WASHINGTON -- Women, not men, will save the world.
First lady Laura Bush didn't say those precise words, but her remarks Monday to a small gathering of biographers, historians and journalists implied as much.
If she's right, America's first lady will have played a significant role in that evolution. Women's gains around the world, in places like Kabul and Riyadh, are occurring in no small part because of Laura Bush's quietly feminist maneuvering as wife of the U.S. president.
The purpose of Monday's meeting, which included lunch and a curator-led tour of the second-floor residence, was to allow the first lady's potential chroniclers access to her thoughts and future plans.
Sitting in the Yellow Oval Room that leads to the Truman Balcony, Mrs. Bush said she intends to continue helping women and children through her education and health initiatives. She also hopes to include women's leadership training as part of her husband's planned Freedom Institute at Southern Methodist University.
Fittingly, The Washington Post's front page Monday featured a story about Rwandan women running the show where once they were victims of systematic rape during that country's 1994 genocide. Last month, the Rwandan parliament became the first in the world with a female majority (56 percent), and women hold a third of all Cabinet positions, including Supreme Court chief and police commissioner general.
Inside the paper, Editorial Page Editor Fred Hiatt wrote about Burma, where Mrs. Bush has played a leading role in pushing for release of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent more than 13 years under house arrest. Hiatt criticized a new International Crisis Group report that urges the West's cooperation with the human rights-abusing Burmese government. The same report also denounces Laura Bush's "megaphone diplomacy."
About that megaphone. Could we possibly get the lady an amplifier?
As one who traveled last October with Mrs. Bush to the Middle East to advance the State Department's breast cancer initiative, I've been privileged to watch her in action, as well as to appreciate the life-saving results of her efforts. Largely because of her, and the breast-cancer-crusading Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization, women in that harshly patriarchal part of the world have been given an empowering voice.
More importantly, women are surviving.
Before Mrs. Bush began meeting with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, 80 percent of Middle Eastern breast cancer victims died. Already, those figures are expected to drop as women relieved of shame seek earlier diagnosis and treatment.
As Mrs. Bush noted Monday, health is a freedom issue. To be free, one must first be alive. Then, one must be educated.
The U.N. reports that 774 million people worldwide cannot read or write. Of those, two-thirds are women. Seventy-five million children don't attend school.
The first lady, who is an honorary ambassador for the U.N. Literacy Decade, spoke earlier this month at the U.N. about the importance of closing the gender gap in literacy. "If women are educated, everything across the board improves for their families," she said.
Indeed, it is widely understood among international humanitarian groups that the most effective way to reduce poverty and disease is to educate women.
In Afghanistan, where Laura Bush has traveled three times, impressive strides are being made in education and equality. Today, one-third of the more than 6 million Afghan children in school are girls.
Many readers may be learning these things for the first time and wonder why. In part, it may be because Mrs. Bush's demure librarian-teacher persona has minimized her appeal to the media. But Bush's Texas manners should not be confused with passivity. She is a serious player whose White House tenure provides lessons for the next first lady.
Among them is one Mrs. Bush wishes she had learned sooner -- that the first lady has a bully pulpit and should use it. Although she gave the first-ever radio address by a first lady in 2001, urging support for Afghan women, Bush didn't hit her stride until her husband's second term.
Did she ever. Her mission has been anything but modest: to save women, educate girls, end poverty, reduce disease, expand democracy and promote freedom.
Women may not save the world -- at least not without the help of enlightened men -- but history will judge that one Laura Bush did her part.
Brava.
-- Kathleen Parker, Washington Post
Showing posts with label breast cancer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breast cancer. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Jordan: Advocates participate in breast cancer awareness event
AMMAN (JT) - Women advocates representing the Jordan Breast Cancer Programme this week participated in the Susan G. Komen’s National Race for the Cure on the National Mall, together with participants from Saudi Arabia and the UAE under the US – Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research.
