Al-Saleh: The survival rate reaches 99.5% in early detection of thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer primarily affects women more than men
Dr. Khaled Ahmed Al-Saleh, Secretary-General of the Gulf Union for Cancer Control, stated that there are many factors that affect the incidence of cancer, of which environmental pollution is one of them. In the specialized workshop held by the Union’s secretariat on (Thyroid cancer and its relationship to environmental pollution), it aimed to shed light on this cancer. The cure rate rises to more than 90%, and the survival rate rises to 99.5% in the event of early detection. It is a disease that primarily affects women more than men. He added that thyroid cancer occurs in the cells of the thyroid gland, this gland that takes the form of The butterfly, which is located at the base of the neck, secretes hormones to regulate heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and weight. Thyroid cancer may not cause any symptoms at first. But as it grows, it can cause pain and swelling in the neck, and here we recommend that you seek help from doctors.
According to the statistics of the Kuwait Center for Cancer Control, thyroid cancer comes in second place after breast cancer for women. The number of cases among Kuwaiti women during the period (2014-2019) reached 587 cases, and for non-Kuwaiti women it reached 455 cases. As for men, the number of cases reached 587 cases in Kuwaiti women during the period (2014-2019). Kuwaitis 115 cases and non-Kuwaitis 158 cases.
The expected incidence rate of thyroid cancer in the Arab world is 6.2 per 100,000 people for men and 13.2 for women, which is lower than the global rate of 6.5 for men and 14.2 for women. In Kuwait, it is 1.2 for men and 6.6 for women, and this is the lowest in the world. Gulf countries.
Dr. Al-Saleh explained that the rates of thyroid cancer are increasing. Doctors believe that this is due to modern technologies that have allowed them to find small cancers in the thyroid gland, which they were not able to detect in the past. There are risk factors that lead to an increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer:
– Firstly, being female because it is a cancer that affects women more than men.
– Exposure to high levels of radiation.
– Specific genetic disorders such as multiple endocrine tumors.
As for treatment, surgery is the ideal treatment and surgical removal is not dangerous and allows treatment with radioactive iodine, which is a treatment available in all hospitals in the State of Kuwait, with the necessity of adhering to the treatment plan and regular follow-up.
Dr. Amani Al-Basmi, Head of the Cancer Epidemiology and Registry Unit at the Kuwait Cancer Control Center, spoke about the epidemiology of thyroid cancer in Kuwait and reviewed 5 patterns after the period of the Iraqi invasion.
Dr. Khaled Al-Saleh thanked the departments of the Ministry of Health for nominating attendees for the aforementioned workshop, including the Department of Primary Care, the Department of Dentistry, the Department of Nursing, the Department of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases, the Department of Health Promotion, the Media Office of the Ministry of Health, and others interested.