Sharjah: Friends of Cancer Patients Society (FoCP) held on Saturday the third and final session of the UAE Chronic Myloid Leukaemia (CML) Support Group gathering for this year in Sharjah
The event, which was launched early this year, aimed at creating awareness that CML, far from being terminal, is treatable and manageable, with the appropriate support.
FoCP is one of the leading cancer-specific societies dedicated to the screening, early detection and treatment of various cancers, and support to cancer patients.
The third session sought to engage with the UAE community at large, comprising patients, their families, the medical fraternity as well as NGOs, to spell out its objectives.
The CML Support Group aimed at empowering CML patients with the necessary support ecosystem, including an emphasis on the need for early testing, education on the initial symptoms of CML and engaging doctors, nurses, NGOs and other key stakeholders for their support.
Dr Saswan Al Madhi, Secretary-General of Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP), said that what was clear from the speakers and attendees’ experiences was recognition that “CML patients must have access to an effective support system, increasing awareness, overcoming misunderstandings, and dealing with the symptoms of the disease”.
Failure to diagnose CML can lead to it progressing from chronic to terminal. By contrast, early detection in particular can have hugely beneficial outcomes, rendering what was once terminal into a chronic disease.
Dr Al Madhi, who is also an internal medicine specialist, said: “Early detection and treatment requires multi-stakeholder cooperation, education and patient support – something that FoCP’s CML support group was created for.”
CML is chronic, not terminal, but it is this misconception which has adverse effects on CML patients, Professor Hany Shafey, clinical associate professor at the Department of Psychiatry of University of Western Ontario, Canada, argues. The misconception, he said, notably leads to financially disadvantaged patients not receiving the required support to afford the expensive medication required for treatment.
Professor Shafey who stressed the importance of such meetings, said, “CML is a misunderstood disease, and this misunderstanding affects what we now know to be very advanced treatment options. Increasing awareness of detection and treatment, and providing the moral, logistical and financial support where necessary to CML patients is crucial when it comes to dealing with this chronic illness, and I applaud FoCP for its role in bringing patients, educators, physicians, nurses and all other stakeholders together — and thank FoCP for inviting me here today.”
Nawal Al Ramahi is a trainee at Gulf News
