By Sajeev K Peter

KUWAIT: A ten-day cancer awareness campaign titled 'Know Cancer Better' will kick off tomorrow, reaching out to various sections of the Kuwaiti society. The awareness campaign is organized by Center for India Studies (CIS-Kuwait) in association with the Indian Doctors forum (IDF), Kuwait and Kuwait Medical Association (KMA).

As the chief guest, Indian Ambassador Sibi George will inaugurate the campaign at 5:30 pm on Friday, November 27, on Zoom platform. "Cancer is one of the major killers of the modern world. There is a popular belief that it is a dead end. But it is not. It can be prevented or cured if the disease is detected early at a precancerous stage itself. For that, we need public awareness," said the ambassador, while congratulating CIS and IDF for initiating the awareness campaign.

Dr Sadeq Abu Zalouf, Chairman, Radiation Oncology, Kuwait Cancer Control Center (KCCC), as the guest of honor, will address the audience and brief the listeners about the various facilities available for cancer treatment in Kuwait. "Cancer awareness among the general public helps dispel the myth about the disease and enables early diagnosis, thus reducing mortality," said Dr Zalouf.

According to Dr Zalouf, the most common cancer cases in Kuwait are prostate and lung cancer in males and breast and endometrium in females. Today, KCCC has state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic facilities to treat cancer, he added. Wishing the campaign all success on behalf of KCCC and the Kuwait community, Dr Zalouf said he is quite privileged to participate in this ten-day cancer awareness campaign.

Dr Amir Ahmed, President of IDF will address the audience as the guest of honor. Dr Juzer Ali, Radiation Oncologist, Kuwait Cancer Control Center, will deliver the keynote address. Dr Surendra Nayak, CIS advisor, will be releasing a pamphlet on cancer awareness, prevention and treatment in different languages that would be distributed to the attending organizations and public forums.

"The ten-day campaign will be held via virtual mode in view of the present COVID situation. Various socio-cultural organizations have become part of this campaign with over 20 sessions being already scheduled," said Vibheesh Thikkodi, the CIS president.

A panel of eminent specialist doctors from IDF Kuwait and from India will address people on specialized topics relating to cancer awareness during the campaign. The organizers have announced that there will be exclusive programs for women audiences.

"The primary purpose of the campaign is to create awareness about how to prevent the disease and how to get treatment and cure on time. There will be general cancer awareness talks and also on specific cancers such as breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal, oral and laryngeal, lung and prostatic cancer," said Dr Nayak. Periodic screening tests are important as they help in detecting the disease at precancerous stage itself, he said.