Feb 04th, 2013 (WAM)–The annual Ride of the Pink Caravan, the pan-UAE breast cancer awareness initiative by the Friends of Cancer Patients charitable organisation, completed a journey of 35 km from on Sunday, trekking from Al Dhaid Hospital to Masafi in Fujairah. 

The Pink Caravan’s medical team provided medical tests to applicants in Al Dhaid Hospital and Masafi Hospital on the second day of the 10-day journey. The riders and medical teams were warmly welcomed by people of Al Dhaid and Massafi, who commended the great role being played by Pink Caravan in raising breast cancer awareness and providing early detection tests. 

The second day of the ride saw the Pink Caravan’s medical teams provide screenings to 576 members of the public at Al Dhaid Hospital and Masafi Hospital. According to the second day’s statistics, 418 women and 158 men received medical screenings, of which 323 were Emirati nationals and 253 expatriates, bringing the total number of people who received tests during the first two days to 1030 men and women. 

On the second day, 187 women were referred for mammogram screening and 25 women were referred for ultrasound examination. 348 of the individuals being tested were under the age of 40 were people, while 257 were above 40. 

The Pink Caravan aims to achieve this goal through their breast cancer awareness and early detection campaign.
Commenting on the occasion, Secretary General for Friends of Cancer Patients charitable organisation (FoCP) and Head of the Pink Caravan’s Medical and Awareness committee, Dr Sawsan Al Madhi, said, “The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has estimated that 1.5 million lives being lost to cancer, could be saved per year if decisive measures are taken to achieve the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) 25 by 25′ target, which aims to reduce premature deaths due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 25 per cent by 2025. In fact, this is exactly what we aim to achieve through FoCP’s various initiatives and campaigns, especially Pink Caravan.” According to UICC, 7.6 million people die from cancer worldwide every year, out of which, 4 million people die prematurely (aged 30 to 69 years). Therefore unless urgent action is taken to raise awareness about the disease and to develop practical strategies to address cancer, by 2025, an alarming 6 million premature cancer deaths per year is being projected.