Laura Bush launches breast cancer awareness campaign in Saudi

US first lady Laura Bush arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday as part of a Middle East tour to promote awareness and treatment of breast cancer. Bush is to launch the Breast Cancer Partnership Programme in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan following its launch in the United Arab Emirates on Monday. She is scheduled to meet senior Saudi health and education officials and local groups and visit cancer treatment and screening centres during her stay in the country. A US-Saudi partnership agreement to promote awareness, early screening of breast cancer and joint cancer research will be signed on Tuesday, Saudi official sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. The partnership, the first of its kind for both countries, will increase cooperation between their medical institutions. The institutions involved are the King Fahd Medical City, Saudi Cancer Society in the kingdom and the MD Anderson Cancer Centre and Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in the US. Breast cancer incidence in Saudi Arabia reached 5,541 cases this year, according to the country's health ministry. The cancer awareness programme is sponsored by the US State Department as part of its Middle East Partnership Initiative launched to counter a growing anti-US sentiment in the Arab world because of US' perceived bias towards Israel and its unpopular Iraq war. The initiative focusses on the economy, politics, education and women's empowerment in 14 Middle Eastern countries, including Israel. Laura Bush's mother and grandmother suffered from breast cancer. dpa str sf bve