Breast Cancer remains as the most common and leading cause of death among women in the Philippines.
The Philippine Society of Medical Oncology reported in 2018 that the country topped the list of Asian countries with high incidence of breast cancer.
The report also said that three out of 100 Filipino women are expected to develop breast cancer before age 75 and one out of 100 will die before reaching 75.
Globally, there are around 2.1 million cases of breast cancer reported each year with 626,000 deaths, based on the 2018 report released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) which is part of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The agency added that there were a total of 18.1 million new cases of cancer reported and 9.6 million deaths in 2018. Breast cancer also accounts for 15 percent of global cancer deaths.
The IARC-WHO report also found that there are four cancer cases diagnosed in women worldwide; breast cancer is the most common followed by lung cancer with 13.8 percent, colorectal cancer with 9.5 percent while cervical cancer ranks fourth with an incidence rate of 6.6 percent and mortality rate of 7.5 percent.
In the Philippines, cervical cancer is the second leading killer among women with an estimated 7,277 new cases and over 3,800 deaths to occur each year, according to data from the Department of Health (DOH).
Signs and symptoms of breast cancer include swelling of all or part of a breast, skin irritation, breast or nipple pain, nipple retraction, redness or thickening of the nipple and nipple discharge other than breast milk.
Cervical cancer, meanwhile, has these signs and symptoms that should not be ignored, including blood spots or light bleeding between or following periods, heavier than usual menstrual bleeding, increased vaginal discharge and pain during sexual intercourse.
The IARC-WHO believes that prevention plays a key role in fighting cancer.
In a bid to promote early detection of breast and cervical cancer, the Quezon City government has rolled out a free breast and cervical cancer screening caravan.
“I encourage women to undergo these kind of screening so that we can detect early the signs of breast and cervical cancer. Early detection of those irregularities is important because that dictates if the cancer is still curable or not,” QC Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
The caravan will go to different local communities in the city this month to offer free breast and cervical cancer screening to women.
The caravan was launched through the Office of Vice Mayor Belmonte in partnership with the Philippine Cancer Society in time for the celebration of International Women’s Month this March.
“Take advantage of this program by our city, and have yourselves checked and examined. We assure that if you show symptoms or if you have these illnesses, we will take care of you until you totally recover,” Belmonte added. – Robie de Guzman
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