Faiza Rizvi
JEDDAH — Cancer is a deadly disease, which can only be fought with one tool: early detection. According to Cancer Research Institute UK, if cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, it is more likely to be treated successfully. Alternatively, treatment becomes more difficult, and generally a person’s chances of surviving are much lower if diagnosis is made at a later stage. Experts suggest there is a lack of awareness regarding early cancer detection in the Kingdom.
“Most of the cancer patients that are screened at our hospital are either in their second or third phase, because of which chances of survival are lower,” said Leena Khaleeji, a cancer specialist at a local hospital in Riyadh.
Sensing the need to spread cancer awareness in the Kingdom, a group of young Saudis recently launched a cancer awareness initiative called Eftilha campaign, which focuses on early cancer detection.
“Lately, the number of deaths caused by cancer in the Kingdom is increasing and is expected to rise in the coming years. So we thought it is time to do something,” said Fahad Allwihan Alangari, an architect and the brain behind the campaign.
It all began with individual efforts of H.E. Mohammed Bin Bander Alkabeer Al-Saud, Sulaiman Al-Subaie, Abdulrahman Alsadhan and Alangari. “We gained the experience of organizing events and exhibitions by pursuing higher education across different universities in United Kingdom, where we also worked as event organizers for multiple events,” Alangari told Saudi Gazette.
He added that the campaign’s idea was originally inspired by ‘Movember’, also known as ‘no-shave November’, which is an annual event involving growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of various types of cancers, such as prostate cancer.
“We checked their website and found that they organize activities in the Gulf region, but none in the Kingdom and that is what inspired us to begin our own campaign,” he said.
So far, Eftilha has successfully implemented its campaign in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-Khobar with an overwhelming response from the community. Eftilha’s vibrant team organized art galleries and charity market in major cities of the Kingdom, and eventually raised funds for a noble cause in collaboration with Saudi Cancer Society.
The team is thrilled at its achievement and wants to keep the campaign running over the years. Alangari also explained that through their campaign, they want to instill the concept of social responsibility among people, which is a relatively new concept in Saudi Arabia.
“We are still learning to apply and spread the culture of social responsibility among our society because it is not an easy job to educate the whole society about this perception. Therefore, we are trying to encourage people to be part of this campaign so they can watch and learn how to be socially responsible,” he said.
