Sharjah cops host pink campaign

Sharjah Traffic Police hosted ‘pink campaign’ for breast cancer awareness on Tuesday by offering a free checkup for all visitors.

Present at the inaugural event were several doctors who talked about the importance of women getting a checkup for breast cancer to detect the disease in its early stage before it is too late.

Doctors also said most people think men cannot get breast cancer but this is wrong because statistics show that for every 1,000 women who get breast cancer, one man becomes a victim of this disease. In fact, about 2,200 men from all over the world get breast cancer each year.

Statistics from 2011 until now show 341,400 people participated in the pink campaign and 24 women and one man were discovered to have breast cancer.

Most people, especially women, think that a lump in the breast means the person has cancer, which is also wrong.

Doctor Fann from the pink campaign explained that there are a number of signs that women should pay attention to. “Lumps are one of the main signs but what most people don’t know is that not all lumps mean breast cancer. Some may indicate a benign tumour.”

Brigadier-General Ali Salem Al Khayah, Director General of Central Operations at Sharjah Police, said that he is hoping that this campaign will encourage women to get a breast cancer checkup.

“This is the first campaign of this kind that we are hosting. We hope people will detect breast cancer at an early stage before it becomes serious because prevention is better than cure,” Al Khayal added.

Breast cancer is the world’s second biggest cause of death after heart disease. Early detection makes cure possible and gives women up to 90 per cent chance of survival.

Dr. Fann added that personal, clinical and mammogram examinations can help women to detect breast cancer.

“Women should not be scared of a checkup, and the earlier the better,” added Dr. Fann.

 

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