Cancer walkathon: Dubai paints itself pink

Dubai: Sue Vey, an expatriate from South Africa, had tears in her eyes as a massive crowd of 8,000 people began a walkathon early yesterday morning in support of a breast cancer awareness programme.

She was caught in a moment of emotion as men, women and schoolchildren from Dubai and other emirates got together for a 3.6-kilometre ‘Pink Walkathon' to help make women aware of one of the top killers in the UAE. Vey was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago.

The walkathon got off in a festive mood as the huge crowd gathered in front of BurJuman mall, which is at the forefront of a campaign called Safe and Sound. A group beat their drums, clowns pranced about to the beat of We Will Rock You by Queen, pink helium balloons were released into the skies, as Laila Suhail, CEO of the Dubai Shopping Festival kicked off the walkathon at 8am.

The police had blocked off parts of the road in Mankhool area and it soon became a sea of pink caps and white shirts. It was a pleasant morning but it started getting a bit sticky around 9am and people could be seen eagerly picking up water bottles from volunteers stationed at certain points of the route.

Little Roman Adam was seen happily perched on the shoulders of his father Surjit Sangha from the UK. The expatriate said he and his wife Katrina joined the walk as it was for a good cause. "My brother-in-law has a cancer-related illness and has gone through chemotherapy and radiation. Events like these help create awareness," he said.

The mortality rate is high in the UAE because of late diagnosis, doctors have said. It also affects a small percentage of men. Shaheenah Dawood, a senior specialist registrar with Dubai Hospital earlier told Gulf News that women here often delay action because they are embarrassed to reveal intimate medical problems to male relatives.

Sabina Khandwani, head of PR marketing with Burjuman, said people paid Dh50 per T-shirt and that the money raised will be put into supporting education and patient care, for those who cannot afford the expensive treatment.

Do you think such events help raise awareness about the disease? Have you ever participated in such an event? Share your experiences with us.