Al Ain, September 26: Breast cancer has been identified the first of the ten most common cancers among national and expatriate women and the second leading cause of deaths of women 28 per cent in the UAE.
Dr Shamsa Al Awar, chairperson of Tawam Breast Cancer Awareness Committee, said recently that these findings were listed in the Abu Dhabi Community Profile prepared by the Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness Team at the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD).
“With notable high incidence and a mortality rate of 44 per cent, due to late diagnosis, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the UAE and the leading cause of deaths among female malignant diseases,” she added.
Tawam Hospital, in affiliation with Johns Hopkins Medicine, will run one of the most extensive breast cancer awareness campaigns (BCAC) seen in the region throughout October as a month dedicated to breast cancer awareness globally.
The annual campaign this year is under the theme ‘Early Detection is your Best Protection’.
The campaign is being organised by Tawam Hospital and supported by HAAD, and SEHA, the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company, which is responsible for the curative activities of all public hospitals and clinics in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Dr Al Awar said that the campaign would target all UAE residents, but the majority of activities will take place in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and particularly the remote areas of the emirate that suffer from extremely low awareness levels.
The campaign will comprise daily and weekly awareness activities dedicated to educating women, men and families on breast cancer prevention in terms of early detection and regular screenings.
“Breast cancer should not and will not be a taboo in our community. Keeping this in mind our campaign targets and encourages every woman, man and child in our society to learn more about the disease and how to detect it.
Early detection of breast cancer is crucial for timely and successful treatment, and people need to understand this in order to become more proactive in terms of taking regular screenings and self-examinations seriously,” said Dr Al Awar.
Sumaya Al Harrasi, Head of Business Development at the hospital, added, “Fun community-focused activities are also available throughout the month. The 3rd Annual Tawam Hospital ‘Fun Run’ at Al Tuwaya Public Park in Al Ain, is open for all to participate and is aimed at setting an example to the members of the community to start becoming more pro-active towards breast cancer prevention and early detection.”
The Tawam Hospital BCAC has chosen October 26 to launch ‘Pink Day’ with the hospital staff showing their support by wearing at least one pink item of clothing, either a T-shirt, tie or a simple ribbon.
This year, Tawam has invited all members of the community to take part in this initiative.
The SEHA, HAAD, Al Ain Municipality, Etihad Airways and Al Ain Sports Club have agreed to join the initiative. Also, representatives from the media, including key TV presenters or hosts, will dress in pink on that day.
–Agencies