Local non-profit, Friends of Cancer Patients (FOCP), has received half a million dirhams in donations from the Sharjah-based charity foundation, Patient’s Friends Charitable House, to promote FOCP’s efforts to treat cancer patients residing in the UAE who are unable to bear the high cost of treatment.

The two entities met last year to discuss ways to alleviate the huge financial burden on patients that comes with cancer surgeries, chemo and radiotherapy, and other expensive treatments. The endowment is a fruition of these discussions.

HE Rashid Dimas Al Suwaidi, Director General and Commissioner of Patient’s Friends Charitable House in Sharjah, lauded FOCP’s efforts in safeguarding the lives of thousands who battle this difficult disease, saying the fulfillment of social responsibility through various means, including offering financial assistance to patients who need it for their treatment, is an individual and institutional duty.

Al Suwaidi stressed that the reason behind the establishment of Patient’s Friends Charitable House in Sharjah, which came into being in 2019 followed an official decree by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, was to offer financial and moral support to patients, especially those suffering from chronic or terminal illnesses, as well as to raise community awareness about the importance of pursuing social responsibility.

Dr. Sawsan Al Madhi, Director General of FOCP, lauded the generous contribution by Patient’s Friends Charitable House, saying that it not only plays a significant financial role of helping FOCP achieve its goals to assist cancer treatment, gives out a strong social message on the importance of community participation in charitable activities.

She also reiterated that at the core of all these community-minded actions are the humanitarian values of the Emirati community, which has been boosting FOCP’s efforts since its inception to expands their reach to help more cancer patients in the UAE through quality medical and moral support.

Founded in 1999, FOCP was established to help alleviate the financial and emotional burden that cancer often imposes on patients and their families, and to promote awareness about the six early detectable forms of the disease; breast, cervical, prostate, skin, testicular and colorectal cancers. Apart from its awareness role, FOCP is committed to providing moral and financial support to thousands of patients and their families of all ages and nationalities across the UAE.