566 breast cancer screenings on Day 1
fujairah — A group of horse riders, doctors and volunteers in the UAE from the Pink Caravan are on a 10-day trek across the country on Tuesday to spread breast cancer awareness.
The 10-day trek themed ‘Seven Years… For Seven Emirates’ is travelling across the seven emirates from March 7-17, offering free breast cancer screenings, and raising awareness about the disease by emphasising early detection.
The horse riders will set off on Thursday’s journey at 9:30 am from the Dibba Beach Park, and travel 25.6 km before they return to the day’s starting point.
From the Sharjah Equestrian and Racing Club, the Pink Caravan battalion covered five medical centres set up in Sharjah. The riders gathered at Fujairah Men’s College, moved to City Centre Fujairah, visited Sheikh Zayed Mosque and culminated at Masafi Hospital.
The organisers shared the first day’s tally of the number of people who were screened — 566, of which 482 were women and 84, men. These included 139 locals and 427 expatriates, who underwent 207 mammograms, 317 regular medical screenings and 42 ultrasounds.
On the second day, a big crowd of women from various nationalities gathered at the hospital for the free screening.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Reem BinKaram, Chairperson of Pink Caravan’s Higher Organising Committee, said the number of those who attended on the second would be revealed later, but that it’s expected to be big, as there are many women who await every year for the Pink Caravan to pass by Fujairah for the free screening opportunity.
Adding that community engagement is key to this campaign’s success, she added that 566 screenings on the first day is a promising show of their efforts. “We are grateful to our partners who are working tirelessly to further our mission — something that has transformed the Pink Caravan’s essence from being just an awareness campaign into a bigger initiative of collective goodness and selfless giving,” BinKaram said.
“Visitors covered a wide age range, and some clinics reported to have received women even in their early 20s. Of the 566 screenings, 149 were conducted at the fixed medical clinics in the seven emirates.
“The fixed clinics have definitely bumped up Pink Caravan’s capacity to cater to a larger number of walk-ins. To be able to reach out to the maximum number of people with awareness and medical assistance is at the core of this initiative, and I am pleased this new addition has propelled us further in that direction,” BinKaram said.
“I was detected with a slight problem in one of my breasts last month, and I am glad I had another opportunity to get a screening done here,” said a 23-year-old walk-in at Al Dhaid Hospital in Sharjah.
“To get checked up at the hospital, we have to go through many formalities, from taking the doctor’s appointment to being referred for a screening, which again takes a while to get an appointment for. Pink Caravan is very helpful and it saves us from breast cancer,” another walk-in, Maqbbola Al Fadil said.
Nada bin Ghalib, a volunteer from Sharjah, said that it is great opportunity to be part of the Pink Caravan. “I’m so excited to be part of the horse riding trek, to spread awareness among women. It makes me feel useful and glad to be contributing to my community,” she said.
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com
We are grateful to our partners who are working tirelessly to further our mission — something that has transformed the Pink Caravan’s essence from being just an awareness campaign into a bigger initiative of collective goodness and selfless giving.” Reem BinKaram, Chairperson of Pink Caravan’s Higher Organising Committee