Emotive plea to all women

'As women we are the care takers, the guardians, the life givers. To care for others we have to first care for ourselves.'

This is Dr Houriya Kazim's message for the women of Bahrain that she will deliver at the Legends Luncheon at La Fontaine on Tuesday as part of the ongoing Think Pink activities on the island.

Dr Kazim, pictured right, is a specialist breast surgeon at the Well Woman Clinic in Dubai and the founder of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of UAE since 2002. She is also the Pink Ambassador Spokesperson of Estee Lauder Companies for the Middle East and has been instrumental in raising awareness and changing perception of breast cancer in the UAE.

Dr Kazim, talking exclusively to GulfWeekly prior to her visit to Bahrain, said: "The single most important thing for all women is to be aware of their body - not just the breast - and to be pro-active about their health.

"Don't wait for things to happen and then react, pre-empt them. Mammograms and pap-smears pick cancers up in the early treatable stage. It just makes so much sense to do this rather than wait until you have symptoms.

"I think a lot of women don't go for screening as they are afraid that we will pick something up. That fear is what I am trying to limit by increasing not just awareness of the disease, but knowledge about it.

"If you really understood breast cancer you would know that in its early stages, it is curable. That's why we want to check ourselves."

Dr Kazim is the first Emirati female surgeon to specialise in breast surgery. While interning at Dubai's Rashid Hospital she witnessed varying levels of hesitation and inhibition most women had in getting themselves examined by male doctors.

Language and cultural barriers with expat doctors was another deterrent for local women to come forward for a check-up which forced them to ignore pain and let the symptoms persist.

"I used to examine women behind the curtains and speak aloud to make a male doctor write the patient's report," she recalled.

This spurred Dr Kazim to proceed to the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland for a fellowship in general surgery.

She sub-specialised in surgical oncology with emphasis on breast surgery and reconstruction.

Apart from delivering awareness lectures and writing articles on women's health, Dr Kazim also runs a breast cancer support group and charity called Brest Friends.

For the first time in the UAE, Dr Kazim has produced educational videos on breast cancer awareness in different languages, for which international perfume giant Estee Lauder Companies was one of the main sponsors.

Breast cancer does not mean a death sentence any longer and Dr Kazim is a strong proponent of young women learning to examine their breasts monthly in addition to having annual check-ups with breast specialists.

"A patient has a 95 per cent chance of complete recovery if tumours are found before they have spread to any gland."

Dr Kazim is an inspiration for many women. Along with juggling a successful career, she is a mother - she has two girls, Sitara and Leila, aged eight and six, and a wife - she is married to an American television journalist.

"I am a woman before I am a surgeon and as such have the same anxieties as all women," she said. "We worry about whether we will be around to watch our kids grow up and so on.

"My cancer patients are some of the strongest and most amazing women I have met. They truly humble me when I watch them go through that long treatment journey with grace and strength to keep their families intact - it just takes your breath away."

October is the Breast Cancer Awareness month and people all over Bahrain will be 'thinking pink' to support and honour the cause.

Breast cancer is the second greatest cause of death among women all over the world and, according to statistics, one out of every eight to 10 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

According to Ministry of Health statistics, every year 74 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in Bahrain. Men can also develop the disease.

"Awareness and consequently early detection is the key to surviving breast cancer. Although 90 per cent of the lumps found are not cancerous the key is to be proactive and know what is going on in your body," said Jules Sprakel, the force behind Think Pink in Bahrain.

Think Pink Bahrain is entirely home grown and was initiated by Ms Sprakel, an Australian-born intensive care nurse, in 2004 with an event at Camelot restaurant in Adliya. The dinner raised BD10,500 and left an indelible mark on the island's community.