The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowment, Dawa and Guidance has requested that mosques dedicate a sermon next month to raising breast cancer awareness. The new initiative will coincide with the second national campaign for breast cancer which will run in October. “The campaign targets more than 10 million women in the Kingdom who constitute 49.1 percent of the total number of citizens and residents,” said Sheikh Abdul Mohsen Bin Abdul Aziz Aal Alsheikh, Assistant Undersecretary for Mosques Affairs, according to a report in Al-Watan newspaper. Hanadi Muhammad Al-Aouda, Director of the Zahra Society for Breast Cancer, said, “The basic goal of the awareness campaign is to enlighten the public about the disease and especially the importance of regular routine checkups.” Breast cancer accounts for 18 percent of cancers in Saudi women and the average age of those affected is 47 years. Al-Aouda said, “The early detection of the malignant disease would effectively help in preventing its proliferation, which leads to dangerous complications.”
