‘I lost my sister to breast cancer due to late diagnosis’

Dubai: Eight years ago Dr Moza Al Hattawi’s older sister Adba succumbed to breast cancer. At the time of the diagnosis, her sister was 34 years old and six months pregnant. She died a year and a half later.

Emirati Dr Moza, general surgeon and chairperson of the Breast Cancer Campaign at Dubai Health Authority (DHA), told Gulf News that Adba was first misdiagnosed. “By the time she was correctly diagnosed she had stage III breast cancer.”

She explained that Adba, the eldest of four siblings, didn’t want to lose the baby so she delayed the treatment till after the delivery. “We watched her suffer — nausea, hair loss, failing health… due to the aggressive medication,” she said.

Dr Moza’s sister is survived by her husband and their seven children. “We miss Adba dearly. She was a strong yet sensitive woman. Her eldest child is 23 and the youngest, eight. In my capacity, I am campaigning for early detection because I do not want to see any other woman suffer like my sister did.”