Jordan Breast Cancer Program 2014 Campaign

The King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Center (KHCF/KHCC), a UICC Member, have been entrusted with the leadership of the Jordan Breast Cancer Program (JBCP). Established in 2007 as a national program based upon the directive of the Minister of Health, JBCP’s mission is to reduce morbidity and mortality from breast cancer and shift the current state of diagnosis from its late stages (III – IV) to its earliest stages (0-II), where the disease is most curable, survival rates are highest, and treatment costs are lowest.

Every year JBCP under the leadership of KHCF, KHCC and the Ministry of Health, launches a nationwide October Campaign aimed at educating and raising awareness on breast cancer, the importance of early detection and encouraging women aged 40 years and older to have their mammograms.JBCP’s 2014 breast cancer awareness October campaign offers a combination of mass media and outreach activities to effectively and creatively convey the campaign’s message “get screened … we support you” to the general public. In addition to the outdoor, audiovisual media and distribution of educational material about breast cancer, a series of over 900 lectures, 60 roadshows and exhibitions are executed during this month reaching over 24,000 participants.

Based on the health strategy of JBCP and after analyzing previous campaigns, it was concluded that when it comes to screening, the most important and prominent barrier to early detection women face is FEAR. Therefore, the slogan of the campaign “get screened … we support you”  was selected with the objective of addressing this obstacle.

There are many root causes of fear in the Jordanian community; some of the most important are; fear of the positive result of the test (finding out that she has breast cancer), fear of death, fear of treatment (medications and their side effects), fear of treatment costs, fear of disease consequences (what will happen to the kids and the family in case she doesn’t survive), fear from husband’s reaction to her disease (fear of separation or divorce), fear of stigma and discrimination from society, and fear of the diagnostic test itself (painful procedure to some women). 

The campaign visual message is conveyed by a representative group of family members and friends who help women overcome their fear with the support of their community. The group includes a woman’s husband, her children, her family and her friends and it extends to include health care providers, other women (peers), opinion leaders and officials. 

JBCP realizes that breast cancer is a whole community issue; if a woman is affected, the whole community is affected, not only her direct family. That is why this year’s slogan is about the whole community supporting the woman and helping her face her fear.

For more information, please check Jordan Breast Cancer Page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JordanBreastCancerProgram