The Jordanian women representatives experienced firsthand the magnitude of awareness and commitment to improving women's health that has been generated in the US by Komen for the Cure, according to a statement released by the Jordanian embassy in Washington, DC.
The partnership, through the support of the US Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, hosted the "Taking Action on Advocacy" meeting for the women.
The female leaders and activists learned how to build upon their efforts to create breast cancer advocacy strategies and sustainable programmes like that of Komen for the Cure.
The Jordanian participants, who are working to promote and expand the Jordan Breast Cancer Programme, include Ghada Al Bakkar, a social worker at the Jordanian Association for Family Planning and Protection, Eman Altheeb, a volunteer for two years with the National Community Service Corporation in Jordan, Duaa Fawaeier, a master’s student at Yarmouk University, Nisreen Qatamish, project officer for the National AIDS Programme at the Ministry of Health, and Enas Younis, a legal counsellor with one of the most active NGOs in Zarqa, the Family Guidance and Awareness Centre.
In partnership with the US-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research, the Jordanian embassy in Washington, DC co-hosted a dinner for the Middle Eastern participants as a show of support for their commitment and tireless efforts in their countries to overcome social barriers in order to raise awareness among women, young people and local communities about breast cancer.
The Jordan Breast Cancer Programme is a nationwide initiative for the development and provision of comprehensive services for the early detection and screening of breast cancer for all women in the Kingdom.
It was established under the directive of the Health Ministry and includes various stakeholders in the health sector and international health organisations.
These include the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Centre, the World Health Organisation, the Royal Medical Services, the the University of Jordan, the Hashemite University, King Abdullah I Hospital, USAID’s Private Sector Project for Women’s Health and the Private Hospitals Association.
-- The Jordan Times
The Jordanian women representatives experienced firsthand the magnitude of awareness and commitment to improving women's health that has been generated in the US by Komen for the Cure, according to a statement released by the Jordanian embassy in Washington, DC.
The partnership, through the support of the US Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, hosted the "Taking Action on Advocacy" meeting for the women.
The female leaders and activists learned how to build upon their efforts to create breast cancer advocacy strategies and sustainable programmes like that of Komen for the Cure.
The Jordanian participants, who are working to promote and expand the Jordan Breast Cancer Programme, include Ghada Al Bakkar, a social worker at the Jordanian Association for Family Planning and Protection, Eman Altheeb, a volunteer for two years with the National Community Service Corporation in Jordan, Duaa Fawaeier, a master’s student at Yarmouk University, Nisreen Qatamish, project officer for the National AIDS Programme at the Ministry of Health, and Enas Younis, a legal counsellor with one of the most active NGOs in Zarqa, the Family Guidance and Awareness Centre.
In partnership with the US-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research, the Jordanian embassy in Washington, DC co-hosted a dinner for the Middle Eastern participants as a show of support for their commitment and tireless efforts in their countries to overcome social barriers in order to raise awareness among women, young people and local communities about breast cancer.
The Jordan Breast Cancer Programme is a nationwide initiative for the development and provision of comprehensive services for the early detection and screening of breast cancer for all women in the Kingdom.
It was established under the directive of the Health Ministry and includes various stakeholders in the health sector and international health organisations.
These include the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Centre, the World Health Organisation, the Royal Medical Services, the the University of Jordan, the Hashemite University, King Abdullah I Hospital, USAID’s Private Sector Project for Women’s Health and the Private Hospitals Association.
-- The Jordan Times
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Morocco: Morocco actively fighting cancer
Television campaigns in Morocco attempt to raise awareness that the early detection of breast cancer through screenings can result in a full recovery in 90% of cases.
The battle against cancer in Morocco has escalated in recent years. The number of those affected by the disease is still unclear, but specialists take on an estimated 30,000 new cases each year, 12,000 of which are treated in oncology centres.
