Dubai: Cancer patients and survivors along with friends and family were treated to a trip to the tallest building in the world – Burj Khalifa – on Wednesday, as part of the “Patient Care Programme” of the Friends of Cancer Patients (FOCP).
Dr Sawsan Abdul Salam Al Madhi, Secertary General of FOCP, said that the whole idea behind this trip is “to take the patient out of the environment of being sick and take them into public places and back to the community, with their friends with their families – we did not want to have a purely patient group, so they would not feel conscious about themselves.”
The group that went up Burj Khalifa consisted of 52 people of all ages and nationalities.
The patient care programme “day” is something the FOCP does every two months, Dr Sawsan said. “We are trying to do it every one and a half months, but that is according to the availability of our partners and of course the patients.”
This is the third “day” organised this year — the first was a mother’s day celebration and the second was a picnic at the park, she said. “We are going to have a group iftar in Ramadan.”
“FOCP is one of the oldest cancer-specific charities in the UAE and we have been working for 14 years….we help cancer patients psychologically or financially, we have helped more than 900 cancer patients so far and their families, we also raise awareness for the public, such as the Pink Caravan,” Dr Sawsan said.
“We are very fortunate to have a great partner like Emaar who are sponsoring this for us, we would like to thank them and also thank Emirates transport that provided transportation for free the patients and also Tim Horton who are providing refreshments.” Dr Sawsan said. She added that this was a great example of how corporations come together and work together to make a special day for a good cause.
Asma Ebrahim, an Egyptian resident in Ajman who has recovered from lymphatic and breast cancer, said that she was very happy about the trip. “The FOCP called me and told me about it and said I could bring someone along, so I brought my daughter.”
“I really want to thank them for all the support they provide us, whether psychologically or through providing us with treatment …they also call us all the time to make sure we are okay… I also want to thank the UAE and I just want to add that it is the most beautiful country in the world,” Asma said.
Dr Sawsan added that the FOCP has been getting a lot of international and regional attention after Shaikha Jawaher Bint Mohammad Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and royal patron of FOCP, was named the first World Cancer Declaration (WCD) International Ambassador for paediatric cancer by The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC).
