The sixth international conference on Women's Health Update 2008 ended its four-day run Wednesday after focusing on cardiac disease, family medicine, breast cancer, alternative medicine and other health issues affecting women in Saudi Arabia. Speakers at the conference held under the auspices of Princess Alanood Bint Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al-Saud: Lina Bissar, vice president of the internal department at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH); Nuha Dashash, consultant in social and family medicin; and Lama Suleiman, a businesswoman and breast cancer survivor. Lama Suleiman used her experience with cancer to try and give hope to other similarly afflicted women. “I woke up one morning feeling a rigid mass in my breast that I could swear I didn't feel the night before,” Suleiman said. “I had tests done and waited for two weeks and completely forgot to ask my doctor for the results. My doctor called me to tell me I had breast cancer. My life changed completely until my doctor called me to tell me that I have a breast cancer and my life changed completely.” She urged women, using her experience as an example, to persevere their faith in Allah and in themselves. “After I started my chemotherapy I started to lose my hair, my eyebrows and my eyelashes. I didn't realize how important they were until I lost them, until I constantly had water dripping into my eyes,” Suleiman said. KFSH and Roche Medicine Company sponsored the conference held at Laylaty hall. __
