New website launched for breast diseases and cancer
Women with breast diseases find help at new non-profit website www.beautybeyondbreast.com which is dedicated to providing women in the UAE, expert information on breast health, breast self examination, breast cancer and breast diseases.
The website was launched recently in Abu Dhabi, by leading breast surgeon Dr. Arati Shirali.
The new website aims to give young women diagnosed with breast diseases and breast cancer, the resources and support required to identify the early signs and symptoms of the disease. This new site is the most comprehensive and culturally relevant resource on the web for women in the UAE with breast diseases or breast cancer.
“There is a great deal of ignorance, fear and embarrassment for women of middle eastern cultures to discuss and come out with their Breast Diseases. There are also social pressures and stigmas in these cultures, that introduce an additional mental and emotional pressure on women” says Dr. Arati Shirali, one of the contributing authors to the website.
I have had several unique experiences of breast diseases or cancers in young women, pregnant women and with women who have been traumatized by the social pressures of even discussing the disease. Some women have been socially ostracized. Some have had marriage proposals for their daughters turned down. Ignorance of the disease and cultural pressures make the society conclude that the presentation of a breast disease, implies that the woman has breast cancer.
Hence, the name of the website was to highlight the fact, that a woman’s beauty is very intrinsic and is a beauty beyond the breast. Her beauty is in her strength, which is a strong force that binds her family. Social or cultural pressures should have no role in suppressing her, just because of a breast related issue. A woman should feel very confident in openly discussing and detecting any breast related issues, since her silence is her biggest obstacle in early detection and cure.
The beauty of this website is that it contains no graphic pictures, to accommodate a child-friendly nature of this topic - women can also discuss this with their daughters. This is achieved by drawing a similarity using fruits, as an analogy to "Train your Eyes". More importantly, there is also a guidance page for pregnant and lactating mothers during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
The website redesign was based on inputs from several patients presenting their queries, fears and anxieties on breast diseases and their families. The layout, design and functionality make the user experience friendly and intuitive and present information in a very user friendly intuitive approach. Visual enhancements to the site were designed to support the mission of increasing awareness and promoting education.
Website: http://www.beautybeyondbreast.com/
