New Articles From Lebanon, Qatar and Saudi Arabia

Please check gulfoncology.org for new cancer related articles from Arab countries.

Breast Cancer Support in Bahrain

We are each of us angels with only one wing and we can only fly embracing each other.” Luciano de Crescenzo

A diagnosis of cancer brings with it a wide range of emotions that often includes shock, fear, denial, sadness and anger. Women diagnosed with breast cancer will experience this range of emotions as they go through different stages of healing. Although time may lessen the intensity of such feelings, it’s likely they may not ever go away completely. A strong social support network can help those with breast cancer address the long-term emotional impact of a breast cancer diagnosis.

Research has shown that women deal with their disease when supported by others in similar situations whilst providing coping strategies making them a valuable resource and important part of recovery process.

This is the dream envisioned by two women working in Bahrain and hoping to bring something new and positive to breast cancer survivors on the island. With the recent awareness brought to breast cancer through the ‘Think Pink’ campaign, people’s perception of the disease has changed dramatically and it is no longer a shameful subject, one that was not to be uttered in public. Instead breast cancer is a disease which many women want to now talk about in order to help educate all women around the world.

Adriene Buck is a breast care nurse and lymph oedema practitioner specialising in breast cancer. While at a fundraising event for ‘Think Pink’, she was approached by the Director of World Beat Fitness Centre Jane Goodwin with regards to starting up some kind of support group for breast cancer survivors. The idea seemed practical as there was a great need for a support group in Bahrain. They discovered many breast cancer survivors were ready for such a support group. Adrienne discussed the possibility of a support group in Bahrain with Rula Al Saffar, head of Breast Cancer Support Group at the Bahrain Cancer Society who fully supported her and suggested the idea of an Arabic speaking support group to be held monthly also to accommodate a wider audience which is a wonderful opportunity for women.

While gaining and receiving support from family and friends may seem enough, studies have shown that support from a variety of formal and informal sources can have real quality-of-life benefits, including improvements in mood, ability to cope and reduced levels of stress. In addition to emotional support, social networks can provide practical assistance that can make daily life a little easier - as often women may be reluctant to disclose true feelings so as not to over burden their family or friends - so a group environment plays a critical role in the recovery process.

It is the right of every woman to decide what is appropriate for her and some may want to deal with it privately. In this situation help and support is available from the Ministry of Health. Group support however, is missing in a country renowned for its close-knit, kin-like community. Breast Cancer Support Group (BCSG) will provide support to English speaking survivors, while Bahrain Cancer Society (BCS) will provide to those seeking it in Arabic, while both offering information, support and resource of services in a friendly, non-judgmental and confidential environment where members can provide mutual support on shared experiences and gain an improved sense of well being.

BCSG and BCS will provide tips and ways of coping, peer and emotional support; participants will be free to share ! concerns and worries with others and in return they will f eel supported, cared for and accepted by others. The main aim is to offer women in Bahrain the opportunity to gain information, give and receive support and gain access to resources and services around the country - in a private and confidential environment.

Genetic Counselling Conference

On behalf of the organizing committee of our upcoming workshop "Genetic
Counselling and Preventative Screening Programs in the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia: Present and Future" to be held on 20-21 May 2008 /15-16 Jumada Al
Awal 1429", I would like to invite you to join us for the exciting two
days. Please visit the website for the workshop. Our workshop is
accredited for 13 CME hours by the Saudi Council and 13.50 hours by AACME.
The address is www.kfshrc.edu.sa/symposia . Scroll down to May and click
our website. You will find the scientific and public program. You can
download it from the site. Registration and other forms can also be
downloaded from the site. Please note that we will have a small contest
for which a prize is organized and will be handed at the end of the
workshop to the winner!.

Looking forward to your participation.

