The Higher Steering Committee of Pink Caravan, the pan-UAE breast cancer awareness initiative by the Friends of Cancer Patients charity (FOCP) dedicated to raising breast cancer awareness and the importance of early detection examinations and regular checkups, has approved the organisational structure of the sixth edition of the Pink Caravan Ride.The committee also approved the names of sub-committees and their heads in preparation ofthe Pink Caravan Ride (PCR)launch in 2016. It also emphasized on PCR’scontinuous effortsto fight breast cancer and its determination to work harder to achieve its desired goal.H.E. AmeeraBinKaram, President of the Board of Trustees, founding member of FoCP and Chairperson of the Higher Steering Committee of the Pink Caravan Ride led the meeting held recently atGaleries Lafayette Dubai in the Dubai Mall, along with Dr. Sawsan Al Madhi, Director General of FOCP and Head of the Pink Caravan Ride’s Medical and Awareness Committee, Lize De Jonge, Project Manager at FoCP and Pink Caravan, ReemBinKaram, Head of the Events Committee, Nada Askar Al Naqbi, Head of the Sports Committee, Yousef Al Taweel, Head of the Media and Communication Committee, and committee members.
The meeting focused onthe landmark achievements of the Pink Caravan during its 5th Ride in which 80 medical staff and 500 volunteers participated, as did 143 riders who travelled 242 kilometers across the country and worked in conjunction with 30 medical clinics across the emirates.The Pink Caravan 2015 reportsummarized the milestones it has achieved in the past five years, and stated that the Pink Caravan has provided free breast cancer screenings to 36,332 people of all nationalities till date. Among these 28,459 were women, and 7,873 were men. The free examinations were offered to 13,953 Emirati women and men, and 20,456 expatriate residents, where in one man and 27 women were diagnosed with breast cancer.
HE AmeeraBinKaram said, "Through its significant achievements, The Pink Caravan has laid its markin the fight against breast cancer, thanks to the continuoussupport of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and the close backing of Her Highness SheikhaJawaherbint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of the Ruler of Sharjah, International Ambassador of the World Cancer Declaration for Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and International Ambassador for Childhood Cancer for UICC, Founder and Royal Patron of the Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP). The Pink Caravan has much experience in relaying support in the field of health and hasoffered free screenings to 36,332 women and men of various nationalities and ages across the UAE.”
She stated that the Pink Caravan has set specific goals and formulated coherentstrategies to achieve these goals, and said, “Pink Caravan aims to dispel the myths of breast cancer by encouraging thousands of men and women to undergoearly detectionexaminations regularly. It also seeks to raise community awareness about the disease, and break the barriers of fear and shame associated with it.BinKaramfurther said,"The Pink Caravan still has a lot to achieve. Its goal is to expand the scope of its work so that it is able to reach and positively affect as many people in the UAE as possible. The campaign has consistently increased awareness about the importance of early detection, and the huge public turnouts to PC’s screenings are a testament of their achievements so far.
She added, "These achievements ask us to double our efforts in fighting this disease, which is filled with challenges as proven by medical studies and statistics. During the campaign’s fifth ride, our medical teams examined each person with care and attention to ensure that accurate results were achieved, and all necessary information on how to perform self-examination was provided. This resulted in increasing awareness, which reflected in the impressive public turnout during the Pink Caravan Ride 2015."At the end of the meeting, BinKaramrecognised and thanked the PCR’s committee, sub-committee and heads for their hard work and achievements. Since its launchin 2011, the Pink Caravan has been raising awareness about the importance of the early detection of breast cancer, as well as highlighting the impact of this disease across the UAE. The Pink Caravan's efforts have contributed to dispelling the myths surrounding breast cancer. It also played a significant role in reducing the incidence of breast cancer through free screenings offered across the UAE.