Sharjah, Apr 27 (IANS/WAM): The Pink Caravan, a breast cancer awareness initiative in the UAE, has screened a total of 21,795 people -- including over 16,000 women -- for breast cancer in the past three years.

The Pink Caravan, the initiative by the Friends of Cancer Patients (FOCP) charitable organisation, released a report detailing the results of their early detection breast cancer screening programme for 2011-2013.

During the 2013 Pink Caravan Ride, the campaign's mobile clinics provided free early detection tests to 3,991 women and 1,029 men.

In three years, 16,345 women and 5,450 men were tested, adding up to a total of 21,795 screenings.

Sawsan Al Madhi, secretary general for FOCP, said: "A point of special interest has been the increase in awareness among men with regards to breast cancer, as can be seen from the more than 100 percent increase in men opting to be screened in 2013, when compared to the 476 screenings done on men in 2012."