The Ministry of Health's (MOH) breast cancer early detection clinic, in partnership with the private sector, is reckoned a pilot experience, according to Dr. Fatin Altahan, the Director of the National Program for Breast Cancer Early Detection. She said that the clinic, supervised by the program, is the first of its kind in the Eastern Mediterranean region and the world, according to the assessment of the World Health Organization (WHO).
She said "The MOH, represented by the National Program for Breast Cancer Early Detection, has provided two clinics for early detection of the cancer using the mammogram technique, at two of the biggest commercial centers in Riyadh, Hayat Mall and Panorama Mall". The clinics, she added, receive women during the evening time, from 4 pm until 10 pm daily except on Friday, and in the holy month of Ramadan from 9 pm to 1 am.
In an important step, the program supported by the private sector, has opened on October 2014, two clinics for early detection of women health using the mammogram and clinical examination. In addition to detecting some of women's most common chronic diseases including osteoporosis using DEXA scan, a common X-ray test for the disease and detection of blood pressure, blood sugar and obesity, she added.
Altahan went on saying that the clinics' high quality services are free of charge, rendering by a well-trained medical team who are trained on global standards, noting that the modern-style clinic is equipped with the latest medical devices. Also the program enables the women to follow up the detection process in case they are in need of complementary tests by referring them to the reference hospitals to do the necessary tests and receive appropriate treatment within a record period of time, to avoid any delay.
Citing positive indicators, the director of the national program for breast cancer early detection anticipated that the two clinics will witness high turnout, sending more educational messages about these diseases and their risk factors and how to avoid them by following healthy lifestyle to maintain their health, as well as highlighting the importance of early detection of breast cancer in saving lives.
The high survival rate for breast cancer, more than 95%, and effective treatment leaves a positive impact on the woman, her family and community in general, not only that she is still alive but also to lead a good life and play her role in the community as normal, she confirmed.
She added that since the opening of the two clinics thousands of women have been educated on the disease, 12,000 received mammogram screening and more than 93 breast cancer cases were detected on early stages and referred to King Fahad Medical City for treatment and rehabilitation.
The experiment, she said, proved that these types of services are acceptable to women, given that they are given in an ideal place accessible to all of them, in addition to that and in order to facilitate their movement, the program has chosen the evening time to receive them at the clinic in a continuous manner throughout the week.
At the end of her speech she extended her thanks to the companies and establishments for supporting the program, through provision of locations, equipment, decoration and nursing staff, namely: Asala Holding Company, Hamat Property Company, Alandalus Property Company, Panorama for Women Center, General Electric and Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group.