Cancer's cure

Dr Shaheenah Dawood says it's an exciting time for oncology research and is spearheading change in cancer care in the UAE, making sure that all patients, whether they come from the Middle East or Africa, have access to medication and treatment.

- By Renuka Methil

THERE’S LAUGHTER IN THE BREAST CANCER WARD. Shaheenah Dawood is in her bright sunny office wearing a lab coat, a floral dress, and a smile that can make anyone feel welcome and well.

The only thing that is infectious here, in these corridors at the Mediclinic Parkview Hospital in Dubai where we meet, is her energy.

Working 7 AM to 10 PM seeing cancer patients and giving them care and cure, this Consultant Medical Oncologist and Professor of Clinical Oncology can’t afford to not be that ray of light and hope, and to the care-giving staff around her as well – such as during the lockdown in 2020, when she ordered cheerful pink, blue and yellow scrubs and PPE for those in her department.

But the Emirati doctor’s 24-page CV and the assortment of papers, accolades, and awards to her name apart, there is passion in her voice and serious purpose to her work.