RIYADH/JEDDAH, 27 April 2006 — Minister of Health Hamad Al-Manie will launch a yearlong awareness campaign on colon cancer next month, the ministry announced yesterday.
“Colon cancer is one of the diseases which is becoming common in modern life,” Amal Moawiya Abu Al-Jedaie, head of the women’s section in the health education department of the Ministry of Health, told Arab News.
The ministry also plans to run a breast-cancer awareness campaign in May. The campaign, under the theme “Self-Discovery of Breast Cancer,” will provide self-examination techniques to help discover symptoms early.
Al-Jedaie said the colon cancer program is being organized due to the increasing number of patients. “This is a preventable disease,” she said, adding that this campaign hopes to tell the people of the prevention, cure and consequences of the malady, which, if neglected, could be fatal.
She said the malignancy could be remedied if diagnosed at an early stage. Common symptoms include diarrhea, constipation or other changes in bowel habits, blood in the stool, unexplained anemia, abdominal pain and tenderness in the lower abdomen, intestinal obstruction, weight loss with no known reason and stools narrower than usual.
The awareness program will be carried out through 20 health regions in the Kingdom.
Breast cancer makes up 19 percent of the types of cancer affecting Saudi women, according to Dr. Hassna Al-Ghamdi, head of the cancer tumors department in King Abdul Aziz Hospital and Cancer Center.
Al-Ghamdi emphasized the importance of early diagnosis of the potentially fatal disease through regular medical check-ups and frequent self-examinations, especially for older women. The average age for women diagnosed with breast cancer in the Kingdom is 48.
The doctor explained that taking contraceptive pills could increase the chances of getting the disease. She added that it is more likely for women related to breast cancer patients, such as mothers and sisters, to have the disease. Moreover, obesity after the age of menopause puts women in danger of breast cancer.
Most important symptoms are painless lumps in the breast, yellow secretions mixed with blood from the nipples and pain in the underarms, originating from the lymphatic glands. Worldwide statistics show that breast cancer threatens the lives of one million women annually and causes 400,000 deaths.
