Pink ride launches year-long mobile clinic
sharjah — A mammography unit accompanying the Pink Caravan Ride (PCR), the annual breast cancer awareness initiative, will offer year-long free cancer screening across the country .
The seven-day ride will begin on February 28 and conclude on March 6 in Abu Dhabi.
Addressing a Press conference held in Sharjah on Monday, Reem BinKaram, head of the Pink Caravan’s higher organising committee, said: “We are honoured today to announce the completion of the Pink Caravan’s permanent mobile mammography clinic, which will offer breast cancer detection screenings across the country throughout the year.
“The clinic, equipped with sophisticated medical infrastructure and latest technologies, with generous support from the Sharjah Media Corporation, is one of our most significant achievements.
The clinic will begin providing its services on February 28, with the launching of the eighth Pink Caravan Ride this year.”
She added that through this mobile mammography clinic, the PCR campaign launched by the Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP), seeks to offer more effective early-detection services throughout the year.
The permanent mobile clinic, valued at Dh15million, marks a new milestone in Pink Caravan’s relentless efforts to raise awareness on cancer, according to her. Details of the eighth edition of the annual ride was also unveiled during the Press conference.
BinKaram said: “As the FoCP nears its 20th anniversary, we proudly recall its unprecedented efforts in offering support and treatment to more than 4,200 cancer patients and their families, standing by their side and lighting their path with hope towards recovery.”
She referred to the ‘Kashf ’ initiative, which was launched by the FoCP in 2010 with the aim of providing early cancer diagnosis services and spreading awareness about methods of examination and prevention from early detectable cancers.
The ‘Kashf’ programme has six awareness initiatives about different types of cancer, including the PCR under its umbrella.
BinKaram outlined key efforts made by the Pink Caravan under the directives of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and the immense support of his wife, Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi, founder and patron of the FoCP. She recounted that the Pink Ride through its 1,640-kilometre journey in the past seven years has offered medical check-ups worth Dh24 million to 48,874 persons.
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com