His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, will attend the send off ceremony for the 5th annual Pink Caravan Ride at the Sharjah Equestrian Club on Monday March 16, with the participation of prominent Arab, regional and international experts in cancer.
Since its inception in 2011, the Pink Caravan – a pan-UAE breast cancer awareness initiative by the Friends of Cancer Patients charity (FoCP) - has sought to raise awareness about the importance of early detection of breast cancer by providing instructions about the diseases, offering free screenings and collecting donations to administer medical examination and support cancer patients in the UAE.
The launch of the 2015 Pink Caravan Ride will be attended by a number of prominent local, Arab and international figures due to the milestone achievements made by the annual ride, thus garnering great attention from all over the world.
Dignitaries attending the event will include Ambassador Sally Cowl, senior vice president of the American Cancer Society Global Health Work, Cary Adams, Chief Executive of the International Cancer Control Union, Dr. John Saverin, Chief Executive of the American Cancer Society, Khalid Al Saleh, Secretary General of the Gulf Federation for Cancer Control, Soad Bin Amir, Deputy Chairman of Zahra Breast Cancer Association in Saudi Arabia, Dr Eman Khader, Director General and Founder of the Help and Hope Programme for Breast Cancer Patients in Palestine, Dr Nofouz Mossalamani, Medical Director of Dunya Women's Cancer Center‎ in Palestine, and Heba Tantash, Executive in charge of the Corporate Social Responsibility at Bank of Palestine, in addition to representatives of the Saudi Cancer Society.
The Pink Caravan enjoys the generous patronage and support of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of the His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, founder and Royal Patron of the Friends of Cancer Patients Society, International Ambassador of the World Cancer Declaration for Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and International Ambassador for Childhood Cancer for UICC. With more than 100 male and female rides, the Pink Caravan will kick off its journey in Sharjah on March 16, passing through all seven Emirates, and wrap up the 10-day tour on March 25th in Abu Dhabi.
The ceremony marking the flag off the Pink Caravan Ride 2015, under the theme #Pink Thank You, will begin at 10:30am at the Sharjah equestrian Club, on the first day of the trek.
The Pink Caravan will be accompanied by mobile clinics, open daily from 9am-7pm throughout the 10-day ride in selected locations in each emirate, where skilled medical teams and nurses will provide free screenings along with awareness lectures and workshops on how to undergo regular self-examination of breast cancer as well as appropriate ways to deal with cancer patients.
The annual Pink Caravan Ride– a pan-UAE breast cancer awareness initiative by the Friends of Cancer Patients charity (FoCP) seeks to raise AED 15 million to purchase and operate a state-of -the-art mobile mammography unit to ensure the continuous provision of breast cancer early detection examinations throughout the year across the UAE, especially in distanced areas and minor populated areas.