ABU DHABI // A brand of honey has raised what it said was a “decent amount of charity” towards breast cancer awareness.
Amrita Honey said on Thursday that it participated in a charity event at the Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club last Friday to raise awareness about breast cancer in the UAE.
Christine Kesserwan, founder of the company, which is supported by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs – said it was launched to make what she described as the health benefits of organic and pure honey “accessible and available to everyone in the UAE”.
“Through our product, our mission is to promote good health and we aim to join hands with anyone who shares the same vision,” she said.
Buyers at the breast cancer awareness event were able to witness the breadth of the company’s offerings, said Ms Kesserwan.
“The experience was amazing for the whole team and also for the buyers who weren’t aware of the huge assortment of honey we offer,” she said.
Breast cancer was once the most deadly cancer in Abu Dhabi, but improved treatment and detection rates have recently been reported by the Health Authority – Abu Dhabi (Haad). Deaths from the disease declined from 8.7 per 100,000 women in 2009 to five per 100,000 last year, and doctors have cited cultural changes as part of the reason for the decline.
Cancer caused 8.2 million deaths worldwide – 521,000 of them from breast cancer – in 2012, according to the most recent statistics available from the World Health Organisation (Who). It said that in resource-poor settings, most women with breast cancer were diagnosed at advanced stages of the disease, meaning their five-year survival rates were low. However, when early detection and basic treatment were available, the five-year survival rate for, localised breast cancer was more than 80 per cent, the WHO said.
The breast is the most common site for cancer to be diagnosed in women, Haad said, followed by the colorectum, lung, cervix and stomach.
Lumps, hard knots, swelling, redness, changes in size or shape of breasts, rashes and discharge are among the symptoms of breast cancer. More information is available at www.haad.ae/simplycheck.
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