RCSI Bahrain raises cancer awareness

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

RCSI Medical University of Bahrain has launched a major public awareness campaign to educate residents about the risks and early signs of colorectal cancer, with the help of 150 medical and nursing students.

The initiative, conducted in collaboration with King Hamad University Hospital and King Hamad American Mission Hospital, aimed to improve understanding of colorectal cancer, which remains a significant public health challenge in Bahrain.

Engaging the public

Led by Professor Hussain Nasaif, Associate Professor in Nursing and Director of the MSc in Nursing Programme at RCSI Bahrain, student volunteers used an inflatable colon model at the hospitals to demonstrate how colorectal cancer develops. More than 250 visitors engaged with the demonstration over a four-day period.

According to data from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, colorectal cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men in Bahrain in 2022, with an incidence rate of 14.8 percent, and the second most common cancer among women at 8.2 percent.

Spreading awareness

Negative lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, poor diet, and lack of physical activity were identified as contributing to the risk of developing the disease. RCSI Bahrain encouraged people to adopt healthier habits and stressed that early screening from the age of 45 dramatically improves survival rates.

Professor Sameer Otoom, President of RCSI Bahrain, thanked partner hospitals for their collaboration and said the university remained dedicated to improving public health through education, research and healthcare services.