Pink Caravan Medical Team Gears Up for Proficiency Training

After diagnosing 47 positive breast cancer cases through its seven editions, and enabling prompt treatment for the persons affected, Pink Caravan Ride (PCR) - the annual breast cancer awareness initiative that travels the UAE providing free clinical examinations and promoting early detection of the disease, has announced that it will be organising special training workshops for the team of doctors, nurses and medical consultants volunteering in the upcoming edition that will be held from February 28 until March 6.

This year, PCR organising team revealed that for the first time in the campaign’s history they will be hosting two specialised courses: the proficiency training workshop and a Clinical Breast Examination (CBE) workshop, along with other allied activities like breast cancer awareness lectures by medical experts, task distribution and allocation, and so on.  

Dr. Sawsan Al Madhi, Head of the Medical and Awareness Committee of Pink Caravan Ride and Director General of FoCP, said: “For the Pink Caravan Ride’s efforts to truly make a difference, we need to ensure that our medical staff is trained well enough to deliver the highest possible standards of diagnosis and medical consultation. These elements are key to ensuring we achieve our goal of early detection and spread the awareness message optimally across the seven emirates.”

“Last year, twelve positive cases of breast cancer were diagnosed through the Pink Caravan Ride medical experts, and patients were referred for treatment. This statistic proves the potential life-saving capacity of the campaign, and our efforts are to continually improve and expand our operations so as to benefit the largest possible number of people in the UAE,” she added.

The first training day will be hosted at the Supreme Council of Family Affairs (SCFA) on Thursday, February 22, and among other activities will feature lectures on Breast cancer and core breast knowledge and CBE by Dr. Toufil Tabbara. The next day of training will be given on Saturday, February 24, at the same venue and will showcase a medical form workshop. Campaign uniforms will be handed over to the participants during training days.

Pink Caravan was launched in 2011 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council Ruler of Sharjah and Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah, Founder and Patron of FoCP, Patron of the Global NCD Alliance, International Ambassador of the World Cancer Declaration for Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and International Ambassador for Childhood Cancer for UICC.

Last year’s campaign saw the participation of 150 riders who accompanied the mobile medical clinics that provided free medical check-ups for residents and citizens during its tour around the UAE. The ride and its associated activities completed a total of 7,483 clinical examinations over its 10 days, with 6,366 women undergoing assessment and 1,117 men. Included in the medical tests were 2,542 mammograms. Twelve positive cases of breast cancer were detected.