Hamad hospital campaign creates awareness on breast cancer

Participants in one of the breast cancer awareness activities at HGH.

Hamad General Hospital (HGH) recently held a campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer for patients, families and visitors. The campaign, marked under the banner of Pink October, featured a variety of activities organised by the Community Affairs and Patient Engagement Department at the hospital. The two-day campaign involved teams of subject matter experts from Hamad Medical Corporation’s National Centre for Cancer Care and Research, Al Wakra Hospital and HGH who all led a number of insightful presentations and educational lectures in English and Arabic for patients, focusing on prevention and early diagnosis of breast cancer. Executive director of Community Affairs and Patient Engagement at HGH, Maitha al-Bouainain, commented: “We are pleased to organise this important campaign at HGH to educate the public and our patients about how they can join in the fight against breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in Qatar and understanding this disease can really help save lives as the sooner it is detected the more effective the treatment.”During the campaign, patients had the opportunity to gain knowledge about different topics pertinent to breast cancer; such as the subject of breast cancer and breastfeeding, the importance of maintaining a healthy diet, and the relationship between breast cancer and smoking. A special demonstrative session allowed the participants to learn how to do self-examination to check for symptoms of breast cancer.  The participants were also encouraged to ‘Be Breast Aware’ and were reminded of five points: to know what is normal, know what changes to look for, to regularly look at and feel their breasts, to make an appointment with a doctor as soon as possible if any changes are observed, and to go for breast cancer screening if they are over the age of 45. Representatives of the campaign also distributed educational brochures and pink ribbons -- the international symbol of breast cancer awareness -- to the public at the main lobby of HGH. The campaign also saw the participation of  Kirpal Kaur Matharoo, a 63-year-old breast cancer survivor who successfully beat breast cancer after undergoing five sessions of chemotherapy and three rounds of surgery, including reconstructive surgery in 2012.Matharoo recalled her initial breast cancer diagnosis, which was 10 years ago in the UK and said: “I was devastated, shocked and in disbelief. I was healthy; I did not smoke, or drink, so I kept thinking how could this happen to me?”