Sulaiman relives her struggle against cancer JEDDAH – A week before standing for election to the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), Dr. Lama Al-Sulaiman won a struggle against breast cancer that could have ended her life; a fact known to only a very few people. Al-Sulaiman, the recently appointed JCCI vice chairman, said that she relied upon an inner power and strong faith which gave her the strength to fight the disease. Along with Dr. Samiya Al-Amoudi, an oncologist, who has also recovered from breast cancer and Amina Qamlo, a cancer recovered patient who works as an educationalist, Al-Sulaiman for the first time publicly revealed the most difficult moment of her life during the Sixth Cancer Cure Conference 2010 held Tuesday at the Jeddah Movenpick Hotel. Describing her experience, Al-Sulaiman said that the strongest feeling one can have is when one admits his/her weakness to Allah. “I remember that I woke up one day in 2005 with an unfamiliar feeling and an irregular heartbeat. My thoughts were scattered and I decided to see a doctor at once,” she told the audience. She added that she knew nothing would happen to her unless Allah has preordained it. She undertook the necessary medical investigations after which her entire life changed. “When I got the results, I did not tell anyone except my friend, Randa and my sister Dalia. I did not want to trouble my mother, who was abroad, with my condition,” she continued. On that day, she added, the father of one of her friends died, and she went to their place to express my condolences. There, she came to know that a woman who was a relative of her acquaintances had recently died of breast cancer. “The women were weeping, and the thing that upset me was that I was sure that not all cancer patients must necessarily die,” she added. Al-Sulaiman said she was not frightened at all simply because she is “a stronger believer” and she quickly started her treatment program. “In Geneva, I asked my doctor to explain to my mother that the disease had been detected early and that it was possible to control it. As usual, my mother was strong enough to accept the news that I had contracted the disease.” Al-Sulaiman told the audience that she had a part of her breast surgically removed and with that another phase of her experience began. “I had to undergo chemotherapy. I honestly did not know what to expect. Losing my hair, my eyebrows and my eyelashes was really a frightening thing. So, I decided to have my hair partially cut, but before the second session of chemotherapy, I had all of my hair cut,” she said. She added that she discovered that cancer does not only affect the patient but also all of those around the patient. “Sensing the feelings of my family members – father, mother, husband and children – made me much stronger. Their support gave me more confidence in Allah and courage to combat the disease,” she added. She summarized her treatment process in a few steps. “I knew that the best treatment was to get as close as I could to Allah, so I followed a suitable nutritional regime and used alternative medicine to improve physically,” she said. “I hope that the strength that I found stays with me. My goals in life have changed, my life priorities have also been reshuffled. Death has no meaning without life, but the question is: How should you live?” she concluded. Dr. Mohammed Abdu Yamani, head of the Gulf Board for Fighting Cancer, launched the conference which is organized by the Qari Hematology Diseases and Oncology Center with the participation of more than 50 national and international cancer treatment experts and speakers. According to Dr. Abdurraheem Qari, head of the organizing center, the conference comes at a time when there has been an alarming increase in the number of cancer cases in the Kingdom. “The national health registry annually registers 8,000 new cases,” Dr. Qari, who will preside over the conference, told Saudi Gazette. He added that the conference will feature three Saudi women in leadership positions who will speak about their experiences with cancer. Qari pointed out that the treatment of a cancer patient can cost up to SR100,000 per year. “We have 14 cancer cases per 100,000 population in the Kingdom. This rate puts Saudi Arabia near the bottom of a list of countries with cancer cases,” he said. However, he added that there has been a threefold increase in colorectal cancer cases in Saudi Arabia, which “is perhaps the result of genetic mutations”. He warned that smoking is a primary cause of cancer. “The number of cancer cases will continue to increase unless we find ways to eliminate its causes,” he said, adding that the government spends some SR 2 billion on cancer patients every year.
