Making it Our Business

"King Hussein Cancer Foundation introduces the 'Making It Our Business' project to BPWA members and friends"

February 3, 2009 - The King Hussein Cancer Foundation in cooperation with Vital Voices Global Partnership (VV) and the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) completed a breast cancer awareness training session for the members and partners of Business and Professional Women-Amman (BPW-A).

This workshop was held at the Business Development Center (BDC) in Amman.

This training is part of the 'Making It Our Business' project, which falls under the 'US- Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research' and supports the objectives of the Jordan Breast Cancer Program.

The training session was intended to enable participants to spread the message of fighting breast cancer and to be able to speak about the disease.

With the continued support of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Vital Voices Global Partnership, participants will be encouraged to conduct internal information sessions, where they will be responsible for spreading the message to their employees, friends and relatives. Participants received information on breast cancer, early detection, the risk factors associated with this disease, and techniques on how to relay these messages to their mothers, daughters, sisters and friends. The most important message is that early detection of breast cancer saves lives. Eighteen women participated in this training session; including housewives and employees from the private and public sector.

A spokesperson for the BPW-A said: We are proud of our partnership with the Jordan Breast Cancer Program. Our services to BPW-A members and the professional sector in Jordan involve a 'well-being' component, where we offer information and training on issues that affect the emotional and physical wellness of our constituents. This workshop is an example of this type of capacity building'.

This training was conducted by two trainers from the Jordan Breast Cancer Program: Ms. Nisreen Qatamish and Ms. Taroub Malhas. Ms. Qatamish introduced the audience to methods of detecting breast cancer in its early stages in addition to the risk factors, symptoms and signs of the disease. On the other hand, Ms. Malhas implemented multiple interactive activities for training the participants in communication and negotiation skills that are necessary in order to transfer information to the community.

The ultimate goal of the 'Making It Our Business' project is to inform women on early detection techniques which will reduce the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer at advanced stages. Recent studies conducted by the Jordan National Cancer Registry for the year 2006 show that there are around 765 new cases of breast cancer. The median age of women diagnosed in Jordan is 49; an age where they are at the peak of their productivity and participation in socio-economic life. More alarmingly, 70% of cases are diagnosed at stages III & IV when the disease is rarely curable and survival rates are minimal.

This session represents the beginning of upcoming training sessions for the year 2009. The 'Making It Our Business' project was first implemented at the beginning of 2008, where it mainly focused on engaging a large number of Jordanian private sector companies to commit to raising awareness and educating their employees on breast cancer and the importance of early detection.