"Breast cancer does not respect national boundaries, which is why people from every country must share their knowledge, resources and experience to protect women from this disease," Bush said in a speech at the King Fahad Medical City in Riyadh.
She said it is especially important for people in the Middle East to be screened early for cancer, saying breast cancer presents itself at a younger age in the Middle East than in the United States.
She went on to say, "The cure for breast cancer can come from a researcher in Washington or a young doctor in Riyadh."
On of her first stops in the country was visiting the Abdul-Latif cancer screening center, the country's first. During this visit she met with Saudi women affected by breast cancer.
A staggering amount of Saudi women perish from the disease because they seek treatment too late, said radiologist Asma al-Dabbagh, one of the first women to conduct mammograms in the country. "The breast is a sensitive part of a woman's body and they are shy to talk about it because our culture is very private and very conservative."
"We're at the stage now that American women were at 25 years ago; there's a lot of ignorance and shame surrounding breast cancer," Dabbagh said in an AP article.
According to reports Bush also witnessed the signing the U.S.-Saudi Arabia Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research agreement at a standing room only event at the King Fahad Medical City.
Before arriving in Saudi Arabia Mrs. Bush was in the United Arab Emirates. Her itinerary also has her visiting Jordan. This particular subject for Mrs. Bush is a close one since both her mother and grandmother had the disease.
