Pink Caravan calls upon Emirati and resident doctors in UAE

Pink Caravan, the pan-U.A.E. breast cancer awareness initiative by the Friends of Cancer Patients charitable society, has called on Emirati and resident medical professionals to join its 2014 ride to increase medical and awareness outreach. With February approaching, Pink Caravan's initial meetings have begun to fine-tune preparations for its 2014 pan-U.A.E. ride and is adopting a multi-pronged approach to attain its primary objective of increasing awareness, with a focus on people living in far-flung areas of the Emirates. So far, Pink Caravan has covered a distance of over 900 km and screened 22,877 women and men across the U.A.E.. Pink Caravan's next edition will see collaboration with international cancer organisations like the Union for International Cancer Control UICC and Susan Komen in the field of cancer advocacy and mitigation to be joined by celebrities to support the 11-day ride taking place across all seven emirates of the U.A.E. The 2014 horseback ride, scheduled to take place from February 15th-25th, will see Pink Caravan join forces with educational institutions as well as the public and private sector to achieve its objectives. With mobile detection clinics in tow, Pink Riders will be drawing attention to and highlighting the importance of self-examination and early detection as the best defence against breast cancer. While, the medical staff which makes the core of the campaign, will screen more than 500 patients every day during the 11-day ride. An educational programme running parallel to the campaign will also address social stigmas and myths attached to one of the world's most common cancers, which experts assert, if detected early, can be easily cured. Commenting on the forthcoming ride, Dr. Sawsan Al Madhi, Secretary General for the Friends of Cancer Patients charitable society and Head of the Pink Caravan's Medical and Awareness Committee, said, "Three years and thousands of free screenings later, this ride, which started as a novel concept for breast cancer awareness, has proved its efficacy. Pink Caravan is a community initiative and its success has been based on the support and collaboration from our medical strategic partners, U.A.E. Ministry of Health, Dubai Health Authority, Health Authority - Abu Dhabi and Sharjah Health Authority. The ride's 2014 edition is all set to go to the next level with the participation of leading international cancer organisations and globally-recognised public figures. Every year our team of 25 dedicated health care professionals including doctors and nurses, manage to screen 5,000 people in 11 days during the ride. "We encourage Emirati doctors and medical professionals to participate in large numbers in the campaign. Local presence will reap dual dividends, and will give solid experience to the participating medical professionals. By way of a deeper connect that exists between compatriots, such participation will lead to many more citizens, especially those in the Emirates' far-flung areas, being covered by the initiative." In her concluding remarks, Dr. Al Madhi asserted: "With 95% of breast cancer cases curable upon early detection, we cannot afford to underplay the need for early testing. Our dedicated teams are resolved to fulfilling Pink Caravan's mission: to reach out, raise awareness, provide free screenings and become a model of spreading awareness about breast cancer."