KUWAIT CITY, Nov 23: The Minister of Health Dr. Ahmad Al-Awadhi affirmed the great attention that the Ministry of Health gives the medicine security system in the country, stressing that it works on providing all kinds of medicines, including cancer medicines, despite their specificity and diversity between chemical, immunological and other medicines. In a press statement issued yesterday on the sidelines of the inauguration of the First International Conference on Gynecologic Oncology in the State of Kuwait, Dr. Al-Awadhi insisted that there is no shortage of medicines for cancer patients, either for children or adults. He affirmed the keenness of the ministry to bring all medicines from all around the world, in coordination and continuous communication with the department concerned with medicines and medical consumables.

The minister said the ministry has exerted all efforts to build the new hospital for the Kuwait Cancer Control Center with a clinical capacity of up to 600 beds. He added that it paid great attention to combating cancer and developed multiple programs for it in terms of early detection, treatment, and support for scientific research. Dr. Al-Awadhi explained that the conference will contribute effectively to exchanging experiences in this specialty, benefiting from diverse medical experiences, and building bridges of scientific knowledge among a distinguished group of lecturers from Britain, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Austria, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to an elite group of Kuwaiti doctors. It aims to learn about the latest findings of modern science in the field of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention methods in the specialty of cancerous tumors. The title “Gynecologic Cancers” was chosen for the conference because of the utmost importance it represents, as it is considered a common tumor and comes in second place after breast cancer.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the conference and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Oncology Association Dr. Khaled Al-Khalidi called for the conference to be held over a period of three days with the participation of a distinguished group of international professors and experts, adding that it includes many scientific sessions and workshops, and also involves performing many surgeries for gynecological tumors. He stressed that the Surgical Oncology Department is considered one of the leading departments in the field of gynecological oncology operations, as it has performed about 1,000 cases in the past five years at a rate of 200 cases annually.

Dr. Al-Khalidi said the department has not been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and that work continues normally. He revealed that the visiting doctors participated in performing eight modern surgeries using laparoscopy, as part of the conference’s activities. Dr. Al-Khalidi affirmed the conference is an educational opportunity for oncologists, particularly gynecological oncologists, by studying the latest updates and highlighting the most important and latest therapeutic methods for oncology, as well as learning about the most important challenges, hopes, and aspirations to advance this delicate specialty. In addition, the Head of the Radiation Therapy Physics Unit and Secretary General of the Kuwait Association for Medical Physics Dr. Sheikha Al-Obaidly said the conference includes a workshop specialized in treatment planning for internal radiation (internal) radiation technology for gynecological cancer tumors.

She explained that internal radiation operations are considered one of the most important techniques used to treat uterine and cervical cancer. The radiation source is placed within the gaps of the body or tissues, with the aim of delivering the highest dose of radiation to the part of the body to be treated while causing as little as possible harm to nearby healthy tissues. The workshop focuses on the scientific and practical explanation of the latest methods of internal radiation therapy, with the aim of developing radiation services specialized in treating gynecological tumors in the State of Kuwait. Gynecological tumors are the second most common gynecological cancer after breast cancer, at a rate of 22.6 percent, followed by colon cancer.

The incidence of uterine cancer is eight percent, followed by ovarian cancer at six percent, then cervical cancer at two percent of all tumors registered in Kuwait. The number of surgeries for cancerous tumors at the Kuwait Cancer Control Center during the last five years reached 8,500, including 1,000 surgeries for gynecological tumors, representing 12 percent of the total surgical operations.

By Marwa Al-Bahrawi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff