‘Screen For Life’, Qatar’s National Breast and Bowel Cancer Screening program, led by the Primary Health Care Corporation, has completed their second successful year of raising breast and bowel cancer awareness in Qatar and enhancing its reputation as a regional leader in cancer care.
During the year, the program recorded great achievements through a wide range of lectures, community outreach, awareness campaigns and other activities.
This year witnessed as well a prominent support from international franchise and local retail shops to the Program by placing awareness messages in its stores and having its staff wear the awareness branded ribbons.
‘Screen For Life’ played also a prominent role in the high-profile regional conferences where Cancer Program Manager at PHCC Dr. Shaikha Abu Shaikha shared the successful work of ‘Screen For Life’ in First Gulf Cancer Conference. Dr. Shaikha Abu Shaikha and program team also participated in Arab Health Exhibition and Congress 2017 to further spread the program message, share ideas and gather health sector updates.
Furthermore, ‘Screen For Life’ completed two hugely successful month-long awareness drives to mark global initiatives for Bowel Cancer Awareness Month (March) and Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October). During these campaigns, the team engaged with a wide cross-section of society in Qatar by hosting awareness lectures at governmental departments, private sector entities and education institutes, implemented targeted awareness campaigns across different forms of media, and engaged communities in wide-ranging outreach programs throughout the year.
“2017 was an exceptional year for ‘Screen For Life’. The steps we have taken and the progress we have made since it was inaugurated in January 2016 has surpassed our expectations,” said Dr Shaikha Abu Shaikha. “Participation in high-profile health forums was really important as it helped us spread our message to a wider audience, and served as a great enabler to receive global health sector updates and share ideas and knowledge with leading health professionals.
“It has been extremely encouraging to see so many people across Qatar engaging with the program and identifying its many benefits. That is testament to the commitment and dedication of program’s team, and I would like to thank them for the efforts. We look forward to delivering the ‘Screen For Life’ message to a wider audience in year three and reaching more milestones on our mission to provide Qatar with world-class cancer care.”
The ongoing efforts by ‘Screen For Life’ to engage communities in the program’s goals and the benefits of screening in the early detection of cancer, resulted in 11,990 ladies being screened for breast cancer at one of the three dedicated screening facilities at Al Wakra, Lebaib and Rawdat Al Khail Health Centers, and 8,939 screenings for bowel cancer.
The team delivered 24 awareness lectures during the course of 2017 attended by 864 people. Also the marketing team scheduled 15 visits for the Mobile Screening Unit in several locations, offering mammograms to eligible women, in addition to the presence of the Mobile Unit in difference health centers throughout the year.
