RIYADH: The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson has announced a partnership with the Saudi Society for Blood Disorders for the development of the GCC’s first online resource for blood cancer information in Arabic.
Salamat Damak is the first online blood cancer information resource to be available in Arabic in the Arabian Gulf. The web-based platform, developed by the Saudi Society for Blood Disorders and sponsored by Janssen, seeks to provide credible medical information about blood diseases for patients and their families in the GCC. All content of Salamat Damak has been developed by the scientific committee of the site.
The Saudi Society for Blood Disorders was established to lead and influence the practice of hematology in the Kingdom through the promotion of excellence in patient care, research, and continuous professional and public education. It has a mission to act as a resource for patients and workers in the field of specialization and provide social and psychological support to patients and their families.
Dr. Feras Alfraih, president of Saudi Society for Blood Disorders, said: “We are delighted to launch Salamat Damak as a rich education and information resource for blood cancer patients and their families in the GCC. We firmly believe that well-informed patients have better treatment outcomes than less-informed patients and in developing Salamat Damak in conjunction with our partners across the region, we have sought to bring together a range of accredited resources that provide practical information and direction on psychological and social support to blood cancer patients across the region.”
We firmly believe that well-informed patients have better treatment outcomes than less-informed patients.
Dr. Feras Alfraih, President of Saudi Society for Blood Disorders
He said the site offers a range of services, enabling individuals to ask queries to a doctor, share their inspiring stories and access numerous medical resources.
Mohamed Alquwaizani, general manager of Janssen Saudi Arabia, said: “Despite the incredible work of the blood cancer community across the world, blood cancer remains a leading cause of premature death with around 4,000 deaths from blood cancer every year in the GCC region.
We hope that our partnership with the Saudi Society for Blood Disorders and the launch of Salamat Damak will be a positive contribution to aiding, understanding and treating cancer. Early detection of cancer greatly increases the chances for successful treatment and better patient outcomes, improving the efficiency in dealing with the disease.”
Blood cancers comprise approximately seven percent of all cancers diagnosed worldwide. The main three types of blood cancers are leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. These three types affect around 8,000 patients each year in the region and historically, there has been little information or resources available to those whose lives are affected by them.
