The World Cancer Day was marked on Sunday under the slogan “I can, we can”, by the Qasr al-Aini Center for Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, the Egyptian Olympic Committee, and a pharmaceutical company to raise awareness of the disease and highlight the development of treatment, as well as to highlight the importance of early detection and continuous support for patients.
The event included a motorcycle march from Qasr al-Aini to Heliopolis, Al-Ahli, Maadi, the Shooting and Al-Jazira clubs, with flags being raised to increase awareness of the disease.
Doctor Emad Hamada, Professor of Oncology and head of Oncology and Nuclear Medicine at Qasr al-Aini Hospital, said, “the treatment of many types of cancer has progressed significantly, and Egypt is always keen to keep pace with progress, to help patients obtain drug options that improve the outcome of their treatment”.
The new treatments have led to prolonging life expectancy of patients as well as progress for melanoma patients as the disease has been listed as “chronic” instead of “deadly” and can now be controlled with oral medication.
He added at a press conference Sunday that raising awareness of cancer is very important. Anyone with a medical history of the disease should undergo regular medical examinations, he said, adding that the survival rate of cancer patients has reached a between 50 to 70 percent.
Mohsen Mokhtar, director of the Qasr al-Aini Center for Oncology, said that the center has been the main defense line for cancer control for 50 years and the first refuge for cancer patients from all over the country.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
