Pink Caravan Ride Fixed Clinics Extend Deadline until March 15

In a bid to continue its efforts to reach out to heighten people’s awareness about the dangers of breast cancer and the importance of early detection in mitigating risks, the Pink Caravan Ride’s eighth annual edition which concluded last week has announced that the fixed clinics in three emirates will continue offering free checkups until 10pm, this Thursday (March 15).

The Medical Awareness Committee of the pan-UAE breast cancer awareness campaign organised by the cancer non-profit Friends of Cancer Patients (FOCP), revealed that the increasing turnout of visitors to their fixed clinics in Al Majaz Waterfront in Sharjah, Ajman Corniche and Sheikh Khalifa General Hospital in Umm Al Quwain, up until March 11 – the original deadline – has contributed greatly to the decision.

Since the eighth Pink Caravan Ride’s weeklong campaign across the UAE concluded on March 7, the fixed medical clinics in the seven emirates, still operational, have successfully delivered 1,699 free screenings and medical examinations in 5 days. 

Dr Sawsan Al Madhi, Director General of FOCP and Head of PCR Medical and Awareness Comiittee, has encouraged women and men in these emirates to make an appointment for their health screening, saying: “To increase the likelihood of detecting earlier-stage breast cancers, and even to know that an individual is not at risk, women should be encouraged to receive regular clinical breast exams. The success of our campaign depends on how many lives we are able to touch through the services we offer and how many more people we make aware every year about the importance of having the right knowledge and tools to be able to detect a change.”

“We are extremely pleased to see the way members of community have embraced our cause and taken responsibility for their health once again this year, and the fact that we crossed 5,600 screenings within the one week that the Pink Caravan Ride travelled around the emirates, testifies this. The launch of our permanent mobile medical clinic worth AED 15 million equipped with state-of-the-art 2D and 3D mammography and imaging facilities for breast cancer and cervical cancer has played a significant role in achieving these numbers,” she added. 

The fixed medical clinics in all seven emirates continued to operate after the conclusion of the Pink Caravan Ride last Tuesday (March 6). The Medical Awareness Committee has revealed that the total number of screenings conducted to date as 6,859. This includes 6,241 women and 618 men. Further categorized, the numbers comprise 1,059 locals and 5,800 expatriates, represented by 1,602 people in the 40+ age category and 5,257 individuals below 40 years of age. After the initial screenings, 5,208 walk-ins have been given the safe card, 1,424 have been referred for a mammogram, and 227 were advised to undergo an ultrasound.