‘Taking care of yourself’ is key to beating breast cancer, says Zahra

Princess Haifa bint Faisal bin Abdulaziz, chairwoman of Zahra Breast Cancer Association, together with Al-Jazirah Vehicles Co. launched the “Life Awaits You” national breast cancer awareness campaign to mark the International Breast Cancer Awareness.
The formal launching was held at Al-Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh.
Princess Haifa, a supporter of Zahra Breast Cancer Association, said: “Together we will fight. We can be a force and source for change through early detection and screening of breast cancer.
“This year marks our seventh national campaign. Now, Zahra Breast Cancer Association takes through 20 cities within the Kingdom promoting early detection and screening of breast cancer with the help of government and other bodies as a united effort to fight cancer and support the life of affected people.”
Princess Haifa urged all women to become ambassadors to spread awareness about breast cancer utilizing social media channels for the emancipation of women.
“Warriors In Pink,” a Ford-Zahra Breast Cancer Association collaboration, is backed by Al-Jazirah Vehicles Agencies Co.
Reem bint Abdullah Al-Kuraidees, spokeswoman for Al-Jazirah, said: “We are honored to initiate the logo for the campaign this year. ‘Warriors In Pink’ Powered by Ford, enforces our social commitment to fight for the cause, not for our cars but to be there for our women. Ford is proud of this campaign and we have already spent $120 million on this campaign.
“Pink fight is important to us,” she said. “We are dedicated to take our social commitment seriously to fight for early detection of breast cancer in this region. We need to do more and work harder to kill the killer disease.”
Zahra’s latest campaign aims to raise hope for all women who have breast cancer. The theme seeks to spread information and encourage all women to take care of themselves. Already, the Twitter campaign, #Life_awaits_you, launched on Oct. 2, recorded more than 4,000 tweets in a day.
Breast cancer is on a rise in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia registers 13.5 percent cancer cases as breast cancer with the highest cancer cases listed in the Eastern Province. More than 8,000 women are diagnosed with the disease each year in Saudi Arabia.
“We will not wait for the disease, to treat. We will take steps to prevent it,” said Dr. Muneera Baraja, family physician and co-founder of Zahra. She recommended a change in lifestyle to fight obesity through regular exercise, healthy eating, reducing stress and to stop smoking apart from regular screening to prevent the disease.
“Act today. Have a breast cancer screening done. Undergoing self examination at home and regular clinical examination with ultrasound and mammogram as early detection improves the overall cure rate of breast cancer,” she said.
Cancer survivor Awatef Al-Houshan said: “You are actually stronger than what you think and early detection is important.”
A former teacher and a supervisor at the Ministry of Defense, Al-Houshan said: “I am just like every woman ... I have my strengths and weaknesses. In my testing times, my strength comes from my family. It is important to keep one’s strength because when morale is high, immunity is higher. Pain comes from within you and you can overcome your pain with a positive inner strength.”
Iman Binyamin, health education specialist and board member at Zahra, said: “Today, every woman is overwhelmed with responsibilities in different spheres of her life, at workplace and within the family. Women by nature are giving. Because life issues take them away from themselves, Zahra advises them to take time to care for themselves.”