Breast Cancer prevention and early detection in Saudi Arabia

October is breast cancer awareness month around the world.

Saudi Arabia has made great strides in raising awareness about breast cancer and the need for early detection and treatment. For those diagnosed with breast cancer, Saudi Arabia’s well-established healthcare system offers timely treatment from highly qualified oncology specialists in both the public and private sector. Innovative technologies are also being employed to improve detection and prediction of breast cancer risk.?

Breast Cancer awareness and prevention in Saudi Arabia

Many government and private sector institutions and companies in Saudi Arabia are involved in Pink October campaigns for Breast Cancer awareness. However, these activities are not limited to the month of October.?

The Zahra Breast Cancer Association, of which Her Royal Highness Princess Reema Bint Bandar Al Saud is a founding member, has a strategic plan to reduce the impact of breast cancer in Saudi Arabia through education, early detection, training, supporting patients and families, and ongoing research. Other cancer charities in the Kingdom, such as Saudi Cancer Society and Tafaul Al-Ahsa Cancer Foundation, are involved in similar efforts throughout the year, and unite for breast cancer during the month of October.?

Early detection and treatment of breast cancer

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health has made early detection of Breast Cancer a priority and, in 2012, launched a nationwide Breast Cancer Early Detection (BCED) programme promoting awareness of modifiable risk factors associated with breast cancer and free mammography screening at designated healthcare facilities and mobile units throughout the Kingdom. Mammograms are also available free of cost or via medical insurance at a range of government and private hospitals. Specialist oncology care is available in both public sector and private hospitals of Saudi Arabia’s well established healthcare system. Treatment is free for Saudi citizens and covered by compulsory health insurance for other residents.?

Advances in breast cancer risk prediction

The Jameel Clinic from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Abdul Latif Jameel Clinic for Machine Learning in Health) is collaborating with the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh to develop and run joint trials on Mirai, a flagship breast cancer prediction tool, for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Mirai uses a deep learning system to predict breast cancer in mammograms up to five years in advance of conventional methods.?

King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC) is a JCI accredited tertiary/quaternary care hospital and a regional leader in healthcare, medical education and? research in Oncology and other specialties. The hospital is working on enhancing Mirai’s performance on a wide range of patients, with the aim of enhancing breast cancer prevention in Saudi Arabia and around the world. Other collaborations between The Jameel Clinic and King Faisal Specialist Hospital are planned to develop more clinical AI tools including an AI tool for predicting lung cancer risk.

Career opportunities for doctors in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s healthcare sector is continuing to expand with an emphasis on digital healthcare innovation, prevention and health promotion in addition to providing world-class standards of care.?

Highly qualified and experienced healthcare professionals are sought after to address workforce gaps. Western-trained doctors, especially those with advanced fellowships post-specialization, are sought after to bring new skills and techniques to Saudi Arabia’s healthcare sector.

Saudi Arabia offers promising career paths for Western-trained doctors with competitive tax-free salaries, opportunities for professional development, a family-friendly lifestyle and rich cultural experiences.?

If you are ready to pursue new opportunities, consider moving to Saudi Arabia with the assistance of Allocation Assist Middle East.

Contact us today https://www.allocationassist.com/