Jordan launches campaign to combat breast cancer

AMMAN, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Monday launched the 2017 Arab Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, which encourages women to undergo screening for early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer.

This year marks the tenth edition of the annual campaign, which is the first of its kind in the Arab region. It attracted a lot of Middle East countries including Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Palestine, Bahrain, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria, to participate in.

The event is organized by the Jordan Breast Cancer Programme (JBCP) led by the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF).

At a press conference Monday, Jordanian Princess Ghida Talal, Chairperson of the KHCF, expressed that "every mother in Amman, every daughter in Beirut, every sister in Jerusalem and every friend in Baghdad, Riyadh, Manama, Cairo, Rabat, Abu Dhabi and Algeria is our priority, and her health is our ultimate goal."

"Today, I turn to every woman in every village, city and Arab country and ask her to get screened," added the Princess.

Around 5,400 breast cancer cases are recorded in Jordan every year.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in Jordan, accounting for 19 percent of all cancer cases, according to health officials.