Zuhair Rahbeeni, M.D, FACMG
Chairman
Department Of Medical Genetics
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center
P.O. Box 3354, MBC 75, ZC 11211
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Fax 00-966-1-442-4126

Cancer Group in Bahrain

Cancer group on way
By REBECCA TORR




A BREAST cancer support group for women having treatments and those who have completed them will be launched this month in Bahrain. The Breast Cancer Survivor Group will be held on the last Tuesday of each month at the World Beat Fitness Centre, Saar, from 7.30pm to 9pm.
It is established in collaboration with the Bahrain Cancer Society (BCS) and facilitated by Adrienne Buck, a nurse that specialises in breast cancer, and breast cancer survivor and centre director Jane Goodwin.
The main goal of the group is to provide resources, support and networking for women undergoing breast cancer treatments and those who have completed them.
Monthly sessions may include information about nutrition, diet, complimentary therapies, natural remedies, as well as movement and meditation techniques to increase well-being and reduce stress and anxiety.
The group will define its own interests and go! als as it develops to ensure members gain the best positive outcomes.
It also hopes to create a resource kit document with information about breast cancer specialists, treatments, where to go for a mammogram and other information.
"I met Jane through Think Pink Bahrain last year and we spoke about starting a support group," said Ms Buck.
"We went to Rula (Al Saffar, BCS support group head) with the idea and she went to her board and they approved it and decided to support us.
"They will have a group for Arabic speakers and this one will be for English speakers."
The New Zealander, who came to Bahrain in August last year, has been a nurse for more than 20 years.
She has nursed many women with breast cancer and is very passionate about reaching out to those affected.
"The main thing the group would do is to offer support," Ms Buck told the GDN.
"It's also to improve the well-being of women and make them feel good about themselves because if mum feels better then the family feels better.
"Sometimes she will hide how she's feeling, so this will help her let off steam or cry".
The first meeting will be held on April 29 from 7.30pm to 9pm.

Those interested in attending or professionals willing to speak at the event should contact
Ms Buck on 36306627
or adriennebuck@msn.com
or Ms Goodwin on 39607262
or jane@worldbeatfitness.com

New Articles From UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia

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Saudi radiology society gets European recognition

From Saudi Gazette

The European Society of Radiology (ESR) has officially recognized the Radiological Society of Saudi Arabia (RSSA) on Monday.
The recognition was announced by Dr. Sattam Lingawi, president of the society, at the inauguration of the Fourth International Conference on Radiology in Jeddah.
Osama Al-Tayeb, President of King Abdul Aziz University, inaugurated the four-day conference on behalf of Prince Mishal Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah.
Lingawi confirmed that the ESR’s recognition comes as an appreciation from the international society to the RSSA despite the society’s young age.
“The ESR’s support didn’t stop at the recognition,” he said. “It also granted free membership to all members of the RSSA to encourage them to keep up their efforts in improving radiology technology at all levels.”
“Our efforts have been widely recognized nationally and internationally. This is clearly reflected by the support for the society’s local scientific activities and by the international recognition.” RSSA is also a founding member of the Pan Arab Association of Radiological Societies (PAARS) and currently chairs its council, he added.
He also said that in the past three conferences, international contribution had exceeded 60 speakers in different radiological subspecialties, with contributions from the US, Canada, the UK, France, Switzerland, Germany, Korea and India.
“Contribution from Arab radiological societies has also enriched our scientific programs with speakers from Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar,” he said.
He pointed out that the conference will discuss more than 40 topics, presented by professors and specialists from eminent international universities, besides speakers from Saudi Arabia and GCC countries.
“All these topics will mainly focus on the latest in radiology as an important scientific field,” he addad. Lingawi also revealed the scientific program of the conference, which included a number of training workshops for participants.
“International lecturers will give out courses to some 1,500 partakers in this conference. Patients will benefit from the outcome of these workshops and lectures,” he said.

