Abu Dhabi sees 377% surge in breast cancer screenings as fear and accessibility drive change

Abu Dhabi: Far more women in Abu Dhabi are getting screened for breast cancer. Health authorities say a campaign built around fear, everyday life and easy access is behind the rise.

In October 2025, 5,983 women aged 40 and above were screened by mammography. That is an increase of 377.5% compared with October 2024.

Across all of 2025, cancer screenings in the emirate rose by more than 280% compared with the year before.

“Together, these figures show a community moving from awareness to proactive health action,” Durra Mohammed AlBlooshi, Advisor in the Community Health Sector at Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC), told Gulf News.

Screening where women already are

According to AlBlooshi, the main reason for the rise is access. The campaign, called “Check What Really Matters”, offered free mammograms through mobile units and pop-up stations in places women visit anyway: shopping malls, beauty salons and sports events such as TrainYAS.

“We integrated screening opportunities directly into women’s daily routines, so they did not have to go out of their way to seek care,” she told Gulf News.

Breast cancer screening saw the sharpest increase, she said. Screening for cervical and colorectal cancer has also gone up.

More cases caught early

The authorities say earlier detection is already showing. AlBlooshi told Gulf News that in 2025 there was an 85% increase in breast cancers found at Stage 0 or Stage 1, before the disease has spread.

When breast cancer is caught that early, the five-year survival rate is higher than 95 to 98%, she explained. Early detection also often means gentler treatment and faster recovery.

Over the past two years, Abu Dhabi has expanded its mobile mammography fleet to two units. This October, they are going to more than 40 communities and workplaces.

3D mammography and AI-assisted software are now used across healthcare providers. AlBlooshi said this helps especially women with dense breast tissue.

Patients with suspicious findings are now referred to specialist teams “within days rather than weeks”, she added.

Fear is the biggest barrier

According to AlBlooshi, the biggest obstacles are not practical but emotional. Many women avoid screening because they fear the result. Others put their children and families first, or assume a check-up is unnecessary if they have no symptoms or family history.

She also pointed to two common misconceptions: that mammograms are painful and that the radiation is harmful. She said that the compression may feel tight but is brief, that modern machines use reduced doses, and that screening is only needed every one to two years.

To address this, ADPHC holds informal Q&A sessions with female specialists in places like coffee shops, salons and community centres.

Mammography detects roughly 85 to 90% of breast cancers and can find tiny changes two to three years before they can be felt, according to AlBlooshi. She stressed that no test is perfect. If a mammogram is unclear, doctors may add an ultrasound or MRI.

The campaign continues throughout October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.