BurJuman's Safe and Sound Campaign, the leading and most extensive Breast Cancer Awareness Programme in the region invites residents to make the International Breast Cancer Awareness Month strong and effective in the UAE this October. The call out is to encourage the community to join in a powerful calendar of initiatives and events created to motivate all women, men and children to embrace and spread the campaign's message of "Early Detection Helps Save Lives."
This year's initiatives emphasize educating and involving people of every age in the breast cancer awareness drive. While women in the over-40 age bracket are globally the most affected, younger women are also being diagnosed with the disease, and women as young as 19 to 30 have been diagnosed with breast cancer in the UAE.
According to the International Breast Cancer Research Foundation, 1.5 million new individuals will be diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide in 2010, half of which will be diagnosed younger than 50 years of age. The American Cancer Society (ACS) therefore recommends that all women 20 years of age or older should perform monthly breast self-examinations and also undertake regular clinical breast exams as advised. Women aged 40 and over should have an annual mammogram test to safeguard their health.
"Early detection can dramatically increase survival chances, by up to 90%. But this depends on women being vigilant from a young age and not being afraid to seek help earlier rather than later," says Sabina Khandwani, spokesperson for Safe and Sound and Head of Marketing and PR at BurJuman. "Our campaign therefore targets raising visibility across the community, so that the disease is not ignored, treated as a taboo, and that women and their families aren't afraid to talk about breast cancer."
The Safe and Sound Campaign's Breast Cancer Awareness Month events will begin with the 'Pink Book Sale' on Friday, 8-October, from 10am - 10pm at BurJuman, giving bookworms the opportunity to support the cause by picking up reading favourites from amongst a vast selection of donated used books. All funds raised from book sales will be donated to the campaign, with the sale planned to be a year-long ongoing initiative, taking place at the mall on the second Friday of every month.
On Friday, 15-October from 7:30pm at BurJuman, breast cancer survivors will gather in a show of support and individual strength, by modeling in the annual 'Pink Survivor Fashion Show'. Mall retailers will demonstrate their solidarity to the cause by providing a selection of high fashion garments for the fashion show.
The recently launched Free Mammogram Camp will be held on Friday 22-October at BurJuman. Funds raised by Safe and Sound throughout the year-long campaign will enable women who are unable to meet the cost of the test to sign up for one of 2000 free mammograms being provided at the Al Zahra and the Canadian Specialist Hospital, with the provision of an additional check-up at Unicare Medical Centre to follow if recommend by the hospital. UAE residents can nominate any female UAE resident aged 40 and above for the screening.
The campaign's signature event, the 'Pink Walkathon' is once again set to bathe Dubai in the colour pink on Friday, 29-October at 8:00am, crowning the Breast Cancer Awareness Month's calendar of events. The annual charitable, non-competitive event – which sees thousands of survivors and supporters participate in each year – is a fun 3.6km walk, that's easy enough for everyone to join in while showing their support for the Safe & Sound Campaign's message. A number of fun activities for the family take place after the walk.
During the month, the Safe and Sound Pink Team will be distributing thousands of educational booklets on breast cancer to residences, offices, public and private sector companies, schools and universities to enable women and families to understand all the key facts about the disease. The community can also access all the necessary information on the campaign's dedicated breast cancer website www.safeandsound.ae.
In its fourteenth consecutive year since it was first launched, BurJuman's non-profit campaign has once again teamed up with key partners in order to generate the furthest outreach possible. Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE), Dubai Chamber, medsol, Sketchers, Tokyo Marine and uniCare, have signed on as sponsors to support the cause.
