UAE cancer awareness campaign yields results

Launched in November 2014, Shanab, is Arabic for moustache, is dedicated to raising awareness about of testicular and prostate cancer through initiatives aimed at education.

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Shanab, a non-profit organisation raising awareness on cancer effecting males, has reported an increase in the understanding of the disease following initiatives in November.

One of the awareness campaigns took place during the DP World European Golf Tournament and conducted a survey of 240 participants.

The results showed that before the session only 30 per cent could answer the survey questions, but that increased by 50 per cent after the awareness campaigns.

Dr Sawsan Al Madhi, director general of Friends of Cancer Patients, the parent company of Shanab, said men are statistically less likely to get regular health check ups.

“Often, when dealing with symptoms that may relate to male cancers, this comes from a sense of embarrassment or shame. We want to tackle this issue head on and initiatives such as these, that raise awareness and get men taking about signs and symptoms, help to break down those barriers.”

Dr Al Madhi said that this is important, because testicular cancer is the most common type of cancer among young men, but most men are completely unaware of testicular cancer.

Launched in November 2014, Shanab, is Arabic for moustache, is dedicated to raising awareness about of testicular and prostate cancer through initiatives aimed at education.

​newsdesk@thenational.ae