From Riyadh Newspaper

قلصت جهود الجمعية الخيرية لمكافحة التدخين مساحة الخطر الذي يمكن ان يشكله التدخين عند كثير من متعاطيه.. مسجلة بذلك رقماً قياسيا تجاوز ثمانية آلاف مقلع عن التدخين خلال العام الماضي 1428ه. الجمعية التي استقبلت خلال عام (1428ه) 12630مراجعاً تمكنت الجهود العلاجية من انقاذ معظمهم من مخاطر التدخين.
التقرير السنوي الذي اصدرته الجمعية أوضح ان الفئة العمرية بين ( 26- 40) سنة النسبة الأعلى بين المقلعين حيث مثلت 47% منهم تلاها الفئة العمرية ( 13- 25) سنة حيث بلغ عدد المقلعين فيها (4884) بنسبة 39%. وكشف للتقرير ان 78% من المدخنين كان دافعهم للتدخين الأصدقاء و88% منهم يتعاطون السجائر و7% يتعاطون الشيشة و4% يتعاطونها كليهما بينما يتعاطى 2% أنواع أخرى، وبلغ عدد الذين يتعاط! ون أكثر من 30سيجارة في اليوم (2936) مدخناً بنسبة 24% بينما يتعاطى معظم المدخنين ما بين ( 11- 20) سيجارة في اليوم. ومن ناحية الاصابات المرضية فقد تصدر التهاب الشعب الهوائية المزمن قائمة الأمراض التي تصيب المدخنين بنسبة 49% حيث بلغ عددهم (6208) بينما بلغ المصابون بأمراض القلب والضغط (1310) مدخنين بنسبة 10% و 980منهم مصابون بمرض التمدد الرئوي (الانفزيما) و25% فقط بدون أمراض أي ان عدد المدخنين المرضى بلغ (9456) مصاباً. وأوضح أمين عام الجمعية بأن نتائج تقرير 1428ه تعتبر قياسية إذا ما قارناها بالأعوام الماضية مشيراً في هذا الصدد إلى ان حملة الرياض بلا تدخين التي أطلقتها الجمعية بالتعاون مع مؤسسة سليمان الراجحي الخيرية ساهمت بقوة في جذب العديد من المدخنين الباحثين عن العلاج بفضل الله ثم الحملات التوعوية والدعائية التي نظمتها الجمعية اضافة إلى الجهود التي بذلها العاملون في الجمعية بمختلف الفروع ومشرفو الحملة. قال الصبي: نتطلع إلى المزيد في ظل الخطط التوسعية للجمعية التي وجه بها صاحب السمو الملكي الأمير سطام بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود الرئيس الفخري للجمعية والتي أشار إليها خلال اجتماع سموه الأخير بأعضاء مجلس الادارة حيث قال سموه: يجب ان نضاعف جهودنا لنكون في طموح وتطلعات الدولة بقيادة خادم الحرمين الشريفين الملك عبدالله بن عبدالعزيز والذي توج مؤخراً بدرع وجائزة منظمة الصحة العالمية لمكافحة التبغ للعام (2007). وتمنى الصبي ان يشهد العام الجديد اقبالاً كبيراً على برامج الاقلاع مشيراً إلى ان الجمعية تقدم خدماتها في المملكة عبر عدة فروع في الخبر والخرج وحائل ولديها أربعة مراكز في الرياض بالاضافة للعيادات المتنقلة داعياً الراغبين في الاقلاع إلى زيارة فروع الجمعية أو الاتصال على الرقم
2780006-01).

