Marib: Researchers recommend urgent establishment of specialized cancer center

An awareness seminar held today in Ma'rib Governorate to celebrate World Cancer Day, which falls on February 4 of each year, recommended the urgent establishment of a specialized center for treating cancerous tumors in the governorate to prevent the exacerbation of the cases, which exceed a thousand registered cases so far.

At the opening of the symposium organized by the Al-Tafaul Foundation for the Support and Care of Cancer Patients at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Saba Region, the Deputy Governor of Ma'rib for Administrative Affairs, Abdullah Al-Bakri, pointed out the seriousness of the high rates of infection with the disease in the governorate, and the importance of doubling and intensifying efforts to raise awareness of the causes that lead to infection with it.

Al-Bakri called on those in charge of the university and the College of Medicine to prepare a community awareness plan through various means in cooperation with the relevant authorities to raise awareness of the disease and the most important causes of infection, most notably smoking and consuming qat, which is grown using pesticides and toxins, in addition to spreading awareness of the importance of early detection of the disease.

The symposium, which was moderated by the Vice President of Saba University, Dr. Ali Al-Ramal, discussed four working papers. In the first paper, Dr. Taha Butaj spoke about the concept of cancer, its types, and the challenges facing cancer patients, while in the second paper, Dr. Samar Taha addressed the importance of early detection of breast cancer.

The Director of the Oncology Unit at Marib General Hospital Authority, Dr. Yahya Hajar, also reviewed the success story of a cancer patient’s recovery and the role of the unit in alleviating suffering with the support of the Optimism Foundation, while Dr. Hayat Muhammad focused in her paper on psychological and social support for cancer patients and its importance as a priority that the patient needs.