UAE Urged To Support Cancer Ride

Sharjah: Organisers of an annual national cancer awareness drive are asking for everyone’s support to fight the disease.

In a statement on Monday, Shaikha Jawaher Bint Mohammad Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness Shaikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, asked the country to support the eighth edition of the Pink Caravan Ride which she helped found.

Shaikha Jawaher is also Founder and Royal Patron of the Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP), International Ambassador for the World Cancer Declaration of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and International Ambassador for Childhood Cancer for UICC, and Patron of the Global NCD Alliance Forum.

Horse riders joining the Pink Caravan Ride 2018 will set off on a nationwide journey to all emirates from February 28 to March 6, accompanied by volunteers and medical teams. The ride will begin with an opening ceremony in Sharjah and come to a close in the capital, Abu Dhabi.

In its past seven editions, Pink Caravan Ride has travelled 1,640 kilometres offering free breast screenings and medical check-ups to 48,874 persons through its 578 fixed and mobile clinics.

The eighth edition of the campaign will travel to all seven emirates from February 28 to March 6.

“People’s participation in a campaign such as the Pink Caravan Ride is embraced and strongly encouraged by the UAE’s wise leadership as a way of ensuring the health and safety of citizens and residents,” said Shaikha Jawaher in a statement.

“Such collective efforts contribute to increasing the welfare and happiness of society, and enables its members to join hands in tackling a widespread issue like breast cancer that affects the entire community, including women and men.”

“Breast cancer is a disease that can be better controlled and fought with heightened awareness, which can be considered as the first step on the path to recovery. This is exactly what the Pink Caravan has been doing for the past seven years through free breast screenings and medical examinations it has offered to women and men in all the seven emirates. The campaign’s significance does not only emerge from the fact that its early detections may help save several lives, but also in the way it enlightens people by correcting misconceptions and spreading hope among the affected,” she said.

All nationalities and age groups in the UAE are invited to undergo the free medical examinations clinics and healthcare centres throughout the nation will offer during the weeklong Pink Caravan Ride.