Event Details

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time to bring a difficult subject into the open, at work as well as at home. We are bringing this awareness through our collaboration with Female Fusion Network, SEE Institute and Canadian Business Council. 

Knowing the signs and getting checked. Understanding what diagnosis, treatment and life afterwards really look like. Learning how to show up for colleagues, friends and family going through it. Honest conversations with people who have lived it, plus practical input from doctors and specialists. The focus is breast cancer, but this is for everyone, whoever you are and whatever cancer has touched your life.

Who should come:

• Everyone, men and women, who wants to understand the signs, screening and their own risk
• Employers and HR teams supporting staff through treatment and return to work
• Managers and colleagues who don’t know what to say, and want to get it right
• Patients, survivors and the people who support them

You’ll leave ready to:

• Know the signs and get checked, or help someone else to
• Talk about cancer without fear
• Support someone going through cancer, or who has been
• Build a more inclusive workplace

Doing something different this year

We’re training and paying breast cancer survivors for their expertise.

Every survivor who speaks, runs a workshop or leads a meditation at this event is paid for their time. Through SEE Institute’s spokesperson programme, women who have lived through breast cancer are professionally trained in storytelling and public speaking. Lived experience has value, so they are paid like any other speaker. Even our photographer, Yasmin Hussain, is a survivor, and is paid for her work. Funds raised from this event go towards supporting and paying breast cancer survivors.

Programme

We’ve built three tracks into the morning so there is something for everyone: expert mini keynotes, survivor workshops, and wellbeing sessions in ImmerSEE. Everyone comes together for the panel, then you choose the sessions that suit you. A wellness and treatment room runs all morning with wellbeing and wellness activities you can drop into at any time.

8:30   Registration, coffee and market - Wellness and treatment room in the Majlis, open all morning · Optional reflective session in ImmerSEE
9:00   Welcome
9:10   Panel: The Whole Journey, from Early Detection to Life Beyond Cancer - Doctors, specialists and survivors together on one panel
9:50   Audience Q&A, prizes and breakout sessions
10:00   Networking break
10:15   Breakout round 1 (Choose one)

• Auditorium - Mini keynotes - Short talks and expert Q&A on cancer at work and life after treatment
• Lecture Theatre 1 - Survivor workshop: Breast reconstruction - Led by a consultant breast surgeon and a consultant reconstructive plastic surgeon
• ImmerSEE - Wellbeing: Guided meditation - Led by a survivor in the immersive 360° space

10:50   Break and room change
11:00   Breakout round 2 (Choose one)

• Auditorium - Mini keynotes - Short talks and expert Q&A on cancer at work and life after treatment
• Lecture Theatre 1 - Survivor workshop: Menopause and cancer - Educational session
• ImmerSEE - Wellbeing: Guided meditation - Led by a survivor and oncology yoga specialist

11:45   Market, coffee and networking
12:00   Close

*Programme subject to change. Speakers are listed below.

Confirmed speakers
More speakers will be announced as they are confirmed.

• Katy Keenan, CEO, British Chamber of Commerce Dubai
• Diana Szyszka-Pompei, Executive Director, Canadian Business Council Dubai and Northern Emirates
• Jen Blandos, Female Fusion & SEE Institute · Co-organiser. Two-time breast cancer survivor
• Lamya Gabr, Co-organiser. Programme partner. Breast cancer survivor

Breast Cancer Survivors:

• Catherine Vander Cammen PhD, Survivor speaker
• Shivani Radia, Survivor speaker
• Manisha Sahni, Guided meditation
• Jessica Abou Jaoude, Oncology yoga specialist · Guided meditation
• Yasmin Hussain, Event photographer
• Lauren O'Connell, Beauty Editor, Cosmopolitan Middle East

Medical Doctors:

• Dr Serife Simsek, Consultant Breast Surgeon, Fakeeh University Hospital
• Dr Stefano Pompei, Consultant Reconstructive Plastic Surgeon, Fakeeh University Hospital
• Dr Deema Siwheil, Clinical Director and Psychologist, Carbone Clinic

Practitioners & Experts

• Scott Armstrong, CEO, mentl
• Sharon James, Menopause and cancer survivor
• Dr Heidi Kussmann, Naturopathic Oncology Specialist Physician

Registration Tickets include refreshments and snacks throughout the morning. You can choose your breakout sessions on the day.
Breast cancer patients and survivors - Free, by application. Please email [email protected] 
Dress: Business 
Self parking is available

This is a pre-pay event and your place will not be confirmed until payment is received. If your company is a BCCD member and you are not a named member, please register by emailing [email protected] to benefit from the member rate, named members should register online as usual. Cancellations will be accepted until 11.59am on Friday 23rd October after which “no show fees” will apply.

Photos and/or videos will be taken on the day and may be shared on social media. By attending this event you are granting the BCCD your implicit consent to use all photographs from the event.

Having trouble registering? Feel free to email [email protected].

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