KUWAIT: Secretary General of the Gulf Federation for Cancer Control and Chairman of the Cancer Aware Nation (CAN), Dr. Khalid Al-Saleh, said more than 2,000 activities were carried out in the GCC countries during the 9th Gulf Week for Cancer Awareness. Al-Saleh, who spoke during the closing ceremony of the joint 9th Gulf Week, said the federation organized various programs aimed at increasing awareness about cancer diseases.

He said this joint Gulf cooperation resulted in a notable increase in the awareness rate, contributed to the reduction of the percentage of those who say cancer is not curable (from 65 percent to 45 percent), and raised the percentage of those who believe in early detection (from 50 percent to 70 percent). Gulf Week became a Gulf imprint in the cancer awareness campaign. He announced the launch of the outstanding award. Al-Saleh said the winner of the prize is the Anti-Cancer Charity Society in Al-Ahsa (Tafaul), Saudi Arabia. He congratulated them for their efforts.

Chairwoman of the coordination committee of the Gulf Week, Dr. Hussa Al-Shaheen, lauded the success achieved by the Gulf Week with regards to awareness programs and early detection of cancer. She said the increase in awareness rates of cancer diseases boosts recovery rates and calls for adopting healthy lifestyles.

This year’s program included 60 scientific, social, sports, and entertaining activities that target all the groups in society. Other activities include awareness messages, posts, and videos that were published on social media and other media outlets. She stressed the importance of the family role in preventing cancer and lauded the role of NGOs in Kuwait and the Gulf.

Meanwhile, representative of the Tafaul society, Dr. Fuad Al-Jughaiman, said Tafaul participated in activities in line with its strategic goals. He said Tafaul visited many places and organized three lectures, five awareness exhibitions, and three walking initiatives with more than 1,500 participants. Al-Jughaiman said society’s vision is to be a world model in the prevention of cancer.