A consultant oncologist, a member of the executive committee of the “CAN” campaign and responsible for the endometrial cancer awareness initiative, Dr. Maryam Abdel-Otaibi, said this type of cancer begins in the layer of cells that make up the lining of the uterus, in addition to the presence of other types of cancer that can form in the uterus, including sarcoma.
Saying it is less common, Al-Otaibi added that one of the most important risk factors for endometrial cancer is advanced age, obesity, and hormonal treatments, early puberty or late menopause, in addition to difficulty in becoming and delay in childbearing, reports a local Arabic daily.
She explained that the presence of these factors does not mean confirming the occurrence of a tumor, but rather it is one of the factors that lead to the occurrence of a tumor, stressing on the need to see a doctor in the event of abnormal vaginal bleeding, as the gynecologist takes the medical history and clinical examination and takes a sample of the endometrium if necessary, to determine the cause of bleeding and prescribes appropriate treatment.
She stated that if endometrial cancer is detected early, surgical hysterectomy is often the thing that leads to complete recovery.
For his part, a consultant oncologist, who conducted the endometrial cancer awareness workshop, Dr. Muhammad Ashour pointed out that endometrial cancer is the most common among cancers of the female reproductive system in Kuwait, as about 774 cases of uterine cancer were diagnosed from 2014 to 2018 — 306 cases of Kuwaiti women and 171 non-Kuwaitis.
Dr Ashour added that the percentage of cases diagnosed in the early stages is more than those diagnosed in the advanced stages, and for Kuwait there are 13.4 cases per 100,000 Kuwaiti women and 7.1 per 100,000 non-Kuwaiti women, from 2014 to 2018, indicating that the percentage cure exceeds 80% if detected early.
Dr Ashour advised women not to hide the symptoms and not to be ashamed of revealing them, either within the family or to see a specialist doctor.