CAIRO: Nashwa Abdallah is being treated for cancer. However, she said the disease is nothing to be scared of since medical advancement and treatment is available. The most important component to recovery, she said, is moral support. “I first got cancer back in 2002; I was young and it was a shock. I had no idea about the illness or how to deal with it and this is due to the lack of awareness,” she explained. “I was lucky however because of the support group I had. And it was the psychological support from my doctor, my family and friends which gave me the will and this is the key to survival,” she added. She stressed how support is highly needed for any cancer patient. Offering medical treatment to cancer patients has always been doctors' and civil society's main concern, while little attention is given to offering them social, moral and financial support, along with their family and friends. That is until the launch of CanSurvive, the first NGO dealing with cancer patients, survivors as well as their families and friends. “CanSurvive is a beacon of hope,” Abdallah said. “The cancer patient in our society today faces many challenges and CanSurvive is there to offer its support through this journey,” said Dr Mohsen Mokhtar, chairman of CanSurvive and assistant professor of clinical oncology at Cairo University. Among the key challenges the patient faces is the finances of the treatment and the stereotype in our society that cancer is a fatal disease and once you get it “it is the end of your life,” he explained. Thus, CanSurvive offers support and counseling to patients' friends and families in order for them to offer the best environment to give the patient the will to fight the disease, noted Mokhtar. Even though the official launch of the NGO was this month, it has started operating last January and has already launched an awareness campaign last March under the title “Change Your Lifestyle.” The campaign was a nationwide effort to spread awareness on cancers in the digestive system and promote a healthy lifestyle as a key step in disease prevention. It has also included a toll free call center where specialized oncologists responded to related inquires. Awareness booths were set up across various venues where free screening vouchers were distributed to the public. However, despite distributing 5,000 free screening vouchers, only 1,000 people turned up to get tested for cancer. On the other hand, the call center received thousands of phone calls with people inquiring about the disease, prompting CanSurive to continue it indefinitely even after the campaign ended. “There have been two major findings through this campaign; first is that people fear cancer and second, they are not taking it seriously,” said Mokhtar. “The level of awareness regarding cancer and early detection is nonexistent here,” he added. CanSurivive will be working with the public through awareness campaigns and will be tackling a different type of cancer each month of the year. “We have two similar campaigns as ‘Change Your Lifestyle' this year, one for breast cancer and the other for lymphoma,” said Dr Nermine Shawky Kamal, oncologist and executive director of CanSurvive. “In addition, we will also be holding focus groups which will revolve around the support and care for patients and ways to cope with the disease. These will be led by an oncologist and a psychologist,” she explained. The group will be trained and encouraged to lead a normal lifestyle, and not allowing cancer to be an obstacle, despite the many existing challenges in the Egyptian society. Dr Yasser Abdel Qader, head of the Cancer Unit at Qasr Al-Aini pointed out that cancer is currently the second cause of death in Egypt and it has to be taken more seriously and addressed around the country, adding that the civil society has a crucial role to play. “If everyone works together hand in hand, we will overcome cancer as support is the most important component for survival, not the financial or medical support, but the moral support,” said Abdel Qader.
