Sharjah // Free breast cancer screenings will be provided outside the Sharjah Federal Court on Thursday when a mobile mammography unit rolls into town.
The vehicle, which will also have doctors for check-ups and further referrals, is part of the Pink Caravan, an initiative designed to raise breast-cancer awareness in the UAE.
“A major hindrance that people encounter when choosing to attend a mammography session is the distance and time required to reach a medical centre housing the facility,” said Dr Sawsan Al Madhi, secretary general for the Friends of Cancer Patients Society and head of the Pink Caravan’s Medical Awareness Committee.
“One of our goals is to help bring anti-cancer technology to people’s doorsteps.”
The society is running the initiative, which will include an 11-day horseback tour around the country starting in Sharjah on February 15.
After travelling through the Northern Emirates, the caravan will pass through Dubai and Al Ain to finish up in Abu Dhabi on February 25.
The horse caravan's theme for 2014 is "Dispelling Myths".
Pink Caravan teams have screened 22,877 people, including 5,450 men, since the drive’s launch in 2011.
“Such preventive screenings help offset the possibility of expensive hospital treatment at a later stage, if the symptoms are left undiagnosed,” Dr Al Madhi said.
Although the drive has made significant strides in raising breast-cancer awareness it is still the most common cancer in Abu Dhabi, accounting for 22 per cent of all new cancer cases last year and 41 per cent of cancer cases among women.
tsubaihi@thenational.ae
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
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