Lamia, 45 years old, a Syrian female living in camps in Taanayel (Bekaa), with a broad smile on her face, recounted her story of defeating breast cancer.
“I discovered a lump while doing a self examination..I heard about the breast cancer clinic here and I decided to get medical help”. Lamia underwent the necessary echography which led to total mastectomy. Instead of living in fear of recurrence, she is confidently adapting to the change in her life and awaits further treatment with chemotherapy and radiology, to ensure that the disease does not spread again.
“I am grateful to everyone who made this possible..I do not have the financial resources to seek private medical care which is expensive in Lebanon, so Qatar Red Crescent’s generosity made a difference for me. If this was not available, I would have ignored the lump and accepted my fate with the illness”.
The early detection and treatment is provided free of charge courtesy of QRCS in Lebanon. The project is supported by Kuwait Red Crescent as well. The aim is to help the Syrian displaced population living in Bekaa area. The whole exam takes 10 minutes only to finish, where the patient undergoes 2 X-rays of each breast, in order to detect a tumor that cannot be felt.
Lamia’s awareness about early detection is high and she has been advocating the importance of the examination and advising women in her entourage to visit the clinic and make use of the free services.
Amena’s story is slightly different but adds to the success of early detection, empowering more and more women to take care of themselves. She is 45 years old, lives in Taalbaya (Bekaa) and has discovered 2 lumps while she checked herself at home a long time ago. She knew she had to get treated but did not have the means, so she ignored the condition and tried to live a normal life. When she heard about the clinic, she came forward and requested an echography, after which a biopsy was carried out. Luckily, Amena’s lumps turned out benign. Yet a partial surgery was done and the lumps disappeared
“If it was not for this clinic, I would have done nothing to get treatment, because I cannot afford it”. Amena is grateful to QRCS for offering this service and thanked the doctor whom she described as ‘humanitarian’ and kind. She is well aware about the disease and is encouraging her neighbors and friends to consult the clinic.
Bariaa is 44 years old, lives further away from the Bekaa, in Bhamdoun (Mount Lebanon) yet she went through the trouble of travelling to the clinic for a consultation. “I heard about this center from Syrian friends. I had discovered a lump on my own…paid a small fortune for the echography at the area where I live … but a kind doctor gave me the address of this clinic”.
Bariaa underwent a biopsy after which a partial mastectomy was done. Her condition does not require chemotherapy as the cancer that was detected was at stage 1. It was fortunate that the situation was handled early on. Asked why she chose to come to the clinic, Bariaa replied: “it is free of charge and I have great confidence in the doctors performing the examination” .She also goes around advising friends and neighbors to visit the center.
The physician in charge of the early detection clinic Dr. Wissam shed some light on this vital project funded by Qatar Red Crescent in Lebanon. “Since the beginning of 2017 we have diagnosed 10 cases of cancer with different stages, mostly at stage 3. The number of cases that require chemotherapy are estimated at 20. So far, we have performed 17 surgeries, of which 9 were cancerous, and the rest benign”. He added that awareness campaigns are ongoing, through lectures and flyers to local NGOs working with women.
In his view, Dr. Wissam considers breast cancer as “a story of life and death.. and femininity of a woman”, but he strongly believes that it is curable and emphasizes the early detection to achieve excellent results. Early tumors can be cured with a 95% success rate, he adds. On response to campaigns Dr. Wissam saw a weak reaction from women in general because of ‘cultural misconceptions’ as regards detection. He is striving to change the idea through continued advocacy and awareness raising tools It is worth mentioning that QRCS Lebanon and KRCS have launched a mobile breast cancer clinic recently to visit remote areas in Lebanon and diagnose women at risk. The mobile unit is equipped with a detection machine, clinical tools in addition to brochures and flyers. This unit will be touring villages soon. The extended effort to handle a sensitive and serious health concern aims to expand the service to women who have geographical difficulty to access the clinic.
Currently, the project is the only one of its kind supporting Syrian refugees in Lebanon. QRCS Lebanon intervenes in medical activity, in many fields, with endorsement from Headquarters. But the breast cancer clinic and mobile unit are serving a neglected segment of Syrians, providing gratis treatment and procedures where other relief organizations are literally absent. Hence a pressing urgency is being addressed by the project.