Sharjah: The Pink Caravan Ride set off on Wednesday on another journey of hope accompanied for the first time by its fully owned mammography clinic to detect breast and cervical cancers in the community.
The UAE’s most extensive annual cancer awareness campaign kicked off its eighth edition in Sharjah and will cover one emirate every day until March 6 before wrapping up in Abu Dhabi.
Through more than 30 free fixed and mobile medical clinics operating in different locations during the campaign this year and the help of 200 medical practitioners, the ride will offer free health advice and medical screening to the largest number of men and women in the country.
Shaikh Abdullah Bin Salem Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, inaugurated the ride, an initiative of Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP), from the Sharjah Equestrian and Racing Club where around 15 riders on horseback took off on the Sharjah route for the first day. Up to 230 horse riders and 100 volunteers are participating in the ride this year to support the campaign mission.
Princess Ghida Talal, chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Amman-based King Hussain Cancer Foundation and Centre, was also present.
Reem Bin Karam, head of the Pink Caravan’s Higher Steering Committee, said after seven years of work, they are now operating their own mobile mammography clinic, where a medical team will be able to offer free breast cancer screening and cervical cancer tests not only during the duration of the Pink Caravan Ride, but throughout the year.
“What makes this year special is the van which we acquired after collecting donations through the last seven years. This is the first mobile mammography clinic in the world to offer specialised on-the-spot screening and it will be available 365 days a year,” she told Gulf News.
The van, which offers a comprehensive package of medical services only for women, will travel hundreds of kilometres across the seven emirates along with the horse riders and be stationed at different locations in each emirate to receive women.
In an exclusive tour inside the van, Dr Sawsan Al Madi, director-general of FoCP and head of the Pink Caravan Ride Medical and Awareness Committee, said the clinic is expecting 40-50 women every day.
An app will be made available for booking appointments.
Equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and latest technologies, the van has a reception and a clinical examination room where the cervical cancer screening test [Pap smear] will be conducted. An ultrasound machine is also available for further testing.
On the other side is a room where the 3D mammography and diagnostic breast imaging is carried out. To make it practical, two change rooms, one on each side, have been built beside the mammogram unit for easier flow of patients.
“We made sure to equip the clinic with an access for women on wheelchairs. There is also a toilet and pantry so the team can feel comfortable.”
A range of other medical tests will be carried out at this van including checking blood sugar levels, blood pressure, osteoporosis and height and weight measurement, she explained.
“Once the woman comes in, she will do the proper registration. The medical team will take vital signs, after that she will go through the breast examination, and if married, a cervical examination. If the results are normal there is no need to do mammogram. If she is above 40, we will send her to the do mammogram,” she said.
For the first time, people can join the pink parade by foot alongside the horse riders as part of an activity called Pink Steps, which will run for the next six days.
Pink Caravan Ride
Pink Caravan is a pan-UAE breast cancer initiative that falls under Friends of Cancer Patients’ (FoCP) umbrella “Kashf” for early detection of cancer. It was launched in 2011 under the patronage of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and Shaikha Jawaher Bint Mohammad Al Qasimi, wife of Shaikh Sultan.
Medical clinics
Screening timings: 10am to 6pm
One fixed clinic in each emirate which will continue to offer medical services every day for 12 days
Permanent mobile mammography clinic accompanying the riders and to be stationed at stop points
Four mobile clinics for a day in each emirate
One clinic dedicated for men with male nurses in each emirate
In numbers
2018: 230 riders, 30 clinics, more than 100 volunteers and 200 medical practitioners
48,874 people have received free examinations, including 32,093 expatriates; 9,643 of them were men
47 malignancies detected in seven years
1,640km covered across the seven emirates in the past seven years
578 fixed and mobile clinics have offered medical check-ups worth Dh24 million
