Qatar Cancer Society (QCS ) continues its efforts to raise awareness about the disease, Where it launched an electronic campaign” Time to Quit” campaign in the framework of World No Tobacco Day ( WNTD ) on May 31 every year , Which aims to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco and emphasize the importance of quitting smoking, The contest also aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle to prevent the habit.
Heba Nassar, head of the Health Education Department at QCS, said- the charity has launched ” time to Quit” Awareness campaign via its electronic platforms Within the framework of the preventive measures to limit the spread of Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) , by broadcasting awareness messages and videos related to the general health effects of tobacco , types of smoking and Ways to help in quit smoking .
“We are doing this campaign of WNTD to raise the awareness in the community about the importance of quitting smoking, effects of active and passive smoking,”
This campaign is happening To complement the awareness role of the charity since its establishment in 1997 To raise awareness about cancer and correct the misconceptions about it. She added .
Dr. Hadi Mohamad Abu Rasheed- Head of Professional Development and Scientific Research Department at QCS said – Smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer and according to Qatar National Cancer Registry (QNCR) – Ministry of Public Health – 2016 that In Qatar, Lung cancer is the ninth most commonly diagnosed cancer in 2016 , and is the first causing-death cancer in 2016.
There were 50 cases diagnosed with lung cancer in Qatar, 80% of the cases in Qatar were males and 20% were females , 76% of the cases in Qatar were Non-Qatari, while 24% were Qatari , 50-54 and 55-59 years old were the highest age groups with lung cancer incidences and In Qatar, lung cancer survival rate from 2013 till 2016 is 24.24% which means that24.24% of lung cancer patients stayed alive from 2013 to 2016. He added

Qatar Cancer Society (QCS) has launched “zakat” project for treating cancer patients who unable to afford the costs of treatment, those who are obligated to pay zakat according to the provisions of Islamic Sharia

Dr. Dera Al-Dosari- Director of Resources Development Dep at QCS  urged  all members in the Qatari community, both citizens and residents to pay zakat for treat cancer  patients – to reduce the impact of the disease on them, psychologically and financially  and decrease the high costs of treatment, pointing to that  QCS treated 900 patients during the first quarter of this year, at a total cost of QR Four million and Nine hundred thousand  .

 ” Zakat ” Project was issued with license No. 2020/1120 from Regulatory Authority the Charitable Activities , noticing that it can be donated through QCS’s website www.qcs.qa and QCS APP , also donate through collection points in the markets and malls. in addition to QCS’s headquarters at Barwa Al Sadd – Tower No. 2 – 20th Floor, as well as the bank account in the International Islamic Bank. He added

Dr. Dera Al-Dosari said there are many fund-raising methods, the most important is donation SMS service by sending “Hope” to the following number 92805 to donate QR 50 , besides the monthly deduction service.

Qatar Cancer Society (QCS) has launched the ‘Thyroid Vitality’ campaign to raise awareness of thyroid cancer in April, which is the global awareness month for this type of cancer.

Thyroid cancer is the second common cancer across females and the fifth common cancer among both genders in Qatar, according to the Qatar National Cancer Registry at the Ministry of Public Health in 2016.

 

Heba Nassar, head of the Health Education Department at QCS, said, “QCS has launched the ‘Thyroid Vitality’ awareness campaign through its electronic platforms due to the preventive measures in place to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus disease, by broadcasting awareness messages and videos related to the definition of thyroid cancer, signs and warning symptoms, methods of prevention and early detection.”

Dr Hadi Mohamed Abu Rasheed, head of Professional Development and Scientific Research Department at QCS, added that according to the Qatar National Cancer Registry of 2016, there were 86 cases diagnosed with thyroid cancer in Qatar and 34% of the cases in Qatar were males and 66% were females. Of these, 78% of the cases were non-Qatari while 22% were Qatari.

Amongst the Qatari population, 204 cases were diagnosed with thyroid cancer and 30-39 years was the highest age group with thyroid cancer incidences, he added.

QATAR Cancer Society (QCS) has launched a campaign titled ‘It’s all about prevention’ to raise public awareness of colorectal cancer  that  is the second most common cancer among both genders in Qatar — first common cancer among men and third most common cancer among women — according to Qatar National Cancer Registry (QNCR) at the Ministry of Public Health.

