A MAN WHO CAMPAIGNS FOR BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
Filipino expatriate Rommel Zantua is just one of many volunteers in the UAE who has given up his spare time to walk alongside the Pink Caravan Riders during their annual journey.
With two aunts who survived breast cancer, he said spreading the importance of early detection is something that is “close to his heart”.
During the 7.2km ride in Ajman on Day 6 of the awareness journey, Zantua said he first became a Pink Caravan volunteer in 2016. “I worked in retail and we were selling the Pink Caravan badges. I was actually the top seller of the badges in my store, so I received an award for the donations which I helped secure,” he told Khaleej Times.
But the physical reward wasn’t enough for Zantua. He wanted to get more involved in the cause. “I met one of the project leaders at that time and asked if I could volunteer for the ride. I was actually due to go on a month’s vacation back home, but I cut it short by eight days to join the ride.”
For Zantua, helping spread the message of hope for breast cancer patients and survivors is a “passion, something in my heart”. If he can encourage at least one person to go and get screened during ride, he considers it mission accomplished.
“This is a very personal journey for me too, because both my aunts were diagnosed with the disease at late stage, but thankfully they are okay now.”
Throughout the seven-day ride, Zantua has been distributing information leaflets on early detection to passers-by. He added that opportunity to speak to people faceto-face has been a privilege.
“We’re a big group. We have horses, riders, with police cars in tow, so naturally people are curious to know what we are doing. I use that curiosity as a chance to encourage people to take their health in their own hands and get screened. It may not have been something they even thought about before. But we are making them consider it,” he said.
More than 3,500 people have been screened during the first five days of the annual Pink Caravan Ride, and this year, more young people have been stepping forward for breast screenings.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, a representative from the ride’s medical awareness committee said the demographic regarding screenings has really changed this year.
“We have set up the screenings into two groups: below 40 and 40+. Surprisingly, the number of young people being proactive about their breast health by getting screened has been remarkable. It’s great to see.”
Today marks the final leg of the seven-day journey where riders have so far covered tracks in Sharjah, Fujairah, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Ajman. Tuesday’s ride will conclude in Abu Dhabi.
In 2017, a total of 7,108 people across the country were screened during the 11-day ride, a figure which broke all previous records since its inception in 2011.