Lists of Hospital in Saudi Arabia

This is a list of hospitals in Saudi Arabia.
Central region:
Obeid Specialized Hospital, Farazdaq St, Al- Malaz - Riyadh
Al Hammady Hospital - Riyadh
Al Mashary Hospital - Riyadh
Al Mowasat Hospital - Riyadh
Al Shumaisi government hospital - Riyadh
Armed Force Hospital - Riyadh
Al Yamama Hospital - Riyadh
Dallah Hospital - Riyadh
Green Crescent Hospital - Riyadh
Habib Medical Center - Riyadh
Home Doctor G.C.H.S. - Riyadh
Military Hospital in Kharj - Riyadh
Specialized Medical Center - Riyadh
Saudi German Hospital - Riyadh
King Faisal Hospital - Taif
King Abdulaziz Medical City - Riyadh
King Abdulaziz University Hospital - Riyadh
King Fahad Hospital - Riyadh
King Fahad Medical City - Riyadh
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre - Riyadh
King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital - Riyadh
King Khalid University Hospital - Riyadh
Kingdom Hospital - Riyadh
Riyadh Care Hospital - Riyadh
Riyadh Central Hospital - Riyadh
Riyadh National Hospital - Riyadh
Security Forces Hospital - Riyadh
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Eastern region:
Al Ahmadi - Dammam
Al Amal Complex for Mental Health - Dammam
Al Dossary Hospital - Khobar
Al Dukair - Dammam
Al Jazira Clinic - Khobar
Al Khaleej Hospital - Khobar
Al Khobar Hospital - Khobar
Al Mana - Khobar
Al Mana General- Dammam
Al Mouwasat General- Dammam
Al Rawdah - Dammam
Al Yousif- Khobar
Assalama Hospital - Khobar
Assaleh Med. Center - Khobar
Chest Hospital - Dammam
Dammam Central - Dammam
Dammam National - Dammam
Dar Al Shifa - Dammam
Dhahran Speciality Clinics - speciality clinics in one large building - Dhahran
Dhahran Health Center - out-patient - Dhahran
Doha Health Center - Dhahran
Dr. Fakry Hospital - Khobar
Dr. Ghazzawi Polyclinic - Khobar
Dulaijan Female Center - Khobar
General Security Hospital - Dammam
Gulf Medical Center - Khobar
King Fahad - Khobar
Khobar Coop Clinic - Khobar
Najd & Hijaz - Dammam
Maternity Children - [[Dammam] ]http://www.pediatricsclub.mch.5u.com/
Saudi Aramco Health Maintenance Organization - largest hospital, in-patient - Dhahran
Saudi Aramco Cancer Treatment Center - Dhahran in-camp.
Medical Diagnostic & Treatment Center - Dhahran
Saad Specialist Hospital - Khobar
Qatif Central Hospital - Qatif
Anaak Hospital - Qatif
Al Mouwasat General - Qatif
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Other regions:
Asir Hospital- Abha
Abha General Hospital- Abha
Military city Hospital- khamis Mushait
Mohail Asir Hospital- Mohail Asir
Abha private Hospital- Abha
The Saudi German Hospital- Abha
Mercy Hospital- Abha
Abha Private Hospital- Abha
Qatif central hospital-Qatif
Saudi Aramco Clinics and General Hospital - Ras Tanura
AlMagrebi Hospital- Jeddah
Bugshan Hospital- Jeddah
International Medical Center, One of the most beautiful and advanced hospitals of Gulf Jeddah
Dr. Daghistani Hospital- Jeddah
Jeddah Clinic Hospital, Kandarah- Jeddah
Dr. M.Erfan Hospital- Jeddah
Dr. Suleiman Fakeeh Hospital- Jeddah
King abdulaziz University Hospital- Jeddah
King Fahad Hospital (Ministry of Health) 800 bed tertiary care hospital offering all specialities except PAEDS, OBS&GYN, OPHTH, &PSYCHIATRY- Jeddah
King Abdulaziz Hospital & Oncology Centre (Ministry of Health) -Jeddah
Maternity & Children Hospital (Ministry of Health) Main women's & children hospital in city- Jeddah
Al-Thagher Hospital (Ministry of Health) - Jeddah
Eye Hospital (Ministry of Health) -Jeddah
Psychiatric Hospital (Ministry of Health) -Jeddah
Al-Amal Hospital (Ministry of Health) Drug Abuse Rehabilitation Facility-Jeddah
New Jeddah Clinic Hospital- Jeddah
Dr. Erfan & Saeedy Hospital- Yanbu
AL-Noor Specialized Hospital - Mecca
King Abdulaziz Hospital- Medina
King Fahd Hospital- Medina
Taif Maternity Hospital - Taifhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
Saudi Medical Center- Medina
Al Hada & Taif Military Hospitals- Taif
Dr. Noor Mohd Khan General Hospital- Hafer Al Batin
Aseer Hospital- Abha
Abha Central Hospital- Abha
Military city Hospital- khamis Mushait
Abha private Hospital- Abha
The Saudi German Hospital- Abha
Mercy Hospital- Abha
Dr. Hassan A. Ghazzawi Hospital - Jeddah
Retrieved from Wikipedia

