Screening drive for breast cancer from next month
The programme will be launched on September 16 at Salalah and is expected to continue for at least six months, covering all of the governorates
MADIHA ASIF madiha@timesofoman.com
MUSCAT: The Oman Cancer Association (OCA) will be conducting a free-of-cost national programme for breast cancer screening and breast cancer awareness across the country.
The programme will start on September 16, 2018, and will be launched in Salalah. It is expected to continue for at least six months, covering all of Oman’s governorates.
Ultimate goal
“To defeat cancer, prevention and control is the ultimate goal. In this regard, the association will be visiting all 11 governorates of the Sultanate to raise awareness about the deadly disease, and educate people about how early prevention plays a major role in fighting cancer,” said Dr. Wahid Al Kharusi, President of Oman Cancer Association.
He urged all expatriates to come forward and be a part of the programme, too. “This programme, which is free of cost, is not designed to target just the [Omani] nationals of the country, but all those who are living here,” Al Kharusi added.
The association will work in collaboration with the Department of Mother and Children at the Ministry of Health and the National Oncology Centre, as well as Mezoon Pharmacy and Roche.
“The programme will be run by trained professional nurses from different regions and oncologists from the National Oncology Centre, targeting all the women in regions, school children from grade 10 and higher educational institutions. It will teach participants the importance of Self-Breast Examination (SBE) and the necessity of it being done monthly, as well as conduct a Clinical Breast Examination,” Al Kharusi said.
The programme will also teach men and decision makers from both private and public sectors to encourage their partners and family members to regularly examine themselves, he added.
The mobile mammography Unit of OCA will be on the trail for the awareness campaign programme offering free mammograms to women over the age of 40 years.
“Those who are positive will be fast-tracked for treatment immediately,” the president of OCA said.
Professional awareness
He added that the professional awareness teams are highly experienced healthcare providers dedicated to conducting this programme successfully. “We urge breast cancer survivors to get involved in this programme in order to impart their own experiences as people will relate to it.”
The programme intends to cover around 50,000 women in order to bring about positive change associated with cancer in Oman and to prove that early detection can play a vital role in bringing down the number of patients.