A new awareness campaign aims to promote early detection and prevention of lung cancer in the UAE.
The campaign, under the slogan Live Healthy & Simply Check Lung Cancer Awareness, is being run by the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA).
Lung cancer has emerged as the most lethal form of cancer in men in Abu Dhabi and the second most deadly in women. The disease is usually fatal; and Dr Ali Al Dameh, Consultant Thoracic Surgeon at Tawam Hospital and a former thoracic surgeon at Harvard Medical School, told Abu Dhabi Week this is primarily because of a lack of awareness that leads to late detection.
According to the recent Large National Lung Screening Trial by the National Cancer Institute in the US, most people who are diagnosed with lung cancer are already in the late stages – typically stages three or four. At this point, a patient’s rate of survival for more than five years is just nine per cent.
However, those who receive proper counselling and detect the cancer early – at stage one – have a survival rate of up to 80 per cent, said Dr Al Dameh.
Leading causes of lung cancer include smoking, shisha smoking, secondhand smoking and the inhalation of industrial fumes.
The new awareness campaign particularly targets people aged 50 or over who have been smoking for 30 years and advises them to get advice and screening straight away.
“We want to spread awareness as this is a big problem,” Dr Al Dameh told Abu Dhabi Week. “People should be aware that if they fit the criteria, they need to be counselled and screened to improve their rate of survival.”
The campaign comes after an important oncology conference was recently hosted in Abu Dhabi which also focussed on promoting early detection and prevention.
As part of the SEHA initiative, Dr Al Dameh hosted a live Twitter discussion to address myths about lung cancer, causes and prevention, early detection and living with lung cancer.
Tawam Hospital offers the latest thoracic services. Residents who fit the criteria can present themselves at Tawam Hospital for counselling and radiology scans.
For more information about the SEHA campaign, visit: www.haad.ae/simplycheck
