Zulekha Hospital’s yearly breast cancer awareness initiative ‘Pink it Now’ turns 10 this year and the team has launched the year’s campaign for free screenings and consultations for a period of two months starting October 4 to November 30 this year. The announcement of the year’s campaign was made at a gathering at The Oberoi hotel in Dubai by the Oncology department experts, Managing Director Mr. Taher Shams and Co-Chairperson Ms. Zanubia Shams in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Amin Hussain Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary of Health Regulation – MOHAP.
In 2020 Breast Cancer accounted for 21.4 per cent of all cancers in the country according to the World Health Organisation. A panel of Oncology experts at Zulekha Hospital shed light on important areas of breast cancer. Dr. Fadi Alnehlaoui – Specialist Surgical Oncologist, led the panel discussion speaking on the importance of early detection and prevention, the comprehensive oncology services and diverse expertise available at Zulekha Hospital. Dr. Soha Abdelbaky – Consultant Medical Oncology, Dr. Nidha Iqbal Shapoo – Specialist Medical Oncologist, Dr. Swati Chandrashekher Pacharne – Specialist Radiology, Dr. Mohamed Elbassyouny Alawy – Specialist Medical Oncology, Dr. Nancy Israel – Specialist Pediatric Oncology and Ms. Arathi Vijayan – Clinical Psychologist joined the panel speaking on the signs, symptoms, risk factors for breast cancer in different age groups, investigations, diagnosis and staging, treatment advances, vaccination for cancer patients, prevalence of various pediatric cancers and emotional readiness during diagnosis and treatments, family support and importance of support group meetings.
Following the panel discussion, courageous cancer survivors Ms. Binish Zafar and Ms. Rana Mustafa shared their experiences with the audience. Max Fardan, (Mr. Dubai 2019) added to the experiences by sharing his own journey as a spirited breast cancer survivor. The hospital will also be hosting a cancer support group ‘Pink Knights’ meet following this launch.
Chairperson, Zanubia Shams said, “These occasions are important for us to connect with like-minded people and help raise awareness on critical health matters. While cancer treatments may differ person to person across age groups, our endeavor is to constantly research and develop advanced treatment modalities and provide this expertise in UAE. We are treating pediatrics cancers and anticipate inclusion of bone-marrow transplants to our set of comprehensive oncology services. We will soon have the provisions of radiotherapy as well at Zulekha Hospital.”
Founder and Chairperson Dr. Zulekha Daud and Campaign Ambassador Dr. Pamela Munster, Professor of Medicine at University of California San Francisco extended their best wishes over video messages to their teams, patrons and courageous survivors in their absence. Dr. Sawsan Al Madhi, Director General – Friends of Cancer Patients and other campaign partners endorsed the cause. The ‘Pink it Now’ campaign has gained much popularity among corporates over the years and is supported by partners Schneider Electric, Danube Home, The Oberoi, Cool & Cool, P&G, Ford Warriors in Pink – Ford MENA, Friends of Cancer Patients, Khaleej Times, Dar Al Khaleej, LivFit by Oman Insurance, RIZEK and The Discounter App.
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