Sharjah24 : The Pink Caravan Ride (PCR), a pan-UAE breast cancer awareness initiative of the UAE-based civil society organisation, Friends Of Cancer Patients (FOCP), has announced its decision to postpone the 11th edition of the annual Ride to the fourth quarter of 2021. Originally scheduled to be held this month, the move aligns with the precautionary measures taken by the UAE to maintain the safety of citizens and residents, and curb the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Announcing the postponement of the event, the Pink Caravan Ride has called on the local community to conduct regular self-examinations to help detect the disease early as it increases survival rates by up to 98 per cent. 

The Higher Steering Committee of PCR has reiterated their commitment to continue to advance efforts in raising awareness of the importance of regular screening and early detection of breast cancer through a series of special activities, details of which will be announced soon. 

The Committee commended the efforts of the UAE government in accelerating measures to fight COVID-19 in collaboration with members of the society, various public and private departments and institutions in the country. The Committee has asserted that it is continuing preparations for the 
11th edition looking at ways to successfully design and implement safe and strategic measures to achieve its goals when it rolls out its weeklong breast cancer awareness trek across the UAE towards the latter part of the year.  

Since its inception 10 years ago, Pink Caravan has conducted the clinical screening of more than 75,000 women and men across the seven emirates in the UAE and has acquired a fully equipped and staffed Mammography Mobile Clinic to expand its reach to distant corners of the country. It has also assisted in equipping breast cancer screening centres located in the remote areas of the UAE and united all members of Emirati society in the joint fight against breast cancer. 

The Pink Caravan annually roams the seven emirates of the country to combine its educational messaging with action in the form of free health screen checks for both women and men of all nationalities. Till date, PCR’s ‘Equine Route’ has seen the participation of 820 riders.