JEDDAH, 28 February 2007 - Enhancing public awareness about the need to change lifestyles, avoiding junk food and seeking early diagnosis was the message given by key speakers, including Princess Aliaa bint Abdullah at the opening session of the International Oncology Seminar here, to those who wish to fight and conquer cancer.
In her inaugural speech, Princess Aliaa, chairperson of the Disabled Children's Association's Social Service Program, emphasized the importance of promoting public awareness of the disease, saying "Prevention is better than cure." She underscored the tremendous progress in cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Dr. Ezzeldin M. Ibrahim, chief medical officer at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center in Jeddah, which organized the conference, expressed his satisfaction about the increasing cancer awareness among Saudis. "The number of women visiting hospital for early diagnosis of breast cancer is growing."
The turnout of a large number of Saudis and expatriates, especially women, to attend the public program on the opening day on Monday also reflected growing awareness and public concern about cancer, one of the world's top killers.
Ibrahim, who is an internationally known oncologist with more than 200 published works to his credit, said ageing, urbanization and modern lifestyles as well as environmental pollution and smoking are major factors that cause cancer.
Princess Aliaa later toured an exhibition of charitable societies and pharmaceutical companies being staged on the sidelines of the conference. Company executives briefed the princess on new medicines such as Erythropoietin and Herceptin that have been found highly effective in cancer treatment.
"More than 1,500 people turned up to the conference. It was three times more than we expected," Dr. Yasir A. Bahadur, deputy head of the oncology department and chairman of the organizing committee, told Arab News. He thanked Princess Aliaa for her support in making the conference a success. "She played a key role in encouraging 13 charitable societies across the Kingdom to participate in the conference," he said.
Bahadur said the conference would discuss 60 research papers in 20 sessions attended by world-famous oncologists from the US, Canada, France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Jordan, Egypt and Pakistan. Answering a question from a female participant, Bahadur said the abaya would not cause cancer but would protect women from viruses that could cause cancer and other diseases.
Sheikh Tawfiq Al-Sayegh, a well-known Islamic scholar in Jeddah, urged cancer patients to take appropriate treatment and medication instead of depending solely on spiritual treatment. "There is no disease without a cure," the sheikh said quoting a Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad.
Dr. Samiah Al-Amoudi of King Abdul Aziz University urged families to provide full support and care to cancer patients. She emphasized the high cost of treatment, saying it could make cancer patients a burden on families. She called for the establishment of well-equipped oncology centers in all regions of the Kingdom to serve as main referral hospitals for cancer patients. "We must change the notion that cancer means death. If we can diagnose the disease in the early stages it can be cured completely by the grace of Allah," Samiah said. "People can die for different reasons other than cancer," she said and urged Saudi men to take their wives with breast cancer to hospitals for regular checkups and treatment. She warned that men could also get breast cancer. Of the 40,910 people detected with cancer in 2007, 450 were men, she pointed out.
Dr. Saddah Eshki, head of the nutrition department at the hospital, said smoking and high fat diet could cause cancer. He urged the public to stop smoking and take a balanced diet, high in vegetables, fruits and fibers and avoid fast food and preservatives.
Pharmaceutical company executives complained that there was much delay in getting approval from the Health Ministry to market new medicine in the Kingdom, adding that it would prevent doctors from prescribing the latest and most effective medicines for their patients.
