Dr. Kholoud Al Mutawaa speaks at the event. Photo: Abdul Basit
The role of the media in raising the right awareness and correcting misconceptions about cancer in society can never be underestimated, a senior official from the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has said.
Speaking at a workshop for the media organised by the MoPH in collaboration with the Qatar Cancer Society yesterday, the Senior Consultant Community Medicine and Head of Non-Communicable Disease at MoPH, Dr. Kholoud Al Mutawaa, noted that the media has a crucial role in shaping public attitudes towards cancer.
“We believe that the media has a powerful role in raising the right awareness about cancer,” she said.
“With a well-informed media, the right information will definitely be disseminated, which will help in the early detection of the disease as well as its prevention, hence the need for a workshop of this nature.”
She added that media coverage of cancer can convey important messages to the public that the disease is not always a death sentence and that early diagnosis can save lives.
“With the right information from the media, society will be made aware that access to optimum treatment improves outcomes and that life does not stop because you have cancer.
“High-quality coverage of cancer can also raise awareness about ways of bridging gaps and addressing inequities, as well as portraying people’s experience of the disease in a more realistic light,” Dr Al Mutawaa added.
She noted that the media workshop is part of a series targeted at “partners in the fight against the disease” from different segments of society.
“We started two years ago before it was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has now been restarted due to its importance,” the MoPH official said.
Hayat Yassine, Subject Matter Expert at the MoPH’s Breast and Bowel Screening Programme, noted in her presentation at the event that cancer patients have a 90 percent chance of survival if detected early.
“Breast and bowel cancers are two of the most common types of the disease, but Qatar has put adequate infrastructure in place to help fight the disease,” she said.
“Women between 45 to 69 years of age can avail themselves of the opportunity of free screening once every three years, while men and women aged 50 to 74 years of age can take the free Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) once a year to help in the early detection of the disease.”
Yassine added that people can benefit from the free tests either by contacting the programme’s call centre on 8001112 or by a referral from their doctor. Potential patients can also be contacted directly by the call centre if needed.
She noted that at least two radiologists are mandated to read and interpret the results of each test to ensure its accuracy.