Awareness-raising campaigns are increasingly widespread. The latest large-scale campaign on the importance of breast cancer screening is running throughout the month of May. This national campaign was launched by the Lalla Salma Cancer Research Association (ALSC) with a budget of 3.5 million dirhams. According to the programme organisers, some 7,000 breast cancer cases are reported each year – an average of twenty per day.
ALSC Executive Director Rachid Bekkaly told Magharebia that cancer remains little-known and screenings are approached with fear because the illness is associated with death. He stressed that cancer, if caught in its early stages, can be cured in 90% of cases, and that products for its treatment are available and provided free of charge for those on low incomes and those not already on treatment programmes.
"We want to encourage women to go for early diagnosis before the disease reaches its more serious stages," he said.
The current campaign is distributing information about the disease, to spur people into action on the early detection of breast cancer. In addition to posters and televised announcements, entertainers have become involved in the campaign, with a promotional song broadcast by TV channels and radio stations.
The chairman of the ALSC’s scientific committee, Moulay Tahar Alaoui, said the health ministry is working, in collaboration with the association, to develop oncology centres in several of Morocco's regions, with new clinics opening up in Fes, Marrakech, Oujda, Agadir and very soon in Al Hoceima, to add to those in Rabat and Casablanca.
In addition, a drug-purchasing fund for the needy will be introduced to improve the accessibility of treatment.
Also as part of the national effort, the nation's first breast and cervical cancer screening centre was inaugurated May 6th at the Souissi Maternity Hospital in Rabat. This flagship centre, set up by the ALSC, the health ministry and Rabat University Hospital (CHU), with support from the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaers regional council, can see up to 30,000 people per year. Patients are referred by the various health centres across the region for more specialised mammography, biopsy and colposcopy examinations, as well as for specialist gynaecological consultations.
The centre will make it possible to see patients flagged during screening, perform a diagnosis and then refer them on to specialists for treatment as needed.
Breast and cervical cancer were emphasised because, according to the ALSC, these two varieties affect 50% of cancer sufferers in Morocco.
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia
The battle against cancer in Morocco has escalated in recent years. The number of those affected by the disease is still unclear, but specialists take on an estimated 30,000 new cases each year, 12,000 of which are treated in oncology centres.
Awareness-raising campaigns are increasingly widespread. The latest large-scale campaign on the importance of breast cancer screening is running throughout the month of May. This national campaign was launched by the Lalla Salma Cancer Research Association (ALSC) with a budget of 3.5 million dirhams. According to the programme organisers, some 7,000 breast cancer cases are reported each year – an average of twenty per day.
ALSC Executive Director Rachid Bekkaly told Magharebia that cancer remains little-known and screenings are approached with fear because the illness is associated with death. He stressed that cancer, if caught in its early stages, can be cured in 90% of cases, and that products for its treatment are available and provided free of charge for those on low incomes and those not already on treatment programmes.
"We want to encourage women to go for early diagnosis before the disease reaches its more serious stages," he said.
The current campaign is distributing information about the disease, to spur people into action on the early detection of breast cancer. In addition to posters and televised announcements, entertainers have become involved in the campaign, with a promotional song broadcast by TV channels and radio stations.
The chairman of the ALSC’s scientific committee, Moulay Tahar Alaoui, said the health ministry is working, in collaboration with the association, to develop oncology centres in several of Morocco's regions, with new clinics opening up in Fes, Marrakech, Oujda, Agadir and very soon in Al Hoceima, to add to those in Rabat and Casablanca.
In addition, a drug-purchasing fund for the needy will be introduced to improve the accessibility of treatment.
Also as part of the national effort, the nation's first breast and cervical cancer screening centre was inaugurated May 6th at the Souissi Maternity Hospital in Rabat. This flagship centre, set up by the ALSC, the health ministry and Rabat University Hospital (CHU), with support from the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaers regional council, can see up to 30,000 people per year. Patients are referred by the various health centres across the region for more specialised mammography, biopsy and colposcopy examinations, as well as for specialist gynaecological consultations.
