Dubai: An awareness initiative for early detection, immunisation and prevention of cervical cancer (CC) is launched in Dubai today by Zulekha Hospital.
The cancer, which is entirely preventable, continues to be the second largest challenge to tackle after breast cancer.
“Cervical cancer is a new challenge in the UAE and it is preventible with early detection and three doses of vaccination. All we need is to encourage our mothers, daughters and wives to undergo a PAP smear and immunise themselves periodically against the Human Pappilloma Virus (HPV), which causes it,” Dr Zulekha Daud, founder and managing director of the Zulekha Healthcare Group, said.
The campaign is aimed at making women aware about early detection and prevention of the disease since more than 92 per cent of cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in the early stages can be successfully cured.
The initiative developed by Zulekha Hospital with the active support of the Friends of Cancer Patients (FOCP) support group in the UAE targets women between the age group of 35-55 years that is considered the high risk group for CC.
Speakers at the initiative that included Dr. Mariam Matar, founder & chairperson of UAE Genetic Diseases Association; Lize de Jonges (FOCP representative); Dr. Pamela Munster, renowned cancer expert from University of California, San Francisco, USA; Zanubia Shams, CEO, Zulekha Hospitals and leading gynaecology specialists from Zulekha Hospitals, Dr. Betty John and Dr. Tejashree Singh. All spoke about effective ways of combating the cervical cancer, which is one of the most common cancers among women across the world.
