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October is designated 'Breast Cancer Awareness Month' worldwide, and seeks to raise awareness about the most common type of cancer amongst women, which is also the second leading cause of early death in females if not treated early.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a major concern within Saudi society, and there are many risk factors that increase the chances of disease and cancer occurring amongst the public. Therefore, many major health awareness campaigns have been launched to combat such unhealthy lifestyles.
Experts say that a cancer diagnosis can often be directly linked to your family medical history, your lifestyle choices, and your environment. Unfortunately, disease is often portrayed as a taboo subject in Saudi society, and many do not wish to disclose illness within their families for this reason. During recent years, initiatives have multiplied to raise awareness throughout society, including amongst people in rural areas, where religion still plays a key role in the perception of the disease.
Regardless of stigma, the number of Saudi women being diagnosed with breast cancer each year is alarming, with many women being diagnosed at least ten years before women in the West. Subsequently, officials are concerned with the low awareness level among women in society regarding the disease, and are therefore working to launch better campaigns about the issue nation-wide.
This year, the '10KSA' program was launched, led by Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud and Dr. Modia Battarjee, in association with Zahra Breast Cancer Association, to raise awareness about holistic health issues focusing on breast cancer. 10KSA aims to shift the conversation and the stigma attached to “cancer” to reflect a strong hope that prevention and treatment are attainable.
"We take this dialogue to rural areas and villages, where it is completely different because we need reinforce breast cancer as a mainstream dialogue, helping people to understand that there is no shame in discussing that part of the body," said Princess Reema at a keynote conversation with Fast Company Editor in Chief, Robert Safian at SXSW Interactive last March.
"We face a lot of societal issues where a woman doesn't want to admit illness because she doesn't want to be discarded and replaced by another woman. A lot of times, these women will have illnesses that are not limited just to breast cancer, but actually include many others, and they just keep persevering and not admitting pain, or admitting suffering," she added.
Many local stakeholders including organizations and hospitals are involved with the 10KSA campaign with numerous activities for all to participate in. 10KSA was initially launched in the Kingdom but is looking to generate a global impact, predominantly in the Middle East region, with the help of worldwide ambassadors such as Karolina Kurkova, Elie Saab, Fadia Taweel, Eileen Rockerfeller, Ken Goldman, and Omar Benson Miller. Ambassadors were also chosen in the MENA area from bloggers to entrepreneurs, to designers and health professionals such as Sami Al Jaber, Reem Al Kanhal, Hatem Al Akeel, Batool Al Shamrani, Tala Samman, Ibrahim Abdulrahman and many more.
On the 12th of December, 10KSA is calling all women above the age of 14 to come and help form the world's largest pink humanitarian ribbon on record at Princess Noura University. The day’s event will also include many other activities and programs in support of the cause. Funds raised from the event will go towards supporting the Zahra Breast Cancer Association, of which Princess Reema is a founding board member.
Importantly, reaching out to viewers everywhere through social media is one of the strong methods for spreading awareness. Compared to 10 years ago, social media is now the number one source where many get to know what’s happening in the world, and what better way to spread the cause of breast cancer awareness than through a strong social media platform such as Instagram, Twitter or Facebook for example. Ambassadors everywhere are able to reach out and connect with their readers and viewers simply by posting a picture or a message, making it easier than ever to engage people on such important issues.
Dr. Suad bin Amer, co-founder of Zahra Breast Cancer Association and a researcher at the King Faisal Research Hospital granted Arab News an interview in which he spoke about the important role that 10KSA is playing:

Arab News: "As an ambassador, what steps are you taking to ensure that the message 10kSA is promoting gets through?"

Dr. Amer: "My life’s work is to generate awareness about breast cancer and to conduct research on the issue. My current interest is to secure funding for research related to sourcing genetic biomarkers among Saudi women that would establish a form of breast cancer pre-diagnosis. In addition, as a 10KSA ambassador, I am promoting and encouraging women to attend the 12 December event in Riyadh, as it’s very important that women gather, learn and become informed."

