By Umer Nangiana


With the help of a prominent women’s community organisation, medical experts recently educated and apprised participants of a conference about the dangers of breast cancer and why regular self-assessments can help with diagnosis and thus timely treatment of the deadly disease.
In their respective lectures organised at a local community school, Dr Zeba Iqbal, Gynaecologist and Infertility Specialist, and Dr Samia Khan stressed the need for women to conduct regular checks to detect any symptoms or signs of breast cancer.
Detailing the possible symptoms, the medical experts urged women to keep a close watch on them. The all-women attendees of the event were shown the self-assessment techniques in presentations and were asked to practically go through them in the presence of the experts.
Both Dr Zeba and Dr Samia have made huge contributions towards the Breast Cancer awareness programme of which the lectures were one part.
Both speakers created a comfortable environment for the participants in the audience so that they could ask questions freely without hesitation and openly discuss issues related to breast cancer, its prevention and treatment.
They encouraged the audience to actively participate in Q&A secessions and interact openly with doctors for information about the disease related issues.
In-order to avoid any language barrier, both the speakers conducted the entire lecture in Urdu, the native language of the participants. They repeatedly reminded the audience that the society responds very differently to the disease.
While western expats tended to be more open to the idea of discussing the illness since they had been more exposed to breast cancer initiatives back in their home countries, their community meanwhile was very reluctant due to lack of understanding, knowledge and certain superstitions associated with disease, said the experts.
Organised by Pakistan Women’s Association (PWA) at the Next Generation School (TNG), the event also featured dedicated counters for number of other attractive activities for women like henna designing and nail art by Al Houri Saloon besides free blood and sugar tests for the guests by Naseem Al Rabeeh.
The lecture also featured a quiz competition where prizes were distributed by PWA members to the contestants. The speakers were appreciated for their contribution towards the programme by PWA President Rahat Mansoor.
She thanked the guests and officials for their support and for attending the event in a large number, enabling the organisation to organize a healthy awareness platform for women residing in Qatar.
Mansoor also said that International Breast Cancer Awareness month should not just end with October, the fight to raise awareness of the disease should continue in the community in the form of education or general discussions.
Breast cancer accounts for an alarming percentage of all cancer deaths in women across the globe and is the most common cause of cancer in women in this region, she added. The event was powered by Naseem Al Rabeeh and supported by VLCC, Malabar Gold & Diamond, Al Houri Saloon and others.