Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population announced on Sunday that 56,127 citizens have been registered in the electronic questionnaire, related to the initiative for early detection and treatment of cancerous tumours, through which citizens are targeted to receive early detection services in health units and hospitals.
This came during the first week of the work of the first phase of the initiative, which was launched on Sunday, 11 June in the governorates of Alexandria, Beheira, Matrouh, Damietta, Qaliubeya, Fayoum, Assiut, Port Said, and South Sinai.
It aims at the early detection of cancerous tumours (lung, prostate, colon, cervix) free of charge, under the slogan “100 Million Health”.
Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, stated that 1,230 citizens were referred to undergo a low-intensity CT scan to detect lung tumours, and 6,440 citizens were transferred to undergo an analysis test for early detection of colon tumours.
Moreover, 1,219 citizens were transferred to conduct a qualitative test for early detection of colon and prostate tumours, and 417 female citizens were referred to undergo a test to detect cervical tumours, in addition to providing a smoking cessation project for 1,280 citizens, through counselling sessions.
Abdel Ghaffar added that the initiative targets citizens aged 18 years and over, with the aim of detecting tumours in the early stages, which contributes to reducing the death rate from the disease and reducing the financial burden on the patient and the state, as a result of diagnosing tumours in the late stages.
He indicated that receiving the initiative’s services begins with the citizen going to the health unit, and filling out an electronic questionnaire, and answer a number of questions about the pathological symptoms of all tumours included in the initiative, and through the result of the questionnaire, the target disease for detection is known about it to the citizens.
Abdel Ghaffar explained that after figuring out the target disease for detection, the transfer is made to hospitals and units that work within the initiative, to conduct x-rays and necessary laboratory tests, and in the case of a negative examination, the citizen is informed of the periodic follow-up of his health condition, but in the case of positive examinations, the patient is referred to hospitals to receive the necessary health care.
