Pink Caravan collaborates with University Hospital Sharjah in medical training

Abu Dhabi, Jan 28, 2013 (WAM) - The Pink Caravan, an initiative of the Friends of Cancer Patients charitable organisation (FoCP), has collaborated with University Hospital Sharjah to provide accredited training for breast cancer medical screenings and examinations, and effective awareness communications, to 25 medical professionals. The trained professional will be accompanying the Pink Caravan Ride, trekking across the UAE, with the aim of spreading awareness about breast cancer. Dr. Sawsan Al Madhi, Head of the Pink Caravan's Medical and Awareness committee and Secretary General for Friends of Cancer Patients charitable organisation (FoCP) said, "Every year, Pink Caravan's medical staff is carefully chosen from a selection of exceptionally talented medical practitioners and are provided further high quality and accredited training to allow them to communicate more effectively and thoroughly with both the male and female patients and attendees that we come across whilst trekking the UAE on the 11 day Pink Caravan Ride." Ameera BinKaram, President of the Board of Trustees and a founding member of the Friends of Cancer Patients charitable organisation (FoCP) said, "Whilst trekking across the country, we make sure to attend and promote to the more peripheral areas of the UAE, where there is a more inherent lack of understanding about the cause and screenings are rare." She added there is also a more notable increase in the myths about the disease in these areas and "we aim to dispel these myths through the awareness sessions. This collaboration between the University Hospital in Sharjah and the Pink Caravan is to provide international high quality training for our doctors and medical staff comes as part of the MOU signed between us in 2012." The pan-UAE trek will commence on the 2nd of February 2013, and will continue until the 12th. The campaign aims to spread awareness about the importance of early detection of breast cancer. The medical professionals will be divided into five teams, which would be stationed in various hospitals across each Emirate on separate days. These doctors would provide free medical check-ups to patients across the country, with an aim to conduct more than 5,000 quality screens during the Ride. On the occasion, Clinical Breast Examination Workshop of University Hospital Sharjah Professor Hossam Hamdy, Vice Chancellor for Medical '&' Health Sciences Colleges said, "We are proud to be a part of the noble initiative by helping Pink Caravan's messages to become more operative, louder and stronger than ever before. University Hospital Sharjah has always strived to raise awareness levels within the UAE communities and works to take the country's healthcare standards to an international level." He added for the past two years, Pink Caravan's efforts have helped to encourage more attendees to the centres for clinical screenings and this will help to lower the fatalities from undiagnosed breast cancer cases, as the disease is almost 90 per cent curable when caught early. The University Hospital Sharjah is equipped with state of the art medical facilities and technology, and its dedicated, experienced, and highly qualified staff, provides patients with cutting edge professional healthcare. - Emirates News Agency, WAM