Pink Caravan Ride to run from March 7

The official launch date of the Pink Caravan Ride, the annual breast cancer awareness drive, has been set for March 7.

The Pink Caravan Ride 2016 will run from March 7 to 17 and will see over 100 horseback riders, medical teams and volunteers promote public awareness about breast cancer, the importance of early detection examinations and to offer free screenings for everyone.

To date, Pink Caravan has succeeded in offering free screenings to 36,332 women and men throughout the UAE’s seven emirates. The Pink Caravan has also gained considerable success in raising awareness about the importance of early breast cancer detection.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer affecting women worldwide with approximately 1.1 million women across the world diagnosed with breast cancer every year, 410,000 of whom will die of the disease. But if found in the early stages, 98% of women can be completely treated and cured and figures show that 80% of women’s breast cancers are detected by women during self-examination.

All organisations and individuals in the UAE have been urged to contribute to supporting the Pink Caravan Ride in realizing its aims to ensure the health and well-being of the UAE community.

The Pink Caravan organizes an annual horseback expedition that travels across all seven emirates, accompanied by its riders, mobile clinics and media teams. The ride kicks off from the emirate of Sharjah and concludes in Abu Dhabi. During the 10-day ride, the medical staff offer free breast cancer screenings to all community members, and raise breast cancer awareness through distribution of brochures and organizing lectures and workshops on how to perform self-examination, methods of dealing with the disease and to provide support to patients.

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