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Families and friends flocked to a community mall to support Bahrain Cancer Society and Think Pink Bahrain in a festival format with important messages.
Health and wellbeing enthusiast Noora Jaber Al Muhanna, the founder of Grace 6/10 Project aimed at empowering women of all ages in the kingdom through fitness and defence classes, organised the One Pink Link event in Saar Mall.
The event on Saturday also provided an opportunity for shoppers to make donations to support the good cause and help raise awareness about the disease. Noora said: “This event was created to support women’s fight against breast cancer, to let them know that it is not the end for them and that they are not alone.
No one is alone in this fight. We are here to stand by them. “Also, we wanted to educate women and men about the disease and help them discuss the emotional effects it has on the entire family, not just the people suffering from it.”
Dr Fatima Al-Balooshi, a former minister, educator, founder and CEO of Capacitee Employment Solutions and White Palm Consultants, inaugurated the event and was joined by Dr Fatema Habbash from the Breast Cancer Society who gave a graphic, informative presentation on self-examinations to help with early detection.
Afterwards psychologist Tahany Tawfeeq explained to families the emotional impact of the disease. She asked sufferers not to feel discouraged and shared tips on how best to cope as a family aided by numerous examples of how many women had successfully fought the disease with support, help and guidance.
Positivity was the theme which continued when breast cancer survivors Bahraini Nadia Mohammed and Italian Elisabetta Massey also shared their stories. Elisabetta, 58, is a certified self-defence, fitness and Zumba coach who runs classes at Grace 6/10 Project located in Sanad.
She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer a few years back and after recovering discovered she also had breast cancer which resulted in a mastectomy as part of the treatment. However, the martial arts black belt never gave up and encouraged other women to fight on.
She said: “I am here today because I chose prevention which means I did routine check-ups. Since I was over 45 I did a mammogram every year and it was only because I did my regular check-ups that the doctor discovered I had cancer.
Cancer can hide in any form so ladies please step forward. “It seems to me, especially in this part of the world, that some women are too scared to go and get checked, especially for cervical cancer. I don’t know why there is such a taboo.
People don’t understand that cancer comes in stages and doesn’t just strike at the elderly. I have seen a lot of tragedy and lost a lot of friends. Please go get checked.” After the presentations, visitors were treated to a slice of white and pink ribbon cake made by Cake Boutique for the event before continuing their shopping.
Noora added: “The shops in the mall have been supportive throughout the month.” Aside from rose-coloured shop windows, visitors enjoyed an array of pink baked goods on hand including chocolate-covered strawberries, pink hearted rice crispy treats, miniature cookies and other desserts.
There were pink roses for sale, bracelets with the ribbon symbol as well as Think Pink Bahrain merchandise including shoe laces, hats, shirts and tote bags.
One table at the market sold pretty jewellery while the other two featured start-up company Fleek, offering a salon and spa phone application, and the educational children activity box franchise called The Happy Box.
Jordana Semaan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia country rep and chief glitter franchisee of The Happy Box, said: “For everything we sell, the charities will get a part of the proceeds. I think it’s really important to have fundraisers such as this.
There are things we can all do to help give back to the community.” A collection box was also set up on the ground floor at the beginning of October to kick off breast cancer awareness month and has since received more than BD1,000 in donations from kind-hearted shoppers
