Layan Damanhouri
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — Though breast cancer is a common and potentially deadly disease, it is actually a treatable form of cancer, according to Dr. Barbara Bass, a leading American surgeon at Houston Methodist Hospital.
“With the appropriate care and early detection, if we shift the curve of detection to earlier detection, you can cure most people,” she says.
Saudi women are prone to breast cancer at a younger age than American patients whose average age of diagnosis is 62. While statistics vary on the average age of Saudi breast cancer patients, the age range is from 47 to 52, with sometimes even younger cases that start from 30, according to studies.
“We’re hoping to engage dialogue about breast cancer for the women in Saudi Arabia,” said Dr. Bass on the sidelines of the recently-concluded three-day Saudi International Healthcare Forum, a business-to-business forum gathering health organizations from various countries and exploring research and the latest medical technology in the field. “It takes women to do it because it’s a women’s disease.”
In the past, the only option for patients was to pursue radical surgery to remove the breast. “Over the last 35 years, I’ve seen incredible advances in treating breast cancer,” she said in an interview with Saudi Gazette. “Now, we can treat most patients with breast-conserving therapy where we just take out the tumor, check the lymph nodes, then treat the breast with radiation. That is absolutely the same with removing the breast in terms of curing the cancer. I want women to understand that it is a good option.”
The novel procedure has been introduced in Saudi Arabia. However, many still fear the idea. "All the tools are available," says Dr. Bass, "but women don’t often choose that option. Often that’s because women want to do what they’ve seen other women do.”
Drawing support from friends is important but each patient is a unique case and should not dictate their own therapy based on others, she adds.
While the Ministry of Health has not issued an updated report on the ratio of women with breast cancer, several research studies indicate that the rates are rising.
When asked the underlying reason behind young women becoming prone to breast cancer, Dr. Bass said genetic mutations are common in the Kingdom.
She says, “Breast cancer is really 20 different diseases as identified by the genetic features of the tumors that people have. Saudi patients tend to have a higher rate of cancers that are of triple negative features, particularly genetic type, that is seen more common among Saudi patients.
That’s a type of breast cancer that tends to occur in younger women.”
Women in Saudi Arabia gradually have begun to speak out openly and publicly about the disease, spreading more awareness over the past decade or so, similar to a movement in the United States in the 1960’s.
When asked about breaking cultural barriers and shifting the mindset in society, Dr. Bass said, “Much of the progress we have made in early detection was developing a network of women. It was really the women that did this who came together and decided to fight the disease.”
Converting the perception of breast cancer from something fearful to a courageous challenge has led to an army of women today who are cancer survivors and are proactive in women’s health issues. The network supports breast cancer patients sometimes in place of their spouses who aren’t there for them.
“We have an incredible national support network among women. They are the ones that have insisted on the research and the better treatments that have translated into improved cure rates for breast cancer,” she added.
“It’s a challenge but that’s how we’ve dealt with it. As a result, we’ve seen a massive change in attitude in our society toward breast cancer survivors. We have marathons, huge campaigns and athlete sponsors.”
She adds, “It has made a difference in our awareness about early detection. It also fueled our research. They’re making contributions to research funds, which have resulted in important discoveries toward better healthcare.”
Today, doctors expect Stage 0 patients to live for 10 years, stage 1 for 5 years, and the number decreases as the stages progress further. Similarly, for women who have to have a mastectomy, there are now many new reconstruction options available in Saudi Arabia.
Taking control of one’s own health is crucial for women empowerment. Awareness that leads women to seek screening and self-examination as early as possible makes a tremendous difference.
