moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights and helped normalize ties between Israel and several Arab states under the so-called Abraham Accords.


Israeli strike near Damascus kills seven: war monitor

An Israeli strike on an apartment belonging to Hezbollah killed seven people Sunday in a stronghold of pro-Iran groups.
Updated 53 min ago
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Israeli strike near Damascus kills seven: war monitor

  • “An Israeli strike killed seven people and wounded 14, including women and children, in the Sayyida Zeinab area,” Syrian Observatory for Human Rights official says

BEIRUT: An Israeli strike on an apartment belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah group killed seven people Sunday in a stronghold of pro-Iran groups south of Damascus, a war monitor said.
“An Israeli strike killed seven people and wounded 14, including women and children, in the Sayyida Zeinab area,” Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP, revising an earlier toll of three dead.
The Britain-based monitor, which has a network of sources inside Syria, earlier said that “the Israeli attack targeted (Hezbollah) figures in the building where Lebanese families and members of the movement live.”
Syria’s official SANA news agency reported an “Israeli aggression targeting a residential building in the Sayyida Zeinab” area, home to a major Shiite shrine, that killed and injured an unspecified number of people.
On Saturday, four pro-Iran fighters were among five people killed in Israeli strikes in north and northwest Syria, the Observatory reported.
Since Syria’s civil war broke out in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria, mainly targeting army positions and fighters including from Hezbollah.
The strikes have increased since Israel entered an all-out war with Hezbollah in Lebanon on September 23.
Israeli authorities rarely comment on the strikes, but have repeatedly said they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence in Syria.


Lebanon says 7 children among 23 dead in Israeli strike north of Beirut

People inspect a site of an Israeli strike, in the town of Almat in Jbeil district, Lebanon November 10, 2024. (Reuters)
Updated 10 November 2024
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Lebanon says 7 children among 23 dead in Israeli strike north of Beirut

  • The Shiite Muslim majority village of Almat, about 30 kilometers from Beirut, is located in a mostly Christian region
  • It is outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds of south Beirut and south and east Lebanon

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike on Sunday killed 23 people, including seven children, in the village of Almat north of the capital Beirut.
AFPTV footage showed rescuers rummaging with their bare hands through the wreckage of a house that had been completely razed, pulling out bodies wrapped in blankets while an excavator moved the rubble.
The Shiite Muslim majority village of Almat, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Beirut, is located in a mostly Christian region. It is outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds of south Beirut and south and east Lebanon, which Israel has heavily bombed since late September in its war against the Iran-backed movement.
“The Israeli enemy strike on Almat in the Jbeil district killed 23 people including seven children, in an updated but not final toll,” the health ministry said in a statement.
It also said body parts had been recovered from the site and were being identified.
A pile of broken concrete and the twisted metal structure that made up the roof lay at the bottom of a staircase leading to the destroyed house, AFP images showed.
Hezbollah lawmaker Raed Berro, one of the members of parliament representing the Jbeil district, was at the site of the strike and denied Israeli claims that Hezbollah members or weapons were embedded among civilians.
“Important military and security figures are usually on the frontlines... not at the rear,” he told AFP,
“Under the rubble, there are only children, elderly men and women,” he said.
Facebook user Ali Haydar posted a picture of the home, which he said belonged to his family, before it was destroyed. He added that people displaced from the eastern Baalbek region had sought refuge there.
“There were 35 relatives of ours from Baalbek in the house” including women and children, he said.
“Most of them have been martyred” in the strike, Haydar added.
The area was cordoned off by Lebanese security forces and Hezbollah members in civilian clothing, an AFP correspondent at the scene saw.
Dozens of people packed their belongings in their cars and fled the village, the correspondent said.
The health ministry also said Israeli strikes killed three Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers in south Lebanon.
Earlier, Lebanese official media reported an Israeli strike on a house in the main eastern city of Baalbek, which was not preceded by an Israeli army evacuation warning.
“Enemy aircraft launched a strike on a house in the Al-Laqees neighborhood” of the city, the state-run National News Agency said.
Israel intensified its air campaign mainly targeting Hezbollah bastions in Lebanon on September 23 and a week later sent in ground troops.
The escalation came after nearly a year of low-intensity, cross-border attacks by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian Islamists’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
More than 3,130 people have been killed in Lebanon since the cross-border exchanges began, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, most of them since September 23.