Eman Kaskas, wife of the chairman of the International Diagnostic Center and chief guest of the program (third from left – first row), and Dr. Sanjeedha Bashiruddin, ER physician and surgical advisor at Ministry of Health Rabigh (5th from left at the back), with doctors from different clinics and hospitals, at the awareness campaign in Jeddah, Thursday. (Courtesy photo) JEDDAH: A breast cancer awareness campaign kicked off Thursday at the International Diagnostic Center with the aim of spreading awareness about the importance of early diagnosis, cure and prevention. The presentation was made by Dr. Sanjeedha Bashiruddin, ER physician and surgical advisor at Ministry of Health, Rabigh. A number of doctors were at the seminar, held with the cooperation of the Ministry of Health, to learn more about diagnostic procedures and how to help the patients and encourage them to have mammograms. The doctors told Health Ministry officials that insurance companies are a hurdle to breast cancer diagnosis because policies do not cover mammograms. “We are dealing with a big problem because patients are coming under the insurance policies that don't cover screening or mammography,” said Dr. Doria Darsouni, consultant OBS and gynecologist at Al Emam Polyclinic. “The insurance system in this country is not proactive. Even for a mammogram, they need a written report that we found a lump or any sign of cancer, which really creates problems for mammogram procedures. There should be a proactive procedure so by doing regular mammography on high-risk patients, we can start before women are 40; we have females who are diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 25 or earlier.” Dr. Gulnaz Mashoodh said the insurance system has to be changed and become more proactive because all the people go to hospitals, which require cash payments. If you want to do good, proactive work, the screening should be included in the insurance policies, said Dr. Mashoodh, who believes the Health Ministry should direct insurance companies to include the mammography in their policies. The seminar was especially designed for doctors and people related to the medical profession, said said Dr. Sanjeedha. “Our program is a small contribution toward the awareness campaign about breast cancer, concentrating on gynecologists, so they can motivate people, especially women, to know more about breast cancer and have regular checks and annual mammograms,” said Dr. Sanjeedha. “They concentrate on breast cancer only in the secondary stage, not on the primary stage, which is more important. Every woman who is over 40 should have a simple mammogram, which is just a simple X-ray of the breasts that can diagnose the early stage of cancer or if there is a chance of breast cancer.” The goal is to help women become more aware, Dr. Sanjeedha said. “We just want to spread awareness among women to look at their bodies, take care of themselves and not lose interest in the importance of their health,” she said. “Going for a mammogram is very important so it's the duty of the doctors to teach them about the importance and motivate them. Women are always involved with their families and people around them so they may totally forget about themselves. Through this, we want to tell women to take care of themselves.” Dr. Sanjeedha explained the reasons and causes for breast cancer, and the importance of the mammogram and early diagnosis; she told the doctors why it's important that they encourage patients to have early diagnoses and emphasize that they should take care of their health. The event was a good learning experience, said Dr. Liya Shareef, a gynecologist from Saba Hira Polyclinic. “This subject is very important and at the same time, it's important for us doctors to understand and learn more about it,” she said. “Today's seminar is about breast cancer awareness for doctors, how to deal with the patients and encourage them to have mammograms so it was a good chance for us to learn more,” said Another doctor said that there are always new things to learn about how to follow up, diagnose and treat so it's very important to keep up to date. “It is a very important issue related to women's health because of the increasing rate of the disease,” said Dr. Dua? Aburayain, a radiologist. “It's important for us to get the updates.” The event was organized to provide that information and increase awareness, said Ahmed Abdel Qader, management consultant at International Diagnostic Center. “We discussed a few weeks back that this is the time to start our education program targeting doctors and the general public,” he said. “For doctors, it's important to know how to deal with their patients and how important it is for them to encourage patients to have mammograms. Today's program deals with that mission, to tell doctors how they can refocus on issues related to their patients. Our focus for a few months will be on breast cancer, which is the first killer of women in Saudi Arabia, but our women don't have the right awareness, that if diagnosed early, it can be cured up to 97 percent of the time. That's our message through this program, both for the public and to remind doctors.” He also said that through these programs, they want to have open discussions with the doctors and want them to use the best medical equipment, which is available in the International Diagnostic Center.
