Cancer survival rate in Saudi Arabia reaches 50%; and 97% in some cases

Cancer survival rate in Saudi Arabia reaches 50%; and 97% in some cases

RIYADH — Dr. Majid Al-Fayyadh, CEO of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH&RC), said that cancer was a ‘death sentence’ in the past, but that is no longer the case at present. “The cancer survival rate has become higher, reaching 50 percent, and in some cancers it is 97 percent. Fifty percent of my patients, who are treated at KFSH&RC, are completely cured, and the recovery rate is 90 percent for leukemia, as well as for breast cancer in its early stages,” he said.

Dr. Al-Fayyadh made these remarks while attending “Al-Liwan” program on Rotana Khalijia channel. He said that there are 20,000 cancer cases reported in the Kingdom annually, of which 16,000 are Saudis and 4,000 are non-Saudis. “KFSH&RC has treated 25 percent of the total patients diagnosed with cancer during the last year in the Kingdom,” he said while looking forward to double this percentage.

Dr. Al-Fayyadh was also the first to start creating a registry for cancer patients and later turned into an integrated national registry. He has also been appointed in the Saudi Health Council.

Referring to the story of the establishment of KFSH&RC, he said that King Faisal wanted to put an end to the suffering