Azerbaijan's First Lady attends special session on cancer control in OIC member states

/By Azernews/

By Amina Nazarli

The Special Session on First Ladies' Leadership on Cancer Control was held in Istanbul, as part of the 13th Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on April 14.

Azerbaijani First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva attended the event.

Addressing the event, the First Lady expressed her deep appreciation for the organization of the session dedicated to such an important topic of many countries.

“The purpose of our meeting is to give our peoples detailed information about cancer -- one of the most serious diseases worldwide," she said. "Despite the mankind has faced with this problem for many years, there are still many erroneous opinions about the disease and its treatment,” she explained.

She added that to prevent the disease specialists are making efforts for its early detection, and use a variety of means for treatment. In today's world, cancer is not just a health issue but also an issue concerning social, economic, environmental and education spheres.

“In the period of independence, Azerbaijan has taken important steps in this direction. We created a modern National Cancer Center in our country. For the first time in the region, children's cancer clinic was created. We want to ensure the treatment of our patients using modern equipment for the early diagnosis and treatment of disease,” she said.

Azerbaijan’s First Lady stressed that oncologists in Azerbaijan could make great strides in this direction.

“However, they, like all over the world, often can only alleviate the suffering of people affected by this disease,” she said, adding that cancers are the second leading cause of mortality in the country, as in many countries.

Addressing the event, Turkey's First Lady Emine Erdogan stressed the importance of holding of the 13th Summit in Istanbul and said that she was glad to see First Ladies of the Islamic countries.

She said there are common issues of interest for the Muslim community.

Mrs. Erdogan noted that the fighting the disease must be an important issue for the world. Stressing the possibility of preventing and treating cancer, she offered to create a data bank, as a first step.

The meeting called on the international community to consolidate efforts, emphasizing that only a joint struggle with cancer can be effective.

The meeting in particular stressed the role of diagnostics in fighting the disease. Speaking on the achievement of substantial progress in the field of cancer research, the participants noted the importance of finding ways to speed up the progress in this field and outlind the need to implement more intensive data exchange between scientists.