Dammam University to launch breast cancer awareness drive

DAMMAM: The University of Dammam (UoD) is expected to launch a breast cancer campaign in October to spread awareness on the importance of early detection of this disease. This will be in conjunction with similar campaigns in the United Arab of Emirates, Qatar, Palestine, and Jordan to achieve a larger expansion of media awareness locally and regionally.
This comes within the university’s social responsibility program toward the community, particularly the Eastern Province. During the past eight years, the UoD has launched awareness campaigns to highlight the usefulness of early detection in alleviating the suffering of patients, while increasing the sphere of awareness to include men to encourage their wives and daughters to have themselves tested to ensure early detection.
Professor Fatimah Al-Mulhim, chairwoman of the campaign in the EP, said: “UoD’s participation comes in response to the National Transformation Program 2030,” noting that the existing international cooperation in the fight against breast cancer should extend to include more countries in the Arab world.”
She said that there were promising perceptions adopted during joint workshops with Arab countries, last of which was in Jordan, where it was agreed to launch anti-cancer campaigns in the five participating Arab countries in next October.
“Our mission is to save women’s lives by promoting prevention and early detection of breast cancer through awareness, education, and by providing a reachable mammographic facility to all women,” Al-Mulhim said.
She noted that the benefits of awareness campaigns include providing the Ministry of Health and public and private hospitals with the number of patients with the disease, in order to cover the demand in the field of breast cancer treatment and associated surgeries.
The chairwoman said that during the seventh Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign organized in the Eastern Province last year, about 2,698 women were tested, including the discovery of 84 positive or infected cases, while 11,890 women were tested using a mammogram during the last five years at King Fahd University Hospital in AlKhobar.
Al-Mulhim said that Dammam University’s achievements during the past years has given it a cumulative expertise in motivating the community to accept the idea of early detection in hospitals or mobile clinics equipped to test for breast cancer, which will travel through various cities in the region, emphasizing that the university is ready to share its expertise and statistics with all stakeholders inside and outside Saudi Arabia.