According to the World Health Organisation, in 2014, cancer accounted for 18% of the total deaths in Qatar among all age groups, which makes the proportional mortality rate second only to cardiovascular disease among non-communicable diseases.
Breast cancer specifically accounts for 31% of all cancers in females.
“Through HBKU Press’s open access platform, QScience.com, peer-reviewed research papers and articles about cancer and a variety of other topics can be easily accessed online,” explains Dr Alwaleed Alkhaja, senior editor at HBKU Press. “The value of these past research articles is that they play a particularly important role when considering how far research has developed on any given issue, and in this case, analysing the development of cancer screening practices and awareness campaigns in Qatar.”
A research study published in the Avicenna journal, available on QScience.com, highlights the past statistics and attitudes concerning breast cancer awareness and screening.
The study was published when Qatar was facing a rise in breast cancer incidence, and previous findings indicated that women in Qatar were often diagnosed with breast cancer at advanced stages as their participation in screening activities was low.
A survey was conducted with 1,063 Arabic women (Qatari citizens and non-Qatari), 35 years of age or older, from March 2011 to July 2011.
The survey found that 90.7% of the participants were aware of breast cancer.
Among them, 7.6% had basic knowledge of breast cancer screening; 28.9% were aware of breast self-examination ; 41.8% were aware of clinical breast exams, and 26.9% were aware of mammograms.
Coinciding with this study was the launch of the National Cancer Strategy in May 2011.
The five-year campaign from 2011-2016 had the ultimate goal of significantly reducing the burden of cancer in Qatar and to provide cancer care at a standard of excellence.
Specifically, with regards to breast cancer, the National Cancer Strategy Review 2011-2016 points to several campaigns and initiatives that have been successful in raising breast cancer awareness, and increasing the number of breast cancer screenings.
In addition to this, screening programmes were launched at primary healthcare centres across Qatar in 2016.
The next step is linked to mental and social support for cancer patients.
An article found in the Qatar Medical Journal used questionnaires to determine how important support is to female cancer patients.
The study defined psychosocial support as family support, religious/ spiritual support, support groups and physician-referred support.
It found that a cancer diagnosis can have a wide range of stressful mental and social implications and if these implications are left untreated, it could lead to negative effects on treatment compliance and recovery.
The study concluded that psychosocial support is becoming increasingly important in holistic cancer care and provides new information on possible areas of future research and development.