By Abdellatif Sharaa and KUNA
KUWAIT: One in nine women is at risk of breast cancer in her lifetime, a number which highlights the importance of education and spreading awareness of the disease, Acting President of Kuwait University Dr Osama Al-Saeed said.
The comments came at an event, an exhibition entitled "Pink Day”, held under the patronage of Dr Al-Saeed, the university’s Public Relations and Media Department, in partnership with the Cancer Aware Nation (CAN) at the lobby of the College of Life Sciences in Sabah Al-Salem University City.
CAN’s Dr Hessa Al-Shaheen explained that the number of people with cancer around the world is increasing every year. In Kuwait, latest statistics of the Kuwait Center for Cancer Control (KCCC) show that 2,995 people have breast cancer, including 1,653 Kuwaitis and 1,342 non-Kuwaitis.
Therefore, CAN has been increasing people’s awareness of cancer, especially women, especially the methods of screening and prevention of breast cancer, she said. She said Pink Day was held at Kuwait University to educate students about the need for early detection of breast cancer. CAN provided a clinic at the College of Life Sciences, on Wednesday and Thursday, October 9 and 10, to train interested students and administrators on the method of self-examination.
Dr Najla Al-Sayed said cancer has a frightening impact that may extend to the woman’s practical, social and marital life, and that this fear may push many women away from examination to detect the disease. She stressed that early detection of the disease increases the rate of recovery to more than 95 percent.
The "Pink Day” exhibition was inaugurated in the presence of Acting Director of Kuwait University Dr Osama Al-Saeed, Breast Cancer Awareness Initiative Officer Dr Hessa Al-Shaheen, Acting Secretary General of Kuwait University Fayez Al-Dhafiri, and Acting Dean of Student Affairs Jassim Al-Hamdan.