Cancer care given boost in the UAE

Sharjah: Pink Caravan Ride organisers Friends of Cancer Patients (FOCP), a UAE-based cancer non-profit group, is teaming up with the University Hospital Sharjah (UHS) to boost cancer detection, prevention and treatment services across the seven emirates.

In a new agreement, the Pink Caravan Mobile Screening Clinic will be stationed at the university to strengthen the cancer diagnosis and treatment infrastructure in Sharjah and the UAE as a dedicated point of contact for breast and cervical cancer detection.

All referrals made by the Pink Caravan mobile clinic in Sharjah will be taken up by the UHS-based Sharjah Breast Care Centre (SBCC) while FOCP will cover treatment costs for uninsured patients.

Highlighting an essential aspect of this collaboration, Sawsan Jafar, chairperson of FOCP said: “We value this partnership and continued collaboration with the UHS which fulfils a shared objective in facilitating FOCP’s cancer screening and awareness efforts, as the centre for the Pink Caravan Mobile Screening Clinic.”

“Radiological and laboratory investigations undertaken in the mobile medical clinic will be reviewed and interpreted by medical professionals at SBCC, prior to prescribing treatment. We are grateful to UHS for offering a marked reduction in the cancer screening and treatment costs in support of FOCP’s community outreach,” Jafar said.

Abdulla Ali Al Mahyan, chairman of Board of Trustees at UHS, said that the new tie-up “takes our collaborative efforts a step further by enabling patients’ direct access to timely expert medical attention. Early detection, right diagnosis and timely treatment are key to the increasing the possibility of a cancer-free life for those who are detected with it. This agreement seeks to facilitate just that. We are confident that this agreement will lay the foundation of a brighter, healthier and happier future for the emirate of Sharjah and the UAE.”