'Make mammograms a must for insurance'

The event is exploring best practices in fighting cancer and the scale of the issue in the Middle East.

Health insurance for women aged 40 and over should not be renewed if they do not undergo mammogram tests to screen for breast cancer, said a senior health official.
Dr Sawsan Mahdi, director-general of the Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP), UAE, said: "We consider this as the best practice."
She was speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of The Economist Events' inaugural 'War on Cancer Middle East' event that is exploring some of the best practices learned from other events in the global War on Cancer initiative, and evaluate the scale of the problem in the Middle East.
With a booming youth population and ambitious plans for the future, many Middle Eastern countries have set their sights on progress in the fight against cancer.
"The youngest patient we have had for breast cancer has been an 18-year-old," said Dr Sawsan while addressing a panel discussion on 'Early Detection and Screening.'
Dr Hourya Kazim, founder of Breast Friends, said that cancers in the UAE were found in a younger age group and were more aggressive.
"The UK has a median age of 62 years but in the UAE, we have women who are detected at 45 years," she said while debating the safety and efficacy of screening methods in younger women.
"According to this median age, we should start screening methods at least a decade earlier at 35. But are we ready to put women at risk by doing their mammogram at that age when the results might not be accurate, due to breast density," she said.
Dr Sawsan said that the FoCP had data but there was a need to analyse it and make cancer treatment guidelines for the region instead of following Western guidelines.
"We are encouraging women to undergo clinical examinations but only after they have been trained properly," she said.
Princess Dina Mired, president-elect of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), said: "Our region will experience the largest increase of cancer cases. We need to organise, systemise and start working multi-sectorially and inter-regionally."
She also said that the top cancers in the region include lung, breast and colorectal, and can lend themselves to early detection.
"Over the past few decades, we have made remarkable progress in the global fight against cancer. Medicines have contributed to a decline in cancer deaths in many countries and regions, but there's still tremendous work left to be done-particularly in the Middle East where cancer is on the rise," said Samir A. Khalil, executive-director of Middle East and Africa at Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai