The launch of cancer awareness calendar 2019 held at the Ministry of Public Health yesterday. Seen from left are Dr. Shaikha Abu Shaikha, PHCC; Sheikh Mohammed Hamad J. Al Thani, MoPH; Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Jabor Al Thani, Chairman, Qatar Cancer Society;
Doha: The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) announced Qatar’s first annual cancer awareness calendar yesterday, with an aim to reduce prevalence of the disease in the country.
The calendar reflects the collaborative efforts of health partners towards achieving the vision of the National Cancer Framework 2017-2022 and provides an opportunity for uniting efforts by stakeholders within Qatar to join forces to raise the awareness of cancer and reduce the local cancer burden.
The collaboration includes MoPH, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) and Qatar Cancer Society.
The calendar identifies dedicated cancer awareness months based on evidence-based incidence data published by the Qatar National Cancer Registry. It also recognises international cancer awareness days. This annual calendar also highlight National Cancer Framework initiatives including cancer awareness ambassadors and the experiences of patients living with cancer and cancer survivors.
“The National Cancer Framework which was published last year continues to encourage work to raise awareness in the community about cancer and recognizes that no individual service or organization can do this alone. We must work together to ensure a clear vision for public awareness that will help us achieve our goal of reducing the impact of cancer across the country,” said Catherine Gillespie, National Cancer Program Director at the MoPH.
Previous data for 2015 from MoPH has indicated that among the top malignant primary sites of cancer in Qatar, breast cancer accounted for 17.5 percent, while bowel cancer made up 10.23 percent. The National Health Strategy 2018-2022 aims to reduce early deaths from cancer and other chronic diseases by 25 percent by 2025.
The launch of the calendar is another important step forward in our collaborative efforts to ease the burden of cancer on Qatar and its people. This co-ordinated calendar allows us to further develop our awareness drives and outreach initiatives to achieve maximum results and engage with a wider audience,” said Dr Shaikha Abu Shaikha, Cancer Program Manager, PHCC.
Dr Mohammed Ussama Al Homsi, Senior Consultant, Oncology Department at HMC’s National Center for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR), said, “Our approach is to work collaboratively in an efficient and effective manner with other healthcare stakeholders to minimise the incidence of cancer for the population in Qatar through research and education and to provide excellent treatment when cancer does occur.”
“Our activities are built on the progress we have already made over the past few years to raise awareness amongst the public about how they can take ownership of their health to reduce their risk of cancer,” he added.
