DUBAI // The dirhams were mounting up on Thursday night from a charity auction of burgers that television celebrities at Dubai Mall were serving up to help raise awareness about breast cancer.
The Pink Caravan is midway through a nationwide tour on horseback, with 150 riders and about 300 volunteers spreading the word on how women can get examined for the disease.
Ambassadors of the charity took part in the first Pink Bite at Galeries Lafayette to see who could come up with the tastiest, yet healthy, burger.
Artist Fayez Al Saeed and presenters Saoud Al Kaabi and Amira Al Fadl were some of the ambassadors to join a team of chefs to build the best burger.
This is the fifth year that riders have taken up the challenge. And this year, free screenings have been offered to 1,230 people, including nearly 300 men.
On Tuesday, mobile clinics at Kalba, Masafi and Dibba Al Fujairah hospitals opened their doors to 578 people - 480 women and 98 men - who were examined for breast cancer. Many were under 40 years of age.
"We didn't know how the Pink Caravan would be accepted in regard to the taboos around cancer, and particularly breast cancer, but it has been a huge success so far," said Ameera Binkaram, president of the Pink Caravan board of trustees and founding member of Friends of Cancer Patients.
"We are trying to make a pink movement and cooking burgers with a pink theme is another way of doing that."
She said the campaign had "united everyone" and was making a difference.
"To go to the Northern Emirates and see the Bedouin women visiting the clinics is heartening for all of us," she said.
"It shows us that this campaign is working by reaching out to everyone, even in the rural areas. Cooking burgers and then auctioning them is just another fun way to spread the word."
The cost of a medical screening for breast cancer is about Dh500 to Dh1,000.
The Pink Caravan offers free examinations and screenings for anyone in the UAE. It also provides intensive support and treatment every year for 30 patients with breast cancer, at a total cost of Dh7.5 million.
Mariam Al Shehhi, head of customer service at Masafi Hospital, said the Pink Caravan initiative showed public awareness about breast cancer was growing, and that had led to more people benefiting from the free medical services provided by the Pink Caravan at Masafi Hospital. "The unification of efforts by all organisations . has contributed to the success of the mission," she said.
nwebster@thenational.ae
