BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH(1-31 October 2011)

                                                                        (ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES)

1-31 October, is :BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH in Britain!

Breast cancer in the UK/west, is rising day after day with little effort done  in prevention ,and many patients still die from this disease   in  a big number  !

In the UK alone,50 000 are diagnosed with the disease every year and  over 12 000 die!

In the US:about 300 000 women are affected by the disease.

Men too can be affected by breast cancer,but in small number.

There are about 300 cases /year in the UK.

If we look into all the  medical researches and studies  in the world regarding the  risk factors and  the causes which can  lead to breast cancers,we will  find  that  they are PROHIBITED OR STRONGLY DISCOURAGED IN THE TEACHINGS OF ISLAM!

Let us now go through these  basic  risk factors and causes which predispose to breast cancer:

-Alcohol : this is clearly prohibited in Islam

-Smoking:Smoking  is prohibited today because of the many harms and diseases  it causes , it KILLS the smoker and those  around(Passive smoking).

There are over 400 Fatwas(Islamic ruling) in the Muslim world  which prohibited smoking .

-Lack of Breastfeeding(Lactation):The holy Book AL QUR'AN,and some Ahadith(Sayings of the  final prophet's Muhammad,peace be upon him) have asked mothers to breastfeed their children up to 2 years.

-Obesity: the Islamic teachings are full of guidances which do reduce weight and obesity  like: eating less,eating good  halal healthy natural(Tayyib)  food and drink, unsaturated fat/oil,fasting, doing exercises, walking to the mosque,work/job etc...

Lack of exercises is an important risk factor.

-Abortion:  in over 40 medical studies worlwide,it was discovered that  some women who had abortion do develop cancer in their breasts afterwards..!

All the  Quranic and Prophetic teachings  are against the killing of any unborn baby and there is no single statement in the Islamic holy Scriptures which allows the killing of any unborn child(Janin) as in abortion.

-Not having children..or having children  late in life: Islam encourages early mature marriage,pregnancy and procreation and opposes  sterilisation and  birth control .

-Stress of the working mother:This is common today because many women are doing two jobs today:working outside the house and looking after the children and the house...Islam encourages women to be full time mothers and to look  well after their own children.

It was found also  in  a new medical study that the house work of the wife at home reduces 1/3 of breast cancers .

-Consumption of Saturated fat,as in lard from pork:

 Islam prohibits   the eating of  pork/lard  and  most saturated fats and encourages a lot the consumption of olive oil , olive and vegetable oil.

- Hormones/Contraceptive Pills which are used a lot today especially by the unmarried girls and women..also HRT(Hormone replacement therapy): Muslims should  try  to avoid it for Islamic and health reasons.

Other reported risk factors:

*Family history of breast cancer/genetic

*Night shift work

*The use of medical radiation

and the use of Deoderants and Antiperspirants

Also,on top of cancer breast,some women do develop cancer in the skin of the breast,

because of  the widespread  nakedness and exposure to too much sun  on the  beaches and elsewhere.

Modesty and covering the flesh  are  basic parts in the teachings of Islam for every practicing Muslim women.

So one  can see clearly  how Islam and Islamic behaviour  do play a big role in the prevention of most risk factors for breast cancer.

We appeal to all Muslim women to stick to the Islamic teachings for their own health and survival.

We  also like to request  our Muslim  women doctors to  offer some voluntarily services,to  check and  do examination to  the breasts of  many  Muslim women ( free  Health check up) in the local mosques/centres,as some  women might be affected by early cancer and  might not be aware of it,especially when  many  Muslim women  today shy away and avoid  going to  the clinic or GP or hospital because of the fear and worry of been examined by male doctors!

It is important too to teach  Muslim women to do their own self examination  of their breasts at home.

EARLY DIAGNOSIS and QUICK  REFERRAL AND TREATMENT  BY BEST PROFESSIONAL DOCTORS ARE CRUCIAL FOR THE HEALTH AND SURVIVAL OF EVERY WOMAN AFFECTED.