JEDDAH, 21 September 2006 — Health experts have expressed concern that lymphatic cancer, a disease closely associated with unhealthy lifestyles, is threatening to become the second most fatal form of cancer in the Middle East with 1,300 cases reported each year in the Kingdom.
“Because of high calorie and protein diets and a lack of physical exercises, lymphatic cancer is expected to become the second biggest cancer killer in this part of the world, the same as in Western countries,” a high level MOH official said here on Monday while speaking at a forum held to mark World Lymphoma Awareness Day.
“Ten years ago kidney cancer, for instance, was the most dreaded type of cancer. Today, it’s lymphoma whose incidence is increasing in the Kingdom as it is in the rest of the world,” said Dr. Khaled Al-Marghalani, general supervisor of health information and public relations at the Health Ministry. “By observing the day we want to educate people and convince them that every form of cancer can be treated, if detected early,” he said.
Al-Marghalani said this was the first time that various cancer societies at Saudi hospitals had come together to launch an awareness campaign. The theme of the campaign is “We’re with you.”
Dr. Mushabbab Al-Asiri, director of the oncology department at the Riyadh Military Hospital and head of the scientific committee for the Kingdom’s cancer campaign, and Dr. Hasnah Al-Ghamdi, director at the oncology center of King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Jeddah, also delivered presentations.
“The incidence of lymphoma has been increasing annually and has become a major health problem in civilized countries, especially in the United States and Europe. The incidence is seemingly growing in Saudi Arabia,” Dr. Al-Asiri said.
Internationally, the World Health Organization (WHO) has designated different days of the year for different cancerous diseases. “What we’re doing is to organize the lymphoma day to show our solidarity with the world in fighting the disease and continue with the campaign yearlong,” added Dr. Al-Asiri.
Scientific research confirms that eating fresh vegetables and fruit and playing sports can effectively prevent lymphatic cancer.
About 80 percent of cancer is related with the environment and people’s lifestyle. Public awareness is the key to prevent and control cancer. WHO reports that one-third of cancer cases are preventable, one-third are treatable if detected early and the other one-third of patients can have a better and longer life through proper therapy, the speakers said.
Both Dr. Al-Asiri and Dr. Al-Marghalani stressed that the medical industry had developed methods to treat complicated cancers like lymphoma, but early detection was essential.
“Lymphoma has become a major problem in the Kingdom in the past four or five years. It has now become one of the most common forms of cancer here. Around 1,300 lymphoma cases are detected annually in the Kingdom,” Al-Asiri said, adding that cancer is not always a fatal disease.
Lymphoma is a disease of the lymphatic system and cases are mainly found in people above 40 years of age.
