MUSCAT, Sept 23 - Breast cancer is ranked as the major cancer among the diagnosed female cancer cases in the Sultanate, followed by colorectal cancer, thyroid and lung cancer, which are among some types that are fast increasing, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH). The latest statistic released by the ministry indicates that breast cancer accounts for around 23 per cent of the total cancer cases among women in the country. Statistics indicate that women between ages 40 to 69 years are more exposed to various breast tumors specifically the malignant types.
“Unfortunately breast cancer in our area affects very young generation compared to the West with more than 50 per cent of the patients are younger than 40 years,” said Dr Salim al Rahbi, consultant breast surgeon at the Royal Hospital.
“This makes breast screening in Oman a challenge as screening usually starts at the age of 40 and will miss a lot of patients,” he adds.
It is reported that one out of five Omani women is diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime and the overall standardised incidence rate is 15.6 cases per 100,000.
According to the National Cancer Registry of Oman, the highest incidence of breast cancer cases recorded in Muscat was in 2008 with 45 patients out of 100,000.
Sensing the alarming rate of breast cancer cases among women, the Sultanate has launched a National Campaign on Breast Cancer Early Detection recently to diagnose cases at an early stage and to eradicate it completely.
Although there is no national breast screening programme in Oman, many patients were advised to go for screening when they meet their doctors as ‘opportunistic’ screening. Breast cancer treatment in Oman is very advanced and comparable to the developed countries.
“We are currently focusing on breast cancer awareness among younger population with cooperation with Oman Cancer Society to help detect breast cancer in early stages and improve the outcome of treatment.”
The six-month-long National Campaign on Breast Cancer Early Detection, a collaborative effort by the ministry, represented by the Department of Woman and Child Health, along with Oman Cancer Association (OCA) and Roch Pharmaceuticals, which runs till March 14 next year, focuses on educating the community on early detection of different breast diseases.
The mobile campaign bus is currently on tour across various governorates screening women in the age group of 40-69 years through mammogram as this category is highly prone to breast cancer, according to global reports.
KABEER YOUSUF
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