In Morocco, cancer affects more than 30,000 women each year and nearly 15,000 end up losing the fight against the disease. These alarming figures were revealed by the Association “Les Amis du Ruban Rose” during a press workshop on female cancers organized in collaboration with Vitavox Institute. The Association also estimates that cancer cases among women are expected to double between 2020 and 2040, hence the need to implement immediate and urgent measures to address it.
This meeting, organized on the occasion of World Triple Negative Breast Cancer Day (March 3), aims to alert public opinion to female cancers, which constitute a real public health problem in Morocco.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Morocco, representing 38.1% of the pathologies observed. It is followed by thyroid cancer, which accounts for 11.3% of cancer cases among women in Morocco, and cervical cancer accounts for 8.1%. Awareness, prevention and early detection can make all the difference in the treatment and cure of this disease”, underlined Latifa Chérif, president of the Association “Les Amis du Ruban Rose”.
The workshop was also an opportunity to highlight the various treatments and means of raising awareness, capable of reducing the impact of these diseases on women and the Moroccan health system. “Morocco has made significant progress in the care of people with cancer. As part of the implementation of the National Cancer Prevention and Control Plan, a structured program for the early detection of breast and cervical cancers has been set up by the Ministry. This program has made it possible to strengthen the offer of care in terms of screening, diagnosis and management of these two cancers, within the framework of an inclusive, integrated and patient-centered approach,” said Ms. Cherif. And to add that “the Royal Project for the generalization of social security has paved the way for better access to care and treatment for the benefit of cancer patients, such as innovative treatments such as immunotherapy” .
For his part, Pr Naoufal Mamou, oncologist-radiation therapist, recalled the important role of prevention which remains the best way to guard against cancer, in particular through screening in order to diagnose certain cancers early, before the appearance of symptoms. , and to be able to take better care of them. “Today there are different ways to get screened early enough to beat the cancer before it reaches the metastatic stage. It is very important to make people aware of the means of screening available. This will save many lives. Cancer prevention also involves vaccination. In fact, cervical cancer can be prevented thanks to the HPV vaccine. Morocco has also introduced vaccination into its National Immunization Program since October 2022,” said Professor Mamou.
