The National Plan for Breast Cancer Combating

Iraq

The campaign aim is to preserve Iraqis health and especially women who are more vulnerable to Breast Cancer. This can be achieved by increasing health awareness and skills for early detection and methods of protection and treatment for the diagnosed cases.

Why this campaign?

Today environment in Iraq is considered highly polluted due to many factors: randomly waste disposal, air and water pollution, wars, lack of security, high economical inflation, in addition to wrong understanding of cultural attitudes towards such diseases added a large burden on Iraqi women health issues and contributed greatly to the high rate of Breast cancer incidences as early as 13 years old.

Therefore national campaign such as this is urgently needed.
We are dedicated to reach every single Iraqi female as early as 12 years old.

State ministry for woman affairs
Major participants:
Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Higher Education, WHO and UNIFEM offices in Iraq, Iraqi NGOs, and Iraqi media network.

Baghdad Survey Results (PDF)

Breast Cancer Vaccine Helps Body Fight Tumors

Psychological Stress May Increase Risk of Breast Cancer

The Breast Cancer Society of Iraq: Bringing awareness, options, and dignity to Iraqi families everywhere.

Since 2003, millions of Iraqis have fled to neighboring countries to escape the insecurity and instability of their homeland.  Many arrived in their host country with few belongings and minimal savings. 
Click here to read more...

The Italian Hospital of Amman was established in the year 1926 by the Italian surgeon Dr. Fausto Tesio, who came to the then Trans- Jordan Emirate to set up not only the first hospital in the Country but the first organized Christian Charity as well.
Read more...

Training center of early detection

The center runs by Dr. Alwan is receiving a lot of cases especially of breast carcinoma. Specialized departments are providing treatments in coordination with WHO which support the center with essential devices and equipments to early detect cancer, in addition to the support of health & higher education ministries. The center is conducting courses to train specialized doctors and nurses on using those devices like mammography, ultrasound and microscopes.

National Campaign to detect cancer

A national comprehensive campaign for early detecting breast cancer has started to control this disease. The main target is spreading out health awareness concerning breast cancer. As a result 4 new principal centers have been invented to take in women, in which 2 of them in Baghdad, the third in Mousl and the forth in Basra. As well as establishing 18 specialized clinics in all main hospitals and they have been provided with modern devices of fast cancer detecting. An agreement has been conducted with WHO to organize 6 training courses in the referential training center of early detecting breast carcinoma in the next months and to be supervised within transferring diseases control program which directed by health care department in health ministry. A group of specialized doctors and nurses are to be sent abroad for training.

Dietary is a way of preservation

Dr. Dali indicates that dietary used by Iraqi families are mainly consisting of fats and starches which promote the disease. In order to preserve various kinds of cancers, it is necessary to avoid saturated food of fats and starches and eating fruits and vegetables rich with vitamins instead. He added that blubber & overweighting are among the assistant factors of attacking by diseases in general.

Dr. Ahmed Jasem Dali
Executive office’ director of cancer council in Iraq

The Right of Woman
(Woman & Health)
The National Plan for Breast Cancer Combating

Read more...

Number of Cancer patients in the southern Iraqi city Nasyria, Thi Qar province has doubled in comparison to other regions
Read more...

Neglection increases death numbers

Dr. Ahmed Jasem Dali, executive office’ director of cancer council in Iraq said that deterioration of health institutions in ex-regime days had increased striking by cancer. They didn’t have enough support to fulfill their tasks, in addition to the political exploitation of all bad situation specially cancer’ victims. These reasons have increased the spread of this malignant disease among women and became more dangerous.

Dr. Dali added that breast cancer can be treated totally if it is detected in its earliest stages. Statistics of advanced states indicate that 95% of those cases can be saved.

Dr.Alwan clarified that the training center of early detecting breast cancer and in coordination with WHO is supporting the enlightenment and guidance campaign in Middle East and in Iraq specially. She confirmed that such campaign conducted by health organizations are important to spread out health awareness for early detecting disease among women. There are 3 ways to do that:

-breast self-examination and examining by a doctor.

- Radiographic and ultrasound breast examination

-cytological diagnosis by using FNA (Fine Needle Aspiration)

Cancer and young ages

Dr. Nada Abed Al-Sahib Al-Alwan, professor of pathology in medical school / University of Baghdad and directress of training and referential center of early detection of breast tumors indicates that there are number of factors causing breast cancer such as heredity, environmental pollution, biomechanics, dietary and the way of living.

There is no doubt that recent wars Iraq have been through increased affecting by this disease. Its aggressiveness’ has varied (i.e.: the disease has become more malignant) and began to select its victims within young ages of women (thirties & twenties) which are very rare among western societies).

Dr. Alwan added that detecting this disease in its late stages doubled the number of affected women which make treatment difficult then. Health ignorance among women generally and illiterate ones specifically were one of the reasons behind this case. Dr. Alwan indicates that more than 70% of cases are detected in their late stages.