As many as 450 Filipino women in the United Arab Emirates are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.
According to Dr. Mohanad Diab, a medical oncology consultant and head of oncology services at NMC Hospital in Abu Dhabi, the alarming number of Filipino women diagnosed with the disease are mostly in the younger age group, The Filipino Times reported.
“(The) age group is approximately between 35 to 50 and we see it much more nowadays in younger ages,” Diab said.
Dr. Balaji Balsubramanian, consultant surgical oncologist at NMC Hospital, said that breast cancer is the most common cancer among overseas Filipino women in the UAE. He also noted that Filipino breast cancer patients are notably young compared to the global demographics of the disease.
One in every 50 Filipino hospital patients in the UAE suffers from breast cancer, and Dr. Diab said stress is a major factor which contributes to initiating the cancer process.
The World Health Organization recognizes the threat of breast cancer posed by working nights, and among the 450 Filipinas diagnosed with the cancer every year are many night shift workers.
According to the World Health Organization, there are about 1.38 million new cases and 458,000 deaths from breast cancer each year.