“Move Forward” took place on Wednesday, through the WebEx platform, by pharmacy students at Qatar University’s College of Pharmacy (QU-CPH) and Qatar Pharmacy Undergraduate Society (QPhUS). In the occasion of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, pharmacy students hosted a virtual event to spread awareness about the disease.

With the incorporation of social media, information regarding the disease, risk factors signs and symptoms, and the importance of early detection were communicated. Moreover, a quiz was posted on social media to gain a better understanding of the public’s knowledge of breast cancer and the benefits of early detections.

According to Dr Mohammed Diab, Dean of QU-CPH, “The month of October sheds the light on and spreads awareness for a crucial cause: Breast Cancer. In line with Qatar University mission of contributing actively to the needs of the society, raising awareness for such a cause plays its inspirational and essential role. We highly encourage our students to take part in it, spread awareness and celebrate the heroes who have faced the diagnosis heads-on”.

“Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the world and early detection of breast cancer is the key to control it”, said Dr Maguy, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the College of Pharmacy. Pharmacists are often the first point of contact with the community and are in a great position to educate the public about the importance of screening for breast cancer. I am very happy to see this important outreach event organized by our pharmacy students and I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge their efforts in organizing this event especially under the unusual circumstances of COVID19 pandemic”.

Hend Al-Naimi, QphUS President, stated, “As future pharmacists, one of our roles is to educate and raise awareness. Although COVID-19 ravelled the campaigns and outreach activities that we used to do in our association but also it is a powerful reminder that we are all in this together and choice, actions and awareness have a powerful role to protect those who are vulnerable. The ‘Move Forward’ campaign started on QPhUS social media to raise awareness about breast cancer, one of the biggest activities that we did is the virtual event. This event is truly a tool to spread hope and be a force for good to support all women around the world fighting breast cancer.”

The event showcased the story of a cancer survivor in the form of a movie, directed by Sara Shadid, a media researcher in the Ministry of Culture and Sports. Titled “Move Forward”, the movie featured Sandee Thompson, a cancer survivor, communicating an inspirational and motivational story for all viewers. Ms Sandee Thomposon, now the coordinator of English at the College of North Atlantic, stated, “We paddle for life; we paddle for health and we paddle for community and cancer awareness. We do not care about winning races. We have already won the race by being alive to tell our stories and to paddle with one another. Live your life as large as possible. That is your legacy; that is what makes the difficult times worthwhile. Knowing you loved your life.”

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