In collaboration with the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi Danat Al Emarat Hospital Launches Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Health Talks, Screenings and Sports Activities throughout the Month of October in collaboration with Key Universities, Schools and Corporate Organizations

In line with the strategies of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women & Children, part of United Eastern Medical Services (UEMedical), launched its 3rd Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign during the month of October in collaboration with key universities in Abu Dhabi, schools and corporate organizations. The hospital is organizing a series of over 30 health talks and activities to raise awareness on the importance of breast screening and early detection of breast cancer. Such awareness initiatives come in line with the World Breast Cancer Month celebrated world-wide and in Abu Dhabi in collaboration with the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi to raise awareness amongst women from all ages encouraging them to perform self-breast examinations and undergo regular screenings of breast cancer.

Awareness talks about breast cancer and the importance of early detection are to be held at Danat Al Emarat Hospital every Thursday in October at 10 am in English and Arabic.

The hospital announced that since October 2015 until October 2017, 2900 women underwent breast diagnostic and regular screenings at the Breast Imaging & Mammography Unit at the hospital, out of which 21 cases were histologically malignant (cancerous).

Dr. Thomas Kunt, Chief Medical Officer at UEMedical said, “Health education is one of our group’s priorities throughout the year, aiming to detect diseases in early stages in order to get better clinical outcomes. Our campaigns also focus on the nutrition side where our team educates the community on the importance of healthy eating habits in diseases’ prevention.”

“Our physicians will be reaching out to high school students and mothers in general through universities, schools and nurseries. Health campaigns play a major role in raising awareness amongst communities which we have witnessed at Danat Al Emarat Hospital as we see the number of women who underwent breast cancer screenings had drastically increased this year compared to previous years,” Dr. Thomas added. “It is worth mentioning that Danat Al Emarat Hospital is accredited by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi as a center for breast screening in Abu Dhabi. The radiology department at the hospital has advanced equipment, including state-of-the-art mammogram units and ultrasound devices.”

Vino Nallaya, CEO of Danat Al Emarat Hospital said, “Our campaign has commenced by our multi-disciplinary team from Danat Al Emarat Hospital and HealthPlus Network of Specialty Centers. In line with our aim to improve women’s overall health, we are holding a series of awareness talks and offering all participants complimentary invitation for breast screening at the hospital. During these talks, our gynecologists and family medicine physicians will be speaking about women’s health, breast self-examinations, breast screening protocols and the importance of early detection. The earlier a tumor is detected and treated, the better the outcomes. Nutritionists will also speak about healthy eating habits.”.

She further added, “As we aim to reach out to females in the younger age group, several awareness events will be held at key universities and schools in Abu Dhabi including Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, GEMS World Academy and others. Students above 16 years old and their parents are invited to attend these talks.”

“We also engaged with several other active women’s groups in Abu Dhabi and our team will be at the Pink Ladies Golf Day at Yas Links Abu Dhabi on October 18th,” Ms. Nallaya added. “Danat Al Emarat Hospital is also the Healthcare Partner at the 2017 ADCB Zayed Sports City Pink 5&10K Run presented by Daman Activelife and organized by Gulf Multi Sports on October 13. Besides participating as a healthcare partner for the event, 50 employees of Danat Al Emarat will participate in the run to sweat for Breast Cancer awareness.”, Ms. Nallaya concluded.

From his side, Dr. Marwan Munir Kamil, Head of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Danat Al Emarat Hospital said, “Such awareness campaigns play a vital role in raising awareness amongst women and families in the community. From year to year, we see more engagement and more interest from organizations and social groups in the community to join efforts in delivering well organized educational events.”

“The aim is to encourage women to undergo the needed screenings, adapt healthy lifestyles and perform breast self-exams every month; emphasizing on the necessity of early diagnosis and periodic examinations in order to detect the disease in its early stages, which leads to higher survival rates. International studies confirm that early diagnosis of breast cancer lead to higher survival rates of above 90%, whereas the survival rates of late diagnosis—stages 2 and 3—ranged between 60% and 70%,” he concluded.