#BreastCancerAwareness
With the advancement of technology, the world is transforming to one big city, making it easy to share opinions as well as spread awareness across the globe with a single click or update.
Twitter, among others, is becoming a powerful place to communicate positive messages about women and build communities and advocacy around women’s issues such as Breast Cancer.
A 2009 World Health Organization (@WHO) report stated, one-third of the deaths caused by breast cancer worldwide could be eliminated if the disease is detected and treated at an early stage.
Saudi Arabia is becoming more supportive of women’s causes, with a greater presence now on social media platforms. Social media accounts such as the Ministry of Health (@saudiMOH), which has about 888K+ followers, share statistics as well as insights regarding Breast Cancer as well as other diseases that affect women’s health.
A couple of studies in 2014 done by the Ministry of health (@SaudiMOH) showed the following:
• 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer in their lifetime.
• Breast cancer is top ranked among illnesses in females in Saudi Arabia.
According to the Saudi record of tumors, the number of cases hit 1,308 in 2009, representing 25% of other types of cancer with an age-standardized rate (ASR) of 22.7/100000 among women.
• The average age of being diagnosed is 48 years old.
Other organizations in KSA that also promote awareness for Breast Cancer:
• CCP-MOH (@ccpmoh_ksa) - In collaboration with the Ministry of health a national breast cancer and health awareness campaign is taking place, aiming for women to do early check ups and minimize the chance of later stages breast cancer.
• Zahra Breast Cancer Association @zahra_ksa A Saudi based Breast Cancer Awareness association with over 15K followers. The initiative Tweets fundraising ideas as well as tips to fight the disease.
This year, Mayo Clinic (@MayoClinicME) has started Tweeting about Breast Cancer and whether the Mediterranean diet can help prevent Breast Cancer:
https://twitter.com/MayoClinicME/status/648138677340672000
In addition to local initiatives, several international campaigns are taking place on Twitter to help combat the disease including:
• Breast Cancer Care (@bccare) with 127K followers, Tweets survivors’ stories in addition to tips for staying strong during treatments.
• Breast Cancer Now (@breastcancernow) with 26 K followers, is the largest Breast Cancer charity in the UK. They Tweet ways people can support those affected by the disease as well as exercising to be followed to reduce a woman’s risk of Breast Cancer.
