Breast cancer most common form of cancer among women; ‘Think Pink’ initiative launched in UAE

The third edition of The ‘Joyalukkas Think Pink’ initiative, with the theme ‘Take a Pink Pledge,’ is launched by Dr Ahmad bin Kalban, CEO of Primary Healthcare at Dubai Health Authority (DHA), to reinforce and build awareness about the breast cancer.

The initiative is supported by the Zulekha Hospital and Dubai Health Authority. October is celebrated worldwide as the month dedicated to building awareness, educating and empowering women on breast cancer.

To complement the global drive, Joyalukkas launched ‘Think Pink’ in the year 2011, as one of its main activities within its yearly CSR calendar. The Joyalukkas ‘Think Pink’ initiative strives to drive awareness and educate society on the various aspects of breast cancer, including detection, via various media and in-store activities.

“This year we are making an increased drive towards educating and empowering women since we have received a positive response over the last two years. I would like to sincerely thank the esteemed Dubai Health Authority for supporting this drive and helping us to extend our reach to more people and educate them on this disease. I would like to especially thank Zulekha Hospital for the support it has extended to us in our endeavour,” said Joy Alukkas, Chairman & MD, Joyalukkas Group.

Dr. Pamela Munster, renowned breast cancer research specialist, and many other official dignitaries and eminent doctors from the field of breast cancer research were present at the launch of the drive.

“According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one third of cancer deaths could be reduced with early detection. In a worldwide context, this equates to 400,000 lives every year. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women, yet, despite its prevalence, not enough cases are caught in the early stages and the longer a cancer goes undetected, the harder it is for doctors to tackle it and for patients to survive. Therefore, such awareness campaigns are vital to educate women and their family members about the importance of regular screenings to detect breast cancer early on. The DHA would like to encourage not only women but also their family members to be educated about breast cancer so that they can encourage women above the age of 40 in their family to undergo yearly breast cancer screenings,” said Dr Ahmad bin Kalban, CEO of Primary Healthcare at Dubai Health Authority (DHA).

A mass media campaign is launched to build awareness and educate women on breast cancer. The campaign will also include free breast consultation vouchers distributed at Zulekha Hospital and a special educational booklet, distributed across the UAE, which will detail self-detection methods in addition to key facts of the disease plus feature articles and quotes from reputed personalities in support of this grand initiative. Other than this there are special orientation programs planned in universities, schools, Government offices and various Corporates across the UAE.

“Our pledge to fight breast cancer has grown stronger with the overwhelming support and response we have received in the past two years, hence we have decided to further our activities under the ‘Think Pink’ banner. As a Group, we are committed to take up causes that help and assist mankind and we hope we manage to reinforce the fight against breast cancer once again this October,” said John Paul Joy Alukkas, Executive Director, Joyalukkas Group.

“As a healthcare provider we feel it is our responsibility to support and do everything possible that result in the health and well-being of people. The emphasis of the ‘Joyalukkas Think Pink’ initiative is to build awareness about breast cancer and educate them on taking preventive measures. While women over 40 years of age are globally the most affected, younger women now are also being diagnosed with the disease, women as young as 19 to 30 have been diagnosed with breast cancer in the UAE. We hope ‘Joyalukkas Think Pink’ will add to the activities undertaken by various bodies to build awareness, educate and protect women” said Dr. Zulekha Daud, Managing Director, Zulekha Healthcare Group.

In addition, various road shows and activities targeting women have been planned to give them a forum in which concerns and questions about breast cancer may be raised.  Popular radio stations across the UAE will also be used as a medium to interact live with listeners, hear their stories and most importantly to educate and build awareness.

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