The centre will make it possible to see patients flagged during screening, perform a diagnosis and then refer them on to specialists for treatment as needed.
Breast and cervical cancer were emphasised because, according to the ALSC, these two varieties affect 50% of cancer sufferers in Morocco.
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Morocco: 7,000 new breast cancer cases documented yearly in Morocco
Casablanca, Apr. 24 - About 20 new cases of breast cancer are declared daily in Morocco, that is 7,000 new cases a year, Dr. Rachid Bekkali, executive director of the Lalla Salma Association to Fight Cancer revealed on Thursday.
In order to contain the spread of this disease among women, the Association will, on Friday, launch a national campaign to raise awareness as to the importance of early cancer screening.
The USD 480,000 campaign, due to run until May, will target women aged above 45, as well as health professionals.
It will use posters, TV and radio commercials, as well as testimonies from patients, in addition to handing out leaflets to practitioners and the public, especially on self-examination of breasts.
The campaign will incite women to make early self-examination, the association executives said.
They stressed that 90% of the cases can be cured if discovered early, assuring of the existence of treatments that can be administered for free to poor patients.
-- Maghreb Arabe Press
In order to contain the spread of this disease among women, the Association will, on Friday, launch a national campaign to raise awareness as to the importance of early cancer screening.
The USD 480,000 campaign, due to run until May, will target women aged above 45, as well as health professionals.
It will use posters, TV and radio commercials, as well as testimonies from patients, in addition to handing out leaflets to practitioners and the public, especially on self-examination of breasts.
The campaign will incite women to make early self-examination, the association executives said.
They stressed that 90% of the cases can be cured if discovered early, assuring of the existence of treatments that can be administered for free to poor patients.
-- Maghreb Arabe Press
Friday, March 28, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Don’t Underestimate Saudi Women, Says Samia Al-Amoudi
JEDDAH, 28 March 2008 — Several women attended a second workshop on breast cancer awareness run by Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation at Dohat Al-Jazeera School yesterday.
A group of 15 women — including representatives from the health sector, social activists and breast cancer survivors — took part in five modules covering community profiles, development of volunteers and organizations, awareness and education, and fundraising and advocacy.
“I want you to leave class today knowing everything about gathering information and field surveys so that you can design your own strategic plans and community profiles,” said trainer Fatimah Al-Qarazi.
“Our goal is to set plans for awareness purposes. Nothing is done randomly. You have to know all details,” she added.
Speaking about participants’ cooperation and responsiveness, Dr. Samia Al-Amoudi, member of the Saudi Cancer Society (SCS) and a breast cancer survivor, told Arab News that no one should ever dismiss Saudi women. “Don’t ever underestimate Saudi women. Just give them the chance to be part of any work, and wait and see,” said Al-Amoudi.
She said participants’ feedback to the course, which is being held in Jeddah, Riyadh, Qassim and Dammam, was overwhelming. She emphasized the importance of human interaction to build relations with other nations and countries.
“Especially in the fields of medicine and health,” she said, stressing that the US-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research has strengthened Saudi-US ties.
Al-Qarazi presented a plan that Najlaa, one of the participants, had worked on as part of the first module explaining the steps she had adopted from the module. Najlaa and her colleagues Lulwa and Dania are members of Al-Eman Cancer Society of Jeddah and were nominated to attend the workshops.
“Being part of society did us a favor in implementing what we’re learning by contacting other local cancer societies,” said Dania. “The workshop has given us a better understanding on how to start awareness campaigns. We’re still at the beginning and we definitely need time, effort and support,” she added.
Focusing on a new dimension in breast cancer awareness, Al-Amoudi is now trying to integrate breast care awareness into the Kingdom’s education system. “I hope the Ministry of Education adopts my idea. I’m willing to write the curricula so that it suits different age levels,” she said.
“Let us work together on teaching the new generation. I would love to see younger people doing more for breast cancer patients,” she added.