Arab News: "Breast cancer is the number one leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Saudi women between the ages of 20-59. In recent years, the public awareness around this disease has increased tenfold with the help of Zahra Breast Cancer Association. How do you view the progress in public awareness compared to 10 years ago regarding this very specific type of cancer?"

Dr. Amer: "As I look back over the last 10 years, even though there have been major improvements, I do believe that there is still a huge amount of work to be done regarding breast cancer awareness in our society. Saudi women have started to hear our voice, and they’re educating themselves more about breast cancer. But we still need to increase our efforts in order to translate Saudi women’s thoughts and concerns into real action."

Arab News: "Disease is, in general, a taboo in Saudi society. Many women fear the mere mention of a disease for a number of reasons. How important is it to break this taboo? And in what way are you helping break it?"

Dr. Amer: "For various cultural reasons, the taboo persists and it is very important to break this cycle. When breast cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, it is easier to treat and cure. For this reason, we are encouraging women to be informed of early detection and screening."

Arab News: "Society as a whole isn’t equal, and education amongst women isn’t either. What are the steps taken by members whom join 10KSA as ambassadors in order to reach out to members of society that do not live in large cities or have the correct information regarding doctor checkups and follow-ups?"

Dr. Amer: "Zahra Breast Cancer Association has offices throughout the country. An element of our programming is our Pink Houses that work throughout the country outside of the major cities to get women screened and informed of this health issue. These houses are a safe space for women to ask their questions and consult with medical professionals. 10KSA ambassadors come from various disciplines and professions. The main role for an ambassador is to promote 10KSA’s objective of encouraging women to learn about preventative measures and early detection and screening. We had a massive campaign a number of years ago regarding “blood related diseases” such as Thalassemia. The campaign specified that no marriage licenses are to be issued unless blood test results conclude that the marriage can go through. Breast cancer isn’t a new disease; it has just gotten a boost due to the large number or women being diagnosed yearly in the Kingdom. It is a dire situation and one that is close to the heart.

Arab News: "Since the start of the campaign, how has the impact been amongst women of the Saudi society?"

Dr. Amer: "Since Zahra started, we took it upon ourselves to raise breast cancer awareness among Saudi women. The importance of the 10KSA initiative is that it will not only break the Guinness World Record, but that it will also empower more women to act, enabling us to help transform how society talks about diseases like breast cancer."

Arab News: "There is also a long term role hat the association will play to ensure that this particular cause continues to educate members of society that are most vulnerable. How do you think that this aim will play out in the future?"

Dr. Amer: "10KSA is collaboration. 10KSA is prevention. 10KSA is unity. 10KSA is for every single one of us. 10KSA is for KSA, and 10KSA is just the beginning. We plan on carrying on with our education initiatives and education programs. We have a long-term mission to raise breast cancer awareness among all segments of Saudi society."

Arab News: "What are your wishes for women that haven’t yet joined the campaign?"

Dr. Amer: "I want them to realize the impact that each of them could have if they joined our cause. They need to believe in their own power to make a difference, and to realize that being even just one of these 10,000 women is incredibly important in order to raise awareness about breast cancer and break a Guinness World Record."
Breast cancer is not a disease that anyone must endure alone; it affects every member of the family from the youngest to the oldest, from the closest to the farthest. Most importantly, it’s a disease that can be treated if detected early. Indeed, early detection is a key factor across all cancers and raising the level of awareness in our society can help decrease the level of occurrences and fatalities.
Join the cause on the 12th of December at Princess Noura University in Riyadh and sign up online. Proceeds from all 10KSA initiatives help fund the Zahra Breast Cancer Association, an organization committed to helping women through a difficult journey and into a place of healing and good health. For further information please visit the website and sign up to the newsletter at and follow all events and news on social media at 'Join10KSA'.
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