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Abu Dhabi Week learns more about breast cancer awareness month

Every October the capital city gets dipped in pink. Pink ribbons adorn people’s clothing, pink banners flutter outside and even pink pastries make an appearance at your favourite neighbourhood bakery. All to help raise awareness for breast cancer.

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Dr Jalaa Assad Taher

“Why is there so much emphasis on breast cancer?” asks Dr Jalaa Assad Taher, Department Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases at Health Authority – Abu Dhabi (HAAD).

“Because it has the highest prevalence and is also the most deadly of cancers.”

The most common cancer affecting women, both locally and globally, these alarming statistics have put learning more about this disease at the forefront of the United Arab Emirates’ priorities when it comes to health.

What is cancer?

“Cancer is a disease where the cells start to replicate or grow without the control of the body,” explains Dr Taher. “These cancerous growths form tumours which affect the surrounding tissues and functions.”

If the cancerous cells are not treated early enough, they can migrate to other parts of the body and cause more problems. The migratory, or metastatic, cancer is fatal.

All cancers are given their name according to the first location they appear within the body. In the case of breast cancer, growths or tumours are first detected in the breast area of women and – very rarely – men.

“Cancer can happen anywhere,” says Dr Taher. “It is an admittedly scary thought. But that doesn’t necessarily mean people are helpless when it comes to preventing the disease.”

Healthy habits

One of the main thrusts of HAAD’s campaign to combat the disease is to push for a healthy lifestyle. The slogan ‘Live Healthy & Simply Check’ reiterates the importance of taking charge of your health.

“Breast cancer is one of the cancers that is related to lifestyle,” explains Dr Taher. “For example, the use of tobacco products, obesity and reproductive health are all associated with increasing the risk for breast cancer.”

Genetics can also play a role in increasing the risk for breast cancer, but Dr Taher feels that lifestyle is the major cause for concern.

“When we try to educate or control breast cancer, we focus on health. It is very important you avoid smoking and alcohol and try to have a healthy body weight. Try to eat well and also breastfeed young because all of these are factors that help prevent cancer.”

Check it out

The second part of HAAD’s slogan, ‘Simply Check’, explains the importance of self-checks, clinical screenings and early detection.

HAAD recommends that women from the age of 20 start checking their breasts regularly. A monthly Breast Self-Examination (BSE) should check for lumps, thickening or other changes; the regular routine is designed to create a strong habit and awareness in young women from an early age.

“For women 20 to 39 years of age, we recommend they visit the doctor at least once for a clinical exam,” says Dr Taher. The Clinical Breast Examination (CBE) also allows the doctor a chance to give advice and tips on how to best perform a BSE. In addition, a trained health care professional can discuss any concerns or issues you may have.

Women who are 40 years of age or older should be getting a CBE every year and should also receive a mammogram every two years. The mammogram – an x-ray of your breast – can help detect symptoms or changes well before they reach the serious stage, and in the worst case scenario that can mean easier and more effective treatment.

Detection saves lives

“In breast cancer there is no pre-cancerous stage. That is why we need to detect it as soon as possible,” emphasises Dr Taher. “Screening is the strongest tool we have for detecting breast cancer.

“The earlier we find cancer, the less aggressive and complicated the treatment. Also, the survival rate is very high; if we detect at an early stage, 98 per cent of women will survive. It will just be a memory.

“This is the idea of screening: you diagnose the cancer and you refer early for treatment.”

Abu Dhabi’s programme for breast cancer includes 20 different screening facilities throughout the Emirate for check ups. In addition, there are mobile units that travel around the city bringing the tests and advisory services to women who cannot reach the clinics.

With up-to-date technology and various cancer treatments available to residents, the capital is serious about saving lives.

Doctor’s orders

“Apart from preventive measures and adopting a healthy lifestyle, the advice I would give women is to learn the symptoms, note any changes from previous months, and go visit the doctor if you have any concerns – don’t delay,” says Dr Taher.

“You are important to your family, you are important to yourself, you are important to the community, the workplace. You are very valuable to all of us. There is no excuse to delay or suffer in silence.”

Sisterhood of support

For women who have received the diagnosis, there is support to be found in the UAE. The capital’s support group, Bosom Buddies, first began in 2003. Gehan Wheeler and Noreen Kemp, friends who were both diagnosed with the disease, co-founded the group after realising there was no outlet for women struggling with breast cancer issues in Abu Dhabi.

Aimed at providing emotional support and raising awareness, the multi-cultural group meets on the first Sunday of the month at Café Arabia to discuss anything and everything. Whether it’s tips on finding wigs, mastectomy bras or recommending doctors, members are in a safe place to share their thoughts and experiences.

Perhaps most important, however, is the sense of community that patients receive at Bosom Buddies. “Going through cancer, especially breast cancer, is a very powerful emotional experience, so a lot of women feel better when they share their experience,” says Melanie Gobert, a member of Bosom Buddies.

“It makes members feel like they are normal and not alone. It helps them face their fears by realising that other people have survived and gives them hope.

“We always have new arrivals joining the group – newly diagnosed women or women who have just finished treatment,” says Gobert.

Eager to keep with the momentum that October brings to breast cancer awareness, she adds: “I think it’s really important to focus on this problem year round. After all, it’s a women’s health issue and one out of eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in our lifetime.”

Sessions are open to all – survivors, patients, friends and relatives. For more information visit: BosomBuddiesAD.org

Need to find out more?

If you want to learn how to conduct a breast self-exam or find out what screening centres in town offer mammograms, then head over to the

Health Authority– Abu Dhabi’s informative website to find out more. Visit: www.haad.ae/simplycheck

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Power of prevention

Abu Dhabi Week recently told our readers about free breast cancer screenings being offered to women in the Musaffah area, where last month the LLH Hospital Musaffah provided complimentary testing to residents through a mobile mammogram unit.

“The response to our free mammography screening was overwhelming,” says Dr Jayashree Goswami, Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at LLH Hospital Musaffah. “More than 100 women have already been screened and a few benign lesions have been detected for further diagnostic tests and follow up.”

Dr Goswami adds: “Early detection is key. Understand and avail the screening facilities to protect yourself. Women, mothers, wives, daughters, sisters and friends, you are indispensable in our life.”

Residents who wish to have a mammogram will now be referred to the hospital’s sister facility, LLH Abu Dhabi, which is equipped to carry out the screenings.

For more information visit: www.llhhospital.com

Sawaiba Khan

 

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