In January 2008, Howaida Darwish, member of KFSH-D Breast Care Program and SCS, and Al-Qarazi underwent an eight-day workshop for breast cancer awareness in Dallas, US.
Darwish said that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure exposed them to 25 years of the Komen experience in dealing with breast cancer. She added that it was a challenge for them to tailor the same tools to suit the Saudi environment.
“It’s encouraging to hear participants’ feedback and to be able to use adult learning techniques creatively to train them. I’m a believer in awareness and I gave a promise in Dallas at the Susan G. Komen headquarters. I’ve realized the seriousness of breast cancer problems and I’m doing this for myself, my daughter, my family and my generation,” said Darwish.
-- Hassna’a Mokhtar, Arab News
A group of 15 women — including representatives from the health sector, social activists and breast cancer survivors — took part in five modules covering community profiles, development of volunteers and organizations, awareness and education, and fundraising and advocacy.
“I want you to leave class today knowing everything about gathering information and field surveys so that you can design your own strategic plans and community profiles,” said trainer Fatimah Al-Qarazi.
“Our goal is to set plans for awareness purposes. Nothing is done randomly. You have to know all details,” she added.
Speaking about participants’ cooperation and responsiveness, Dr. Samia Al-Amoudi, member of the Saudi Cancer Society (SCS) and a breast cancer survivor, told Arab News that no one should ever dismiss Saudi women. “Don’t ever underestimate Saudi women. Just give them the chance to be part of any work, and wait and see,” said Al-Amoudi.
She said participants’ feedback to the course, which is being held in Jeddah, Riyadh, Qassim and Dammam, was overwhelming. She emphasized the importance of human interaction to build relations with other nations and countries.
“Especially in the fields of medicine and health,” she said, stressing that the US-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research has strengthened Saudi-US ties.
Al-Qarazi presented a plan that Najlaa, one of the participants, had worked on as part of the first module explaining the steps she had adopted from the module. Najlaa and her colleagues Lulwa and Dania are members of Al-Eman Cancer Society of Jeddah and were nominated to attend the workshops.
“Being part of society did us a favor in implementing what we’re learning by contacting other local cancer societies,” said Dania. “The workshop has given us a better understanding on how to start awareness campaigns. We’re still at the beginning and we definitely need time, effort and support,” she added.
Focusing on a new dimension in breast cancer awareness, Al-Amoudi is now trying to integrate breast care awareness into the Kingdom’s education system. “I hope the Ministry of Education adopts my idea. I’m willing to write the curricula so that it suits different age levels,” she said.
“Let us work together on teaching the new generation. I would love to see younger people doing more for breast cancer patients,” she added.
In January 2008, Howaida Darwish, member of KFSH-D Breast Care Program and SCS, and Al-Qarazi underwent an eight-day workshop for breast cancer awareness in Dallas, US.
Darwish said that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure exposed them to 25 years of the Komen experience in dealing with breast cancer. She added that it was a challenge for them to tailor the same tools to suit the Saudi environment.
“It’s encouraging to hear participants’ feedback and to be able to use adult learning techniques creatively to train them. I’m a believer in awareness and I gave a promise in Dallas at the Susan G. Komen headquarters. I’ve realized the seriousness of breast cancer problems and I’m doing this for myself, my daughter, my family and my generation,” said Darwish.
-- Hassna’a Mokhtar, Arab News
Monday, February 11, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Cancer Screening Targets 75,000 Qassim Women
JEDDAH — The Health Affairs Department in the Qassim Region has introduced a complete program for early detection of breast cancer. The program, staffed by women oncologists, pathologists and radiologists, targets 75,000 patients — aged 35 to 60 — in the region.
Dr. Mohammed Al-Habdan, executive director of the program, described the program, which began last year, as the first of its kind in the region. The Health Ministry is likely to expand the program to other regions after reviewing its success.
