- Title: WEST BANK: West Bank clinic promotes early breast cancer detection
- Date: 13th May 2014
- Summary: HEBRON, WEST BANK (RECENT) (REUTERS) WOMEN WALKING ON STREET, ENTERING CLINIC DR. JIHAD SHAWAR SPEAKING TO WOMEN INSIDE CLINIC WOMEN LISTENING VARIOUS OF SHAWAR SPEAKING, WITH VIDEO AID VARIOUS OF VOLUNTEERS HELPING WOMEN SIGN UP SHAWAR TALKING TO WOMEN APPROACHING HIS MOBILE CLINIC SIGNS ON MOBILE CLINIC (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GENERAL SURGEON, DR. JIHAD SHAWAR, WHO DEVELOPED BREAST CANCER CLINIC, SAYING: "The Shayma campagn is an awareness campaign and is the first for cancer patients and especially breast cancer. I named it the Shayma campaign in memory of my wife Shayma, who died of this disease. So we wanted the suffering which we felt as a family, be avoided by other families. So our campaign is an awareness campaign that offers a mammogram test for everybody for early detection of cancer." WOMEN INSIDE CLINIC WOMAN ENTERING ROOM BEHIND CURTAIN VARIOUS OF WOMEN WATCHING A VIDEO PRESENTATION SCREEN SHOWING IMAGE OF WOMAN'S BREAST VARIOUS OF MEDICAL STUDENT INAS SARAHNA HOLDING MODEL OF FEMALE CHEST VARIOUS OF WOMEN LEARNING HOW TO EXAMINE BREASTS USING THE CHEST MODEL AS SARAHNA EXPLAINS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MEDICAL STUDENT INAS SARAHNA, SAYING: "Most of the women who don't do these tests - either they don't know about it or they have fear of doing a test. So our mission here is to raise awareness for those who don't know, and break the fear barrier for women who know about it, but are afraid to do it." VARIOUS OF SARAHNA SHOWING WOMEN HOW TO EXAMINE BREASTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GENERAL SURGEON, DR. JIHAD SHAWAR, WHO DEVELOPED BREAST CANCER CLINIC, SAYING: "The Al Ahly hospital is our partner, as well as the Ministry of Health, also the Augusta Victoria in Jerusalem, who have, thankfully, lent us their mobile mammogram truck, as you can see behind me. We will continue to have the vehicle, in order to examine the women in other locations. Also we will move with the car, to places with other women, we will target them in other areas because we target all women from all social classes." HEBRON, WEST BANK (MAY 13, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DR. MOAZ EIDEH AT HIS TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DR. MOAZ EIDEH SAYING: "We were visited by some 4,000 women who came to get an examination and to be trained on how to self exam their breasts. We have done hand tests to some 3,000 women and have given appointments for mammograms for more than 1,000 women in the Hebron district. The mammogram is booked until the end of May." HEBRON, WEST BANK (RECENT) (REUTERS) MESSAGES OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR BREAST CANCER PATIENTS WRITTEN ON POSTERS WOMEN INSIDE CLINIC
- Embargoed: 28th May 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: West bank
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Health
- Reuters ID: LVA96F25B6IJT26S4QFMMNFI13S4
- Story Text: Doctor Jihad Shawar is on a mission.
He aims to lift the veil of ignorance from breast cancer, spread awareness and increase testing amongst women in the Hebron district, the largest in the West Bank, to avoid suffering from a treatable disease.
Breast cancer is the top cancer in women both in the developed and the developing world, the World Health Organisation said. It is also the largest cause of death from cancer among women globally.
Shawar's mission is personal. His wife Shayma died of breast cancer in 2013, at 28-years-old.
"The Shayma campaign is an awareness campaign and is the first for cancer patients and especially breast cancer. I named it the Shayma campaign in memory of my wife Shayma, who died of this disease. So we wanted the suffering which we felt as a family, be avoided by other families. So our campaign is an awareness campaign that offers a mammogram test for everybody for early detection of cancer," Shawar said.
Breast cancer was the highest-reported cancer among women in the West Bank in 2011, Palestinian Ministry of Health statistics reveal. It represents 22 percent of cancers among women in the area. One out of eight Palestinian women suffer from the disease, Shawar said.
In low- and middle-income countries where breast cancer is usually diagnosed in very late stages, the WHO encourages early detection programmes to improve outcome and survival. A big gap exists between cancer patients from poor countries compared to more industrialised countries, where the survival rate is higher due to early detection.
The Shayma campaign reaches out to women from all walks of life, emphasising the importance of mammograms.
Medical student, Inas Sarahna, devotes time to teach women about breast cancer, explaining to them how self-examination should be done and giving them more information about the disease.
"Most of the women who don't do these tests - either they don't know about it or they have fear of doing a test. So our mission here is to raise awareness for those who don't know, and break the fear barrier for women who know about it, but are afraid to do it," Sarahna said.
Several partners have contributed to the campaign.
"The Al Ahly hospital is our partner, as well as the Ministry of Health, also the Augusta Victoria in Jerusalem, who have, thankfully, lent us their mobile mammogram truck, as you can see behind me. We will continue to have the vehicle, in order to examine the women in other locations. Also we will move with the car, to places with other women, we will target them in other areas because we target all women from all social classes," Shawar said.
Shawar gives his time and expertise at no cost and carries out testing for free.
A doctor in Al Ahly hospital in Hebron, Moaz Eideh, said the number of women signing up for exams had increased in recent weeks.
"We were visited by some 4,000 women who came to get an examination and to be trained on how to self exam their breasts. We have done hand tests to some 3,000 women and have given appointments for mammograms for more than 1,000 women in the Hebron district. The mammogram is booked until the end of May," Eideh said.
The mobile unit of the Augusta Victoria Hospital reaches many remote West Bank communities where mammograms are not easily available. Mammograms can often detect breast cancer early and reduce the risk of death. Humanitarian NGO, 'American Charities for Palestine' said financial and geographic barriers prevent 70 percent of Palestinian women from having mammograms.
jrs/jrc - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