From Arab News

JEDDAH, 28 March 2008 — Several women attended a second workshop on breast cancer awareness run by Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation at Dohat Al-Jazeera School yesterday.

A group of 15 women — including representatives from the health sector, social activists and breast cancer survivors — took part in five modules covering community profiles, development of volunteers and organizations, awareness and education, and fundraising and advocacy.

“I want you to leave class today knowing everything about gathering information and field surveys so that you can design your own strategic plans and community profiles,” said trainer Fatimah Al-Qarazi.

“Our goal is to set plans for awareness purposes. Nothing is done randomly. You have to know all details,” she added.
Speaking about participants’ cooperation and responsiveness, Dr. Samia Al-Amoudi, member of the Saudi Cancer Society (SCS) and a breast cancer survivor, told Arab News that no one should ever dismiss Saudi women. “Don’t ever underestimate Saudi women. Just give them the chance to be part of any work, and wait and see,” said Al-Amoudi.

She said participants’ feedback to the course, which is being held in Jeddah, Riyadh, Qassim and Dammam, was overwhelming. She emphasized the importance of human interaction to build relations with other nations and countries.

“Especially in the fields of medicine and health,” she said, stressing that the US-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research has strengthened Saudi-US ties.

Al-Qarazi presented a plan that Najlaa, one of the participants, had worked on as part of the first module explaining the steps she had adopted from the module. Najlaa and her colleagues Lulwa and Dania are members of Al-Eman Cancer Society of Jeddah and were nominated to attend the workshops.

“Being part of society did us a favor in implementing what we’re learning by contacting other local cancer societies,” said Dania. “The workshop has given us a better understanding on how to start awareness campaigns. We’re still at the beginning and we definitely need time, effort and support,” she added.

Focusing on a new dimension in breast cancer awareness, Al-Amoudi is now trying to integrate breast care awareness into the Kingdom’s education system. “I hope the Ministry of Education adopts my idea. I’m willing to write the curricula so that it suits different age levels,” she said.

“Let us work together on teaching the new generation. I would love to see younger people doing more for breast cancer patients,” she added.

In January 2008, Howaida Darwish, member of KFSH-D Breast Care Program and SCS, and Al-Qarazi underwent an eight-day workshop for breast cancer awareness in Dallas, US.

Darwish said that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure exposed them to 25 years of the Komen experience in dealing with breast cancer. She added that it was a challenge for them to tailor the same tools to suit the Saudi environment.

“It’s encouraging to hear participants’ feedback and to be able to use adult learning techniques creatively to train them. I’m a believer in awareness and I gave a promise in Dallas at the Susan G. Komen headquarters. I’ve realized the seriousness of breast cancer problems and I’m doing this for myself, my daughter, my family and my generation,” said Darwish.

الاتحاد ينظم مؤتمر الرأس والرقبة بالجمهورية اليمني

ينظم الاتحاد الخليجي لمكافحة السرطان بالتعاون مع المؤسسة الوطنية لمكافحة السرطان المؤتمر العالمي الرابع للإتحاد الخليجي لمكافحة السرطان بالجمهورية اليمنية تحت عنوان "سرطان الرأس والعنق " وذلك خلال الفترة من 11-13 نوفمبر 2008 تحت رعاية الرئيس على عبدالله صالح- رئيس جمهورية اليمن