RIYADH: The first Saudi woman in colorectal surgery, Dr. Samar Al-Homoud, will address the Arab Health Surgery Conference in Dubai from Jan. 25 to 28.

“Colorectal cancer is considered the second most common cancer in Saudi Arabia. It’s the most common cancer among men and third most common among women,” she told Arab News on Tuesday.

She added that many colorectal cancers can be detected through regular screening, which is “crucial because when found early, colorectal cancer is highly curable.”

She added that she’ll participate in the panel “Colon Cancer Screening: Why is It Necessary for Arabia-Gulf Countries?”

“The panel will focus on early cancer detection programs in the Gulf countries and why it’s necessary to establish screening programs,” she said.

Dr. Al-Homoud added that cancer screening plays a pivotal role in strategic planning of health care policy, and can significantly impact patients’ life by detecting cancer at an early stage.

“The panel will see the contributions of doctors from the region, and I hope that through this discussion we can address the challenges we currently face,” she said.

She also expressed hope that the discussion will also begin to work on future collaborations and planning as well as implementing screening programs.

“These screening programs, if supported by increase in public awareness about colorectal cancer, will improve the standard of care of patients,” she said.

Asked why there’s lack of Saudi women in the field of colorectal surgery, she said that it’s not easy.

“The field of surgery is not easy, locally and internationally, with a lot of challenges and difficulties,” she said.

She added that “the specialty of colorectal surgery is a rare one and that there aren’t enough Saudi female surgeons in this area and the disease has not yet received enough attention in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world.”

“I would like to mention here that during the training, I was the only doctor who completed it. My colleagues withdrew and went on to other specialties,” she said.

She’s a consultant colorectal surgeon at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh.