ADWC students raise breast cancer awareness

Besides raising thousands of dirhams for the support of breast cancer patients in the UAE, students increased awareness of the risks and symptoms of the disease, the most common cancer in women in the UAE. Posters lined hallways, and display boards and flyers gave details about both prevention and early detection.

Students said they were motivated to educate women, especially older women in their families, about current practices aimed at preventing and detecting breast cancer. Said one student, "Everyone is at risk, not just people who have a family history. We want to raise awareness for ladies who are not educated, to get mammograms and to self-check monthly. We know about it from our classes, but older women sometimes are not aware."

"Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a chance for our students to educate the campus community, as well as their own family members about breast cancer screenings,"

noted Sharon Ellis, a member of ADWC's Health Sciences faculty.

"This kind of activity is particularly relevant here at Abu Dhabi Women's College, because our Health Sciences programs focus on both health education and health information management. Furthermore," Ms. Ellis continued, "since this campaign was entirely the students' idea, their work on it has created a sense of teamwork and increased their sense of community spirit."

Thursday's bazaar attracted hundreds of students, staff, and visitors to booths where students sold food and gift items with a "pink theme," since pink, and the pink ribbon specifically, symbolize breast cancer awareness. A special guest at the event was Dr. Arati Shirali, a breast surgeon at Lifeline Hospital and a Fellow of the European Breast Cancer Network, who spent most of the day with students. She also gave a lecture on noticing signs of the disease, and what to do when signs are detected. Throughout the bazaar, students displayed information, distributed pink ribbons, held raffles, and challenged each other with quizzes for chances to win prizes.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the UAE, with many cases occurring before the age of 40. Additionally, 75% of those diagnosed with the disease have no family history of it. ADWC Health Sciences students believe it is extremely important to educate the community about the disease, as well as to support those affected by it.

Abu Dhabi Women's College is part of the Higher Colleges of Technology. All media references to the organization should be noted as the Higher Colleges of Technology's Abu Dhabi Women's College or Abu Dhabi Women's College of HCT.