First Lady Bush Launches Breast Cancer Facility, Signs Breast Cancer Awareness Partnership In Saudi Arabia

Main Category: Breast Cancer
Article Date: 26 Oct 2007 - 5:00 PDT

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First lady Laura Bush on Tuesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, helped launch a new breast cancer screening facility at the King Fahd Medical City as part of a U.S.-Middle East initiative to promote awareness about the disease, the AP/San Jose Mercury News reports (Abu-Nasr, AP/San Jose Mercury News, 10/23). Bush is on a six-day tour of the Middle East in an effort to promote breast cancer awareness and treatment. Saudi Arabia is the second stop on her tour. Her first stop was the United Arab Emirates and she plans to visit Jordan and Kuwait (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/16).

Bush attended the signing of the U.S.-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research initiative at a ceremony at the King Fahd Medical City. Saudi Arabia became the third country to join the partnership (Georgi, AFP/Yahoo! News, 10/23). The initiative was organized by the State Department and includes the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medicine, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The partnership, which Bush announced in June 2006, supports research, training and community outreach efforts, as well as educating women on how to take control of their own health (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/16).

"Breast cancer does not respect national boundaries, which is why people from every country must share their knowledge, resources and experience to protect women from this disease," Bush said in a speech at the facility, adding, "The cure for breast cancer can come from a researcher in Washington or a young doctor in Riyadh" (AP/San Jose Mercury News, 10/23). Bush on Wednesday during her second day in Saudi Arabia met with breast cancer survivors in the western city of Jiddah, the AP/Google.com reports.

Seventy percent of breast cancer cases in Saudi Arabia go unreported until the later stages of the disease, according to Saudi gynecologist Samia al-Amoudi. In addition, 30% of people living with the disease in the country are younger than age 40, compared with 5% in the U.S., al-Amoudi said. A breast cancer awareness campaign that began this month in Saudi Arabia offers discounts on mammogram screenings. The campaign's billboard advertisements also encourage women to "do the test now, for peace of mind." However, many Saudis refuse to refer to cancer by name, calling it "that disease," because of stigma associated with the illness. In addition, the "greatest obstacle" for many women is the "idea of women being examined by male doctors," according to the AP/Google.com (Abu-Nasr, AP/Google.com, 10/24).

Washington Post Profiles Saudi Breast Cancer Advocate
The Washington Post on Thursday profiled al-Amoudi, who became a well-known breast cancer advocate after being diagnosed with the disease last year. According to the Post, al-Amoudi has discussed the details of her diagnosis and treatment in more than 30 television, magazine and newspaper interviews, "trying to force a spotlight" on the disease among Middle Eastern women. Al-Amoudi also has used her newspaper column, which she had prior to her diagnosis, to encourage women to go public with breast cancer and to call on the health minister to provide no-cost care for breast cancer patients. "The fact that there is a lot of media coverage of [Bush's] visit ... gives it importance and will really help our campaign," al-Amoudi said (Ambah, Washington Post, 10/25).

ABC's "Good Morning America" on Saturday reported on Bush's trip to the Middle East (Roberts, "Good Morning America," ABC, 10/20). Video of the segment and expanded ABC News coverage are available online. On Monday, the program reported on efforts to raise awareness about breast cancer in the United Arab Emirates. The segment includes comments from Fakhria Lufti and Adila Nasser -- both breast cancer survivors and advocates -- and Houriya Kazim, a breast cancer surgeon (Roberts, "Good Morning America," ABC, 10/22). Video of the segment and expanded ABC News coverage are available online. A "Good Morning America" interview with Bush about the trip also is available online.

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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