CAN trains PE teachers to lead breast cancer awareness in schools

KUWAIT: The National Cancer Awareness Campaign (CAN) has launched a training program to qualify female physical education teachers from the Ministry of Education as certified breast cancer awareness trainers, aiming to promote health education among 12th-grade female students on the importance of self-examination and early detection. CAN Chairman Dr Khaled Al-Saleh said in a press statement Monday that around 200 female teachers from various educational districts are participating in the second phase of the initiative, which focuses on training students in cancer awareness and breast self-examination techniques.

He noted that the program builds on a successful first phase, during which 182,000 students were trained between 2010 and 2024. The current phase is being implemented according to a schedule covering all educational regions, beginning with Jahra and Hawalli, followed by the Capital, Mubarak Al-Kabeer, Ahmadi and Farwaniya, and will conclude on October 9 with teachers from the private education sector.

Dr Al-Saleh emphasized that the program reflects CAN’s ongoing commitment to community partnership, public health promotion and the establishment of a culture of prevention as the most effective strategy for reducing breast cancer rates in Kuwait. Dr Ebtehal Fadel, head of the Regional Alliance for Non-Communicable Diseases, described the initiative as a pioneering model in the region, noting that it combines intensive lectures with hands-on workshops.

She explained that the curriculum covers breast cancer awareness, the significance of early detection, health development, the role of youth, and positive communication skills. It also features a motivational session titled “A Recovering Journey” presented by a breast cancer survivor, along with a practical training workshop using anatomical models. A certification exam for trainees will be held next Sunday, after which successful participants will officially join the CAN campaign as trainers and begin teaching 12th-grade students in their respective schools the fundamentals of self-examination and preventive health awareness. – KUNA