Azza Al Jiely was four months pregnant when she discovered she had breast cancer.
She chose to forgo treatment until the baby was born because she feared something bad could happen.
But after her son, Mohammad, was born, her condition deteriorated. A biopsy taken when he was about a month old confirmed the cancer had grown.
"My thoughts were only towards my baby. Who would take care of him? I had a friend who battled cancer before me and I knew the treatment could be very lengthy," said Ms Al Jiely, who has lived in Abu Dhabi for 16 years but was in Sudan at the time.
My doctor scolded me for not seeking treatment earlier. I was an educated 30-year-old with easy access to medical care. He said I should've been wiser
“My doctor scolded me for not seeking treatment earlier. I was an educated 30-year-old who lived in the city with easy access to medical care. He said I should’ve been wiser."
She is now calling on anyone who has cancer diagnosed while they are pregnant to seek treatment immediately.
Many treatments protect the baby while addressing the disease.
"I don't advise any woman in my situation to copy me," said Ms Al Jiely, 48, a homemaker from Sudan.
"The patient should be with the doctor from the start. One should not make the decision all alone, like I did.”
October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month and The National interviewed survivors across the country about their experience and their advice for others.
About 2.1 million women worldwide have breast cancer diagnosed each year and 627,000 died from the disease in 2018, the World Health Organisation said.
Early detection gives patients the best chance of overcoming the disease.
Pink Caravan provides free health screen checks for both women and men.
Since its inception in 2011, Pink Caravan combines its educational messaging with action in the form of free health screen checks for both women and men.
Pink Caravan has provided 64,012 free medical screenings, support of 795 medical clinics, and over 300,000 volunteering hours.
Pink Caravan riders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
Pink Caravan riders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
Tourists take photos of Pink Caravan riders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
Pink Caravan riders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
Pink Caravan riders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
Ms Al Jiely had surgery in Jordan in January 2004, where she stayed with a relative and had Mohammad by her side.
“This was the most difficult period, because I was away from my other children," she said.
She is a mother to three sons – Mazin, 26, Moayad, 24, and Mohammad, now 17 – and one daughter, Maab, 21.
“After the surgery I went back to Sudan and arranged to have my chemotherapy in Saudi Arabia because there I could stay with two of my siblings, and my mother and children could stay with me," she said.
“The disease falls as a massive crisis on the patient, but God lightens its impact [psychologically] and eases things out."
Ms Al Jiely said she faced cancer "like any other disease" and tried not to worry about consequences such as pain and hair loss.
After she finished her treatment, she said she did not experience depression.
“I did not use a wig at all and when guests came to visit me I just met them as I was," she said.
“I was very positive after the treatment, because I was thinking of the people around me and I was just grateful that God gave me the chance to get treated.”
She said she also enjoyed “doing artistic styles” with her hair after it grew back.
“Before I never dared to do highlights or unusual cuts. I started doing all of that after it grew back," she said.
Ms Al Jiely had cancer diagnosed for a second time in her other breast a few years later but is now in remission.
“I wish that each cancer patient could deal with the disease as if it were a normal condition and not face it with fear and panic," she said.
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
Tamkeen's offering
Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
Option 2: 50% across three years
Option 3: 30% across five years
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
