Qatar Cancer Society (QCS) has concluded its campaign ‘Protect Yourself” to raise awareness of liver cancer, the seventh highest cancer among both genders in Qatar.
Liver cancer also accounts for the second highest among all cancer deaths among both genders, according to Qatar National Cancer registry 2016 - the Ministry of Public Health.
The electronic campaign targeted workers who are among the group most exposed to the risk factors of liver cancer. Educational videos in Arabic, English, Urdu and Malayalam languages were disseminated to make them aware of disease, signs, warning symptoms, methods of prevention and early detection,
Khalifa Haroun, social media influencer, participated in the campaign and contributed to the campaign's awareness through his accounts on social media.
Heba Nassar, head of Health Education Department at QCS said the campaign was launched digitally to limit the spread of Covid-19 and with the participation of a number of entities, including the Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar Red Crescent Society, Syrian American Medical Centre and Mowasalat
She said, “There are many risk factors that can increase the chances of developing liver cancer. It is found among older people and most of the diagnosed with this disease are 55 and above, Chronic viral hepatitis B and C can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. It can be found among people with type 2 diabetes. They tend to be overweight or obese, which can lead to health problems in the liver. In addition, people with occupational exposure to chemicals are also at risk of the disease.”
The QCS official also stressed the importance of early detection of the disease and cautioned that it is often hard to find liver cancer early because signs and symptoms often do not appear at an early stage.
