Doha: Qatar yesterday marked the World Cancer Day (WCD) with an emphasis on creating awareness and collecting accurate data about cancer.
The recent statistics from the Qatar National Cancer Registry (QNCR) show that in 2015, a total of 1,465 patients were documented as newly diagnosed with cancer. Among them, 44 percent were female and 56 percent were male patients.
According to Qatar’s 2014 Population Health Report, cancer was the second leading cause of death in the country between 2004 and 2010. The report also states that the majority of Qatar’s residents will be, either directly or indirectly, affected by cancer.
Similarly, the World Health Organization’s 2014 Population Health Report identified that cancer was responsible for 18 percent of all deaths in Qatar compared to 10 percent in 2010. The report added that after cardiovascular disease, cancer was the second leading cause of death from a non-communicable disease.
In this backdrop, Qatar joined the worldwide initiative to raise awareness of cancer among the public in order to save lives and reduce the number of preventable deaths that occur each year due to the disease, under this year’s theme - ‘We can. I can.’ It highlighted the importance of knowing the symptoms and risk factors of developing cancer.
It also emphasized the importance of collecting data on cancer patients.
The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), in a statement, said that collecting correct data on the disease helps in designing awareness programmes to prevent cancer and avoidable deaths. It further said demographic and clinical data about cancer patients in the QNCR helps to identify the prevalence and nature of cancer in Qatar. In 2014, MOPH created the QNCR replacing the hospital based registry. MOPH and Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) work together in collecting data for the QNCR and follow standards set by the World Health Organization’s International Agency Research in Cancer (IARC).
Commenting on World Cancer Day 2017, Professor Karl Alexander Knuth, Medical Director and Chief Executive Officer of HMC’s National Center for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR) and Chairman of Cancer Services at HMC said, “We have made great progress in the fight against cancer in Qatar. The National Cancer Strategy has guided us to reduce the impact of this overwhelming disease and build on previous achievements to ensure the well-being of Qatar’s population.”
“Our cancer services are benchmarked against best international practice and recognized by international research study groups. Educating people and broadening their understanding is vital for the future of cancer prevention, early detection and treatment. This is also an efficient weapon in dispelling the many myths and misconceptions about cancer that can adversely affect people’s attitude to accessing early diagnosis, treatment and care,” he said.
Dr Mohammed Ussama Al Homsi, Senior Consultant in the Oncology Department at NCCCR noted that WCD presents an ideal opportunity to highlight the fact that together the world can make a difference. “WCD presents an excellent opportunity to raise awareness amongst the public of the importance of taking care of their health and being aware of the consequences of a lack of physical activity and poor nutrition…..The risk of developing cancer, can be reduced by following healthy lifestyle habits such as not smoking, preventing ultraviolet (UV) exposure from the sun, consuming a healthy diet and exercising regularly.”
