Women are wearing pink ribbons, there's a Facebook campaign and pink-themed benefits are being held the world over, because October doesn't just mean it's finally cool enough to eat outside again. It means it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Here in the UAE, the message has been publicised through things like sponsored walks, fashion shows and even lighting the Burj al Arab in pink, while this year in Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively, the Pink October and Safe & Sound campaigns are staging events and programmes to educate women about the disease and the importance of early diagnosis.
At the heart of it all lie some sobering facts.
Breast cancer is the most common form of the disease in the Emirates, according to the UAE Cancer Registry. It is the second leading cause of death in women, after heart disease, and has a particularly high incidence and mortality rate of 44 per cent because it is often detected too late. Specialists also say that women are being diagnosed with the disease at a younger age in the UAE than in other parts of the world.
"In the West, it tends to be a disease of the older woman. Here we see ladies in their 30s presenting [showing symptoms of the disease] regularly, and a few who are much younger, in their teens or 20s," explains Jan O'Brien, the nurse manager at Tawam Hospital's Breast Care Centre in Al Ain. "I would say, roughly, we're seeing ladies present a good 10 years younger than we would in western countries."
Although the patients are often younger, this does not necessarily mean the disease is being caught earlier because, as O'Brien points out, they are still coming in "all at different stages".
"We don't know why," she adds. "It's something that would make a great research programme."
Apart from the facilities at its specialist breast cancer centre, Tawam has been operating a mobile mammography unit for the past 18 months in Abu Dhabi for Emiratis and any woman residing in the city, and O'Brien is keen to have this more widely known.
"In a normal month, between the unit and the care centre itself we would screen approximately 250 women. During October, I would hope to screen 600 between them," she says.
The mobile unit will be at Khalidyah Mall in Abu Dhabi later this week (from 10am-10pm on Thursday, Friday and Sunday), and is particularly useful for women here in the absence of a cohesive UAE screening programme.
Generally, O'Brien suggests that women should check their breasts once a month, a week after menstruation. Tawam Hospital then recommends that a woman have her first mammogram at 40, and annually thereafter unless otherwise advised by a doctor. If there's a family history of the disease, though, or of ovarian cancer, then the recommendation is to start at 35.
Screening can identify a cancer in situ as much as a year before you'd be able to feel it yourself, or even earlier. "Depending on what type of mammography you have, some will show two years before you have a lump," says O'Brien. The survival rate when it is caught at such an early stage is 90 per cent.
O'Brien, who has been working at the hospital for 21 years, says that although there is less of a stigma attached to breast cancer in the UAE than in some places, there are still hurdles to overcome.
"Many cultures think that cancer is a punishment for wrongdoings in the past, something that can be caught from someone if you mix with them and they have cancer," she says, explaining that although it is not quite like that in the UAE, attitudes can present difficulties, especially with regard to this kind of cancer.
"It's more of a reluctance to talk about a very personal, hidden part of the body," she says. "And also the fear of treatment, you know? The first thing you connect with cancer is, 'I'm going to die,' and the second is, 'I'm going to lose my hair.'"
However, awareness is trickling through to the younger generation, she says. "They're exposed to more articles, to more internet, to more education and they're now paying more attention to their general health."
There remains, however, groundwork to be done in working towards a free, national screening programme in the UAE so that the disease can be caught early enough for treatment with a high chance of success.
"We are absolutely passionate in bringing this to the women of the Emirates," says O'Brien. "Education and awareness are the keys to it."
Both are worth bearing in mind this month.
For more information, visit www.tawamhospital.ae/oncology. For more on Pink October, see www.pinkoctober.ae.
get checked
Abu Dhabi
The mobile mammogram screening unit will be at Khalidyah Mall in Abu Dhabi this Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10am-10pm. To book an appointment, call 050 106 9713. Screening is open to any Emirati woman and non-Emiratis with an Abu Dhabi residence visa.
Dubai
Free screening will be available to female residents aged 40 or over at BurJuman this Friday, October 22. Register at www.safeandsound.ae or pick up a form from the BurJuman centre (04 352 0222).
Al Ain
The Breast Care Centre at Tawam Hospital offers screening Sunday-Thursday from 8am to 4.30pm. To make an appointment, call 03 707 4229
(Proof of residency is required at all screenings and registrations)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
No_One Ever Really Dies
N*E*R*D
(I Am Other/Columbia)
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
DC%20League%20of%20Super-Pets
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Ireland (15-1):
Ireland (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack Conan, Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony; James Ryan, Quinn Roux; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour
Coach: Joe Schmidt (NZL)
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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