Breast cancer education and detection a challenge in Egypt

In this Washington Times Communities column, Anwaar Abdalla, a lecturer on Civilization and Cultural Affairs at Egypt's Helwan University, writes, "While breast cancer is a global issue, in Egypt, the figure for people suffering from breast cancer is alarming," adding, "According to official statistics of the National Cancer Institute (Cairo University), breast cancer accounts for 35.1 percent of the cases of cancer in Egypt."

Abdalla writes that "many Egyptian women fail to seek medical treatment or preventive screening, making it more difficult to treat cancers" and that "several active foundations and programs are working to raise awareness of breast cancer, ... educating women about the disease, teaching women to conduct breast exams on themselves, and encouraging them to visit a doctor once a year for a medical breast exam." Abdalla concludes that strong outreach is "leading to more effective treatments" that will "ultimately … help reduce the death rate from this disease" (10/11).