Pink Caravan, a breast cancer awareness initiative that falls under Friends of Cancer Patients (FOCP), is organising Corporate Wellness Days (CWD) this October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to build attention and support on breast cancer, encourage early check-ups and self-examinations.

The Corporate Wellness Day will bring professional medical practitioners to organisations and institutions during the month of October and offer screenings, awareness lectures for employees, students, and members. Pink Caravan medical experts will also be educating attendees on the importance of regular self-examination as a precaution against breast cancer, as well as impart self-detection methods.

“Since 2011, Pink Caravan has established its mark in raising awareness for breast cancer. October is a great time to educate, raise funds, and conduct activities on a local level. Breast cancer is the commonest type of malignancy in the UAE. We need collective efforts to be undertaken from our community to control the cancer rates” said Reem BinKaram, Chairperson of the Pink Caravan’s Higher Organizing Committee. 

“CWD’s aim is to educate the community and stress on the importance of early detection. Several organizations are already actively advocating for prevention, treatment, and awareness on the issue. Reinforcing that early detection is a significant factor for a successful treatment of breast cancer. Pink Caravan is welcoming more organizations, public or private, to register for a Wellness Day” She added. 

Seven companies and government bodies have already registered for the Corporate Wellness Days, some of which are The Galleria, Pepsico, Sharjah Asset Management, Emirates Global Aluminium (Al Taweela), DEWA, Emirates Global Aluminium (Jabel Ali), and Masdar-Abu Dhabi. FOCP looks forward to welcome more organisations to book for CWD and lessen the hurdles on this long and winding road to reduce breast cancer rates. 
 
The initiative is calling government organizations and private sectors to book Pink Caravan ‘Corporate Wellness Days’ for their employees, students, members. The Corporate Wellness Days (CWD) offers private clinical examinations, health and well-being advices, as well as informative lectures that will enable self-examination to detect any physical changes in the body. 

Both government and private sector organisations are eligible to book a Wellness Days for their employees. The Pink Caravan offices can be contacted at haya@focp.ae. 

Pink Caravan was founded in 2011 under the patronage of Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Founder and Royal Patron of FOCP, International Ambassador of the World Cancer Declaration for Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), International Ambassador for Childhood Cancer for UICC and wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah. Pink Caravan aims to raise awareness around breast cancer early detection and regular screening. 

Pink Caravan annually runs the Pink Caravan Ride throughout the seven emirates and reaching the country’s far away areas. To date, the Pink Caravan Ride has travelled over 1,715 km across the seven emirates with over 569 riders and 770+ volunteers spending over 280,000 hours of volunteering hours which is equivalent to 32 years. A total of 684 medical clinics have provided free early breast cancer detection examinations for 56,667 people, including 10,261 men, valued AED28.3 million. The Pink Caravan Ride has also visited 87 schools delivering educational sessions and lectures about the importance of early detection of breast cancer.