Increased awareness boosts breast cancer screenings by 377.5% in October 2025 in Abu Dhabi
- Last updated: October 7, 2026 | 11:04
As part of its "Check What Really Matters" campaign and marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC) hosted a panel discussion titled "Breast Cancer: Behavioural Change and Innovation for Healthier Communities." The event gathered public health, breast health and oncology experts to discuss behavioural change around screening, alongside the advances and innovations reshaping breast cancer prevention, detection, and care.
The discussions come as Abu Dhabi builds on tangible progress in screening uptake. Breast cancer screenings increased by 377.5% in October 2025 compared to the same month in 2024, coinciding with the previous edition of the "Check What Really Matters" campaign and reflecting its impact in encouraging women to prioritise early detection and take a more proactive approach to their health.
Dr. Rashed Al Suwaidi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, said, "The increase we saw in breast cancer screenings last October shows what can happen when awareness turns into action. Our priority, not just in October but for the rest of this year, is to build on that progress and make preventive screening a sustained part of how people look after their health. That means continuing to understand what may prevent women from screening, whether it is fear, misconceptions or practical barriers, and working with our healthcare and community partners to make taking that next step easier. Early detection remains one of the most important actions we can take to support better health outcomes."
The first panel focused on the factors that influence a woman's decision to undergo screening, how behavioural and psychological barriers that may delay this step can be addressed, and how awareness of the importance of early detection can be translated into sustained preventive behaviour. The discussion explored how public health authorities, healthcare providers, workplaces, and communities can encourage women to undergo screening by understanding the factors that may influence their decisions, making screening easier to access, and making it a natural part of looking after their health.
Dr. Mouza Al Ameri, Assistant Professor, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Consultant Breast Surgeon, Former Member of the Federal National Council, and Former Chief of the Breast Cancer Centre at SEHA Tawam Hospital, highlighted, "Fear can make the disease feel bigger than it is. Once it is diagnosed, it becomes something we can deal with, and that is why courage is the first step towards taking action. When a woman comes to my clinic for screening, I tell her, "Get it done, go home, and come back when your next screening is due." It is an appointment; it should not be something that you linger on or allow fear to make bigger in your mind. Initiatives such as 'Check What Really Matters' help us communicate this message more effectively and have helped increase screening rates. Early detection can save women a great deal of difficulty later."
Dr. Alaa Al Nuaimi, Consultant Psychiatrist at Sakina, said: "Psychological safety and community support play an important role in helping women navigate screening and diagnosis, particularly in addressing the psychological aspects and emotions experienced around diagnosis, including fear and anxiety. Women, by their nurturing nature, may put the priorities of their loved ones before their own. Awareness is about providing information, psychological safety helps them act, and human connection helps them sustain the journey."
The discussion was followed by the personal experience of a breast cancer patient, offering a real-life perspective on the importance of overcoming fear around screening and early detection and how it enabled her to continue pursuing her life and ambitions following her experience with the disease.
The second panel discussion, "Innovation for Healthier Communities: From Prevention to Personalized Care," looked at how advances across the breast cancer journey are creating opportunities to understand individual risk, detect cancer earlier, and tailor care more closely to each patient.
Experts discussed the growing role of genetics, genomics, and family history in understanding breast cancer risk and how these insights can support a more personalized approach to screening and early detection. The panel also examined developments in imaging and diagnostic technologies, alongside molecular profiling and targeted therapies, and their role in helping clinicians understand the disease with greater precision and make treatment decisions tailored to each patient.
Dr. Durra Al Balooshi, Advisor, Community Health Sector at Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, said, "Scientific progress is giving us a detailed understanding of cancer risk and disease, but this progress needs to bring out better health outcomes for people. As new approaches to risk assessment, screening and diagnosis emerge, our focus is on using these developments to strengthen prevention and early detection programmes and make it easier for people to get screened. Innovation should help us intervene earlier, personalise care where appropriate and give people greater confidence to take proactive steps for their health."
Dr. Dima Abdul Jabbar, Consultant Medical Oncologist at Burjeel Cancer Institute, highlighted the role of genomic and molecular profiling in enabling more personalized treatment decisions. She said: "Genomic and molecular profiling can help us answer important questions about treatment: what should we treat, how should we treat it, does this patient require chemotherapy, and which treatment is likely to provide the best outcome? Oncology is not one size fits all. Genetics is also only one part of the picture; we need to look at clinical, lifestyle, social and population data to develop a more complete understanding of each patient. As these technologies continue to develop, the goal is to use that information to make treatment increasingly personalised to the individual."
Dr. Manuelita Mazza, Chair of Breast Medical Oncology at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi's Fatima bint Mubarak Center, highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary care in delivering a more personalized breast cancer journey. She said: "Personalized care requires us to bring together the different specialists involved in a patient's journey-surgeons, pathologists, oncologists, genetic specialists, and radiologists-and look at all of the information we have, including the stage, tumour type, pathology, and genetic information. This allows us to determine the most appropriate treatment plan for that individual patient. The goal is to use the right test at the right point in the journey to guide the right treatment and eventually move towards treatments that can avoid chemotherapy where clinically appropriate."
Working alongside its partners, ADPHC is organizing a series of activities as part of this year's "Check What Really Matters" campaign to reach women in their everyday lives, remind them of what matters most - their health - and encourage them to take the step towards early detection. The campaign is also providing free mammogram screenings at a number of locations throughout October.
Campaign activities extend to shopping malls through early detection awareness activations, alongside awareness messages displayed on mirrors in fitting rooms and restrooms, using the moment when a woman checks her appearance to remind her of what matters most: her health, and encourage her to undergo screening.
The campaign is also reaching women at beauty salons, turning moments of self-care into opportunities to remind them to prioritize their health through awareness messages, educational materials, and social media content, alongside incentives for women who take the step to screen. It also includes awareness sessions at selected coffee destinations, where female doctors and specialists will discuss breast health and early detection and answer women's questions.
The campaign also extends to community and sports events through collaboration with TrainYAS, with a series of activities throughout October bringing together movement, wellbeing, connection, and breast cancer awareness.
Through these activities and the wider "Check What Really Matters" campaign, ADPHC aims to build on the screening momentum achieved last year by continuing to address the factors that may delay preventive action, expanding opportunities to access screening and strengthening confidence in early detection and the advances transforming breast cancer care.
WAM