“When creativity and compassion come together, we can create something that
will really make a difference.”
– Mazen Jawad, President of Horizon Holdings
An emoji saving a life? Addressing a major global issue like cancer? This is a different train of thought and the handiwork of marketing communications house, Horizon Foote Cone & Belding (FCB) Dubai. They wanted a way to support Friends of Cancer Patients (FOCP) by having an initiative that could remind women to conduct a self-exam all year round. Then, they say, their eye got caught by an emoji “waving out of the keyboard” 🙋. They report that this prompted them to ask, “[is] the emoji waving, or doing something else?” And to cut a long story short, they launched the #🙋 in the United Arab Emirates with FOCP, with the proverbial million-dollar question, “Have you ever wondered why this emoji has her arm in the air? It’s because she’s doing a breast cancer exam”.
No matter who you are or where you’re from, a “breast cancer” diagnosis” could only feel like an adverse challenge unlike any other. Breast cancer is by far the most common cancer in women. Let us not forget that men too can get breast cancer! According to the World Health Organisation (2018), there are an estimated 2.09 million cases of breast cancer and 627 000 deaths annually. October’s designated the month of breast cancer awareness but with such devastating figures, it’s evident that awareness must stretch beyond the designated month. This too is the sentiment shared by Horizon FCB Dubai and FCOP. FOCP is a non-profit organisation that believes, “cancer should never be a scary journey and definitely one that you should never take alone”. They are determined to support patients and their families every step of their battle against cancer. However, they are just as invested in creating awareness about early detection as 80% of breast cancer tumours are actually self-detected. This coupled with the fact that there isn’t enough knowledge to determine the definite causes of breast cancer. Means that the fundamental point of controlling and treating breast cancer successfully is early detection. Most deaths occur when the spread of disease is too advanced and treatment cannot, therefore, achieve the desired effect.
With this in mind, do make time to conduct a self-exam today and remind your friends to follow suit. You may very well save a precious life.