Dr Hadi Mohamad Abu Rasheed, head of Professional Development and Scientific Research Department at QCS, said: “According to QNCR 2016,  there are more than 150 cases were diagnosed with colon cancer in Qatar , 67 percent of the colorectal cancer cases diagnosed in Qatar were males and 33 percent were females. Out of them, 74 percent cases were non-Qataris. People in the age group of 55-59 years, in both genders, have the highest chance to get the disease.”

Heba Nassar, head of Health Education Department at QCS, said: “This campaign aims to raise awareness about colorectal cancer which is the uncontrolled growth of cells in the colon or the rectum. Most colorectal cancers begin as a growth called a polyp on the inner lining of the colon or rectum. Some types of polyps can transform into cancer over the course of several years, but not all polyps become cancer.”

She noted that The chance of the disease can be minimized to a great extent my refraining from smoking and controlling body weight.

“Get at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity every week. Physical activity has a demonstrable protective effect against bowel cancer. Limit your consumption of red meat. Studies show that bowel cancer risk is 17-30 percent higher if a person eats 100-120g of red meat every day. Decrease portions or choose chicken or fish instead. In addition, eat more fruits and vegetables,” she added.

Princess Dina Mired of Jordan, president of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC ), recently visited Qatar Cancer Society (QCS).

The dignitary was received by a delegation led by QCS chairman, Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Jabor al-Thani.

Princess Dina toured different sections of the organisation as well as the Ooredoo Cancer Awareness Centre, reviewing QCS role in raising awareness of the disease through a range of programmes, targeting all community groups.

She also praised QCS efforts in promoting the culture of early detection and raising health awareness, as well as supporting people living with cancer.

Dr Sheikh Khalid thanked the visit of Princess Dina and lauded her efforts as president of UICC and noted that the visit will have a positive impact.

He also presented the activities of QCS to the visiting dignitary and highlighted its role in spreading awareness in the community.

He also stressed the role of QCS to achieve its mission to prevent cancer and control its burden in Qatar by working with our partners to educate the community, and to support, empower and advocate for individuals living with cancer, and to engage in the professional development and scientific research in the field of cancer   and  its Vision to be the community partnership platform to make Qatar a leader in cancer prevention and its burden control.

About 1,200 delegates are attending the Qatar International Thyroid Cancer Conference, which opened under the patronage of HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani.

The opening ceremony of the two-day event, organised by Qatar Cancer Society (QCS) at Ritz Carlton Doha, was attended by HE the Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs Yousef bin Mohamed al-Othman Fakhro, HE  Wilb Kembel  Ambassador of Austria to Qatar   , and number of other dignitaries and officials.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, QCS chairman Dr Sheikh Khalid bin Jabor al-Thani, highlighted the importance of the conference as well as the rise in thyroid cancer cases in Qatar. The conference will discuss the latest developments in the treatment of thyroid cancer, the second highest prevalent cancer among women in Qatar, he stated.

“In the last five years, we have noticed that the onset of thyroid cancer has been on the rise roughly 20% per year. From 51 cases in 2015, it has jumped into 110 in 2018. This is very alarming and we need to know why this is happening,” noted Sheikh Khalid.

“More than 50% of the cases are below the age of 35. This conference will set guidelines and find out ways to get to the reasons of it. It will also create a more direct, selective and efficient programmes to tackle it-in terms of awareness, early detection and prevention and treatments as well,” explained the official.

The conference under the theme ‘Present Standards and New Perspectives’, has participants and speakers from various countries such as Austria, Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, India and other parts of the world.

Several leading officials and physicians from the Ministry of Public Health, Hamad Medical Corporation as well as other organisations in Qatar are also participating in this international conference.

The opening session was followed by a workshop which targeted the public and included an awareness session about the available services in Qatar for problems of thyroid gland, methods of self-examination and medical consultation for skin care for people with thyroid cancer.

Another workshop focused on people living with thyroid cancer. The topics to be covered include medical advice required at a stage after treatment, yoga exercises for thyroid health to reduce stress, detection methods, and free medical tests and consultations for thyroid gland.