Zakat Fund partners with Roche to organise Colorectal Cancer Awareness Day

WAM ABU DHABI, 25th March, 2014 (WAM) — With the aim of raising awareness of colorectal cancer and encouraging early detection through identification of symptoms, the Zakat Fund, in partnership with Roche, has organised a Colorectal Cancer Awareness Day at the Officers Club in Abu Dhabi. "This initiative is aligned with the social undertaking that our leadership has called for, which aims at raising awareness of colorectal cancer and the importance of early detection. We greatly value our partnership with Roche in facilitating our cause to help patients. Their patient access programme has been very effective in reducing costs of medicines for patients with less income or no health insurance," said Mohamed Sulaiman Al Balushi, Manager of the Zakat Affairs Department. "If detected in its early stages and treated accurately, colorectal cancer can be easily managed and cured. We encourage people to identify early symptoms like a prolonged period of rectal bleeding, pain in the abdomen, irregular bowel movement or unexplained weight loss. We are hoping that people who learn about the disease today will in turn spread the information amongst others," said Dr. Reyad Mohsen, Consultant Oncology, Tawam Hospital. The event provided the perfect opportunity for the attendees to learn directly from industry experts. Through engaged discussions, thought provoking questions and answers, the attendees connected with each other on the common cause of fighting colorectal cancer. The walk-through colon received a lot of interest with people taking turns to undertake the guided tour and learn about the different stages of the cancer. The Zakat Fund has been helping needy patients receive accurate treatment since 2009. In 2013, they had helped 2,000 patients out of which 367 were cancer patients. Helping patients is one of the key focus areas for the organisation, in addition to other areas like education of youth, orphans, financially challenged families and humanitarian causes. Colorectal cancer develops from small growths called polyps that can form in the lining of the colon or rectum. Although the majority of polyps never become cancerous, cancerous polyps are responsible for most cases of colorectal cancer. If detected at an early stage, a cancerous polyp can usually be removed. Colorectal Cancer is the third most commonly reported cancer in the world, accounting for more than 600,000 deaths worldwide every year. WAM/AAMIR/Moran