Breast cancer campaign set to begin

Al Ain: The month of October will be dedicated to raise awareness of breast cancer, especially in the remote areas of the nation's capital in Abu Dhabi which has extremely low awareness levels on the health issue.

Tawam Hospital, in affiliation with John Hopkins Medicine, will launch one of the most extensive breast cancer awareness campaign seen in the region throughout October - a month dedicated globally to breast cancer awareness.

This annual campaign is organised by Tawam Hospital and supported by the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (Haad), and Seha, the health services company responsible for the activities of all public hospitals and clinics in Abu Dhabi.

The campaign aims to target all UAE residents, but the majority of activities will take place in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

This year, Tawam Hospital's breast cancer awareness drive will follow the theme: "Early Detection is your Best Protection".

The campaign will comprise of activities that are 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. This is why 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 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 Shamsa Al Awar, chairperson of Tawam Breast Cancer Awareness Committee.

Sumaya Al Harrasi, Head of Business Development, said: "Fun community-focused activities are also available throughout the month. The third 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." On October 26, Tawam Hospital will observe "Pink Day" wherein hospital staff will be wearing at least one pink item of clothing, either a T-shirt, tie or a ribbon.

This year, Tawam has invited all members of the community to take part in this initiative. So far Seha, Haad, Al Ain Municipality, Etihad Airways and Al Ain Sports Club will be participating. Also, representatives from the media, including key TV presenters or hosts, will dedicate October 26 to dress in pink.

Free screening of women aged 40 and above (nationals and residents of Abu Dhabi), will be done using the Tawam Hospital's mobile mammography van.

"All the activities we've chosen for the campaign are fun, simple and educational. But, most importantly, our campaign requires hands-on involvement and participation from our community. Our strategy is to show people how easy it is to become aware and pro-active towards your own health ... we hope they will make it a habit to always take precautionary measures against breast cancer," said Dr Shamsa.

Killer diseases: First among equals

Based on the Abu Dhabi Community Profile findings prepared by the global initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness Team at HAAD, breast cancer has been identified to be the first of the 10 most common cancers in the UAE for national and non-national women and the second cause of death accounting for 28 per cent of all female deaths in the UAE.

With a notably high incidence and a mortality rate of 44 per cent, due to late diagnosis, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the UAE and the leading cause of death among malignant diseases.