JEDDAH, 17 March 2008 — In spite of the launch of a national breast cancer awareness campaign in February, Saudi women are still apprehensive about coming forward to undergo testing and many are still being diagnosed with the illness at its advanced stages signaling the need to do more.
Dr. Asma Al-Dabbagh, professor of radiology at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, said many women have told her that they did not know of the US-Saudi breast cancer awareness partnership. She added that some women are under the impression that mammogram tests cost a fortune, while others are afraid of discovering they have the illness.
“Gynecologist, surgeons and primary health care doctors are responsible for helping patients and making them aware about the disease. Unfortunately, there is so much negligence,” she said.
“Last week I met patients who went under the knife in some clinics and had only half of their tumors removed. Some did the surgery under local anesthesia. The Ministry of Health must strictly supervise these clinics,” she added.
Back in the 70s, Al-Dabbagh was trained with BUPA, a private UK health care company, on how to do a mammography test — a technique using x-ray to diagnose and locate tumors. She said that BUPA would not provide health insurance to women unless they undergo mammogram screening.
“In Sweden, a woman can’t renew her driving license until she undergoes a mammography. Health insurance here must be obligatory and we need a multi disciplinary team (MDT) to dedicate itself to breast cancer,” said Al-Dabbagh.
Dr. Samia Al-Amoudi, the first Saudi woman to share her personal battle with the illness, returned to the Kingdom from Washington on Friday after participating in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness.
Komen for the Cure is a US-based network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives and energize science to find cures.
Al-Amoudi said she had seen a big change in people’s attitude toward breast cancer. “But we haven’t reached the desired level of awareness yet,” she added.
Wafa Al-Qadi, principal of Dohat Al-Jazeera School, participated in the first Komen breast cancer awareness training module. Participants learned how to recruit, organize and train volunteers, create awareness about the illness. She said that the idea is new yet useful.
However, Al-Qadi said there are difficulties that need to be resolved. “I believe it’s still difficult for volunteers to talk to people about breast cancer. People are not receptive at all. We need to start from scratch. It’s a lot of hard work that will hinder the success of the campaign,” she said.
Rokaya Ashmawi, director of financial administration at King Abdulaziz University, also participated in the course. She said breast cancer has become widespread lately and people need to know what causes it. “I joined the training program because I wanted to know what causes it. I wanted know more about the disease to help other women in need,” said Ashmawi. “The problem now is how are we going to tackle the issue with society. Who is going to help us and provide us with the required tools and equipment?”
Al-Amoudi believes that women’s issues are essentially the same everywhere and that there needs to be a collaboration of efforts to challenge and overcome the disease. “So that no woman anywhere will suffer as I did or lose her breasts or lose her hair or be terrified that she might die soon and leave her children without a mother,” said Al-Amoudi during the Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness.
The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness is managed by the Institute of International Education (IIE) West Coast Center and implemented in collaboration with local partners in eight countries: Brazil, Costa Rica, Jordan, Mexico, Romania, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates.
