Qatar University College of Medicine (QU-CMED) held a march in support of cancer patients and with the long-term vision to establish a tradition of individual fundraising support for cancer research in the country.
The march was held at the Corniche with over 100 community members joining QU and CMED members. Participants started from the Costa café at the Sheraton end of the Corniche where they received lavender-coloured scarves and balloons to represent support for cancer patients. The march proceeded towards the Oryx statue in the middle of the Corniche and back to the starting point.
Medical student Mohamed al-Jaber said: “Community events like this one have the three-fold purpose of increasing public awareness, strengthening ties among college members, and raising funds for a good cause; in this case supporting cancer patients.”
QU vice-president for Medical Education and CMED dean Dr Egon Toft said: “By participating, marchers expressed their solidarity with cancer patients and their support for cancer research. We aim to develop this into an annual tradition that coincides with World Cancer Day. We anticipate that with time, it will grow into a large-scale event and raise considerable funds for cancer research at the college.”
Dr Toft noted the importance the college places on cancer research and highlighted some of its research areas. “Our cancer research aims to identify prognostic biomarkers and develop novel therapeutic interventions for personalised medicine in addition to developing new protocols and strategies that synergise with conventional cancer treatments.”
The college recently established two groups focused on cancer research - one to study Cancer Biology and Metastasis; the other to explore Cancer Proteomics and Systems Biology for Personalised Medicine.