“There are five permanent centers and one mobile center in the program,” said Habdan. King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Buraidah, King Saud Hospital in Unaizah, and the general hospitals in Al-Rass Bakeriya and Mudnib are permanent centers, he explained.
He said the program required special budget allocations in order to carry out its mission in an efficient manner and expand its services to other areas. “Some centers in the program still lack necessary equipment and medical facilities,” he explained.
“So far we have been able to cover 14 percent of targeted women in the region,” he said.
“We are providing comprehensive medical services to the targeted group. Patients are diagnosed by a multi-disciplinary-team (MDT) after taking mammograms,” he added.
Mammograms are the most important tool doctors have to help them diagnose, evaluate and follow women who have had breast cancer.
Safe and highly accurate, a mammogram is an X-ray photograph of the breast. The technique has been in use for about 30 years.
Leading experts including the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society now recommend annual mammograms for women over 40. Detecting breast cancer early through mammography means many more women are being treated for breast cancer and are able to protect their breasts.
“Under this program we have so far been able to detect four cancer cases in the early stages. We also found some non-cancerous tumors in some women,” Habdan said. “In order to avoid possible mistakes, mammography images are checked by three experts,” he added.
Habdan emphasized the significance of the program in the wake of growing breast cancer cases among Saudi women as a result of both hereditary and environmental factors.
“We have a relatively young population and we recommend mammography for women aged 35 and 60 every 18 months,” he said.
A public awareness campaign was organized in the region as part of the program in order to enlighten women on the benefits of early diagnosis.
A well-equipped vehicle with oncologists and other experts tours remote areas of the region that do not have hospitals or health centers in order to provide mammography tests.
Breast cancer accounts for 20 percent of all cancers among Saudi women. “About 10 to 15 percent of all breast cancers are thought to be familial and only two-thirds to three-fourths of these cases are due to an inherited mutation,” one expert said.
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News
Dr. Mohammed Al-Habdan, executive director of the program, described the program, which began last year, as the first of its kind in the region. The Health Ministry is likely to expand the program to other regions after reviewing its success.
“There are five permanent centers and one mobile center in the program,” said Habdan. King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Buraidah, King Saud Hospital in Unaizah, and the general hospitals in Al-Rass Bakeriya and Mudnib are permanent centers, he explained.
He said the program required special budget allocations in order to carry out its mission in an efficient manner and expand its services to other areas. “Some centers in the program still lack necessary equipment and medical facilities,” he explained.
“So far we have been able to cover 14 percent of targeted women in the region,” he said.
“We are providing comprehensive medical services to the targeted group. Patients are diagnosed by a multi-disciplinary-team (MDT) after taking mammograms,” he added.
Mammograms are the most important tool doctors have to help them diagnose, evaluate and follow women who have had breast cancer.
Safe and highly accurate, a mammogram is an X-ray photograph of the breast. The technique has been in use for about 30 years.
Leading experts including the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society now recommend annual mammograms for women over 40. Detecting breast cancer early through mammography means many more women are being treated for breast cancer and are able to protect their breasts.
“Under this program we have so far been able to detect four cancer cases in the early stages. We also found some non-cancerous tumors in some women,” Habdan said. “In order to avoid possible mistakes, mammography images are checked by three experts,” he added.
Habdan emphasized the significance of the program in the wake of growing breast cancer cases among Saudi women as a result of both hereditary and environmental factors.
“We have a relatively young population and we recommend mammography for women aged 35 and 60 every 18 months,” he said.
A public awareness campaign was organized in the region as part of the program in order to enlighten women on the benefits of early diagnosis.
A well-equipped vehicle with oncologists and other experts tours remote areas of the region that do not have hospitals or health centers in order to provide mammography tests.
Breast cancer accounts for 20 percent of all cancers among Saudi women. “About 10 to 15 percent of all breast cancers are thought to be familial and only two-thirds to three-fourths of these cases are due to an inherited mutation,” one expert said.
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News
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