By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: Secretary General of the Gulf Federation for Cancer Control Dr Khalid Ahmad Al-Saleh said the federation, in cooperation with Cancer Aware Nation (CAN), organized two workshops as part of the Pink October awareness program. The first workshop was held under the theme 'Updates in guidelines for women's cancers in Kuwait', during which several experts from GCC countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman where hosted to update these guidelines, which are updated every two years.

Dr Saleh spoke about the importance of presenting the guidelines correctly. "The number of women affected by cancers in Kuwait reached 856 as per the cancer register in 2018, 475 of which were Kuwaiti women, and 381 non-Kuwaitis. This indicates an increase in discovery of tumors among women, and this makes us responsible to continue renewing the guidelines. The cancer control committee of the GCC recognized their importance and a recommendation was issued to benefit from the efforts in the GCC. Doctors can find the best means of diagnosing and treatment according to each stage," he said.

Workshop in progress

The Gulf Federation for Cancer Control held another workshop online under the theme 'Updates in the relationship between obesity and most common cancers', during which several experts from Egypt and Kuwait were invited. The lecture focused on the types of obesity and the rate of its spread in the world, as Kuwait is fourth in obesity prevalence worldwide. WHO said in 2016 that 39 percent of adults have excess weight and 13 percent suffer from obesity, while 38.3 million children under five are overweight and obese, based on 2019 statistics.

The two-day workshop discussed the effects of obesity on medication and its role in complications. It also discussed the effect of obesity on various types of cancers and the role of medicinal nutrition in this field. He said a strong relationship was proven between obesity and many chronic diseases including tumors, diabetes, heart attacks, and liver and gallbladder diseases, in addition to cancers of breast, uterus and ovaries.

Several recommendations were issued including the establishment of a scientific research center that includes GCC countries, have a general strategy to carry out awareness campaigns about the harms of obesity in which government and all NGOs should participate in, and apply laws to positively reflect on changing current food patterns which lead to increased cases of obesity, starting from kindergarten. Dr Saleh lauded the support of CAN for these efforts for the sake of humanity.