(Photo Courtesy: Manila Public Information Office)
QUEZON CITY, (PIA) – A total of 332 women were able to benefit from the cervical cancer screening program led by the Department of Health (DOH) in the City of Manila on Monday, September 11.
The program forms part of the national health department’s Intensified Cervical Cancer Screening Campaign to strengthen the preventive measures cervical cancer in the country by improving access of women to free screening services as well as increasing the opportunities to learn on how they can prevent the disease by getting tested.
The DOH-initiated screening program provided free Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) to 105 women and Human Papillomavirus Deoxyribonucleic Acid (HPV-DNA) test to the other 77 beneficiaries which are among the diagnostic methods used to determine the early development of cervical cancer.
Meanwhile, 150 women also received free breast examinations to detect the early manifestations of breast cancer.
“Let us try to prevent this illness, this cancer. Ipakita po natin na we are empowering our women. Mga kababaihan po tayo, kailangan po maitaas natin ang antas ng ating kalusugan at ito po ay isa sa maaari nating maibigay sa ating mga susunod na henerasyon (Let us show that we are empowering our women. We are women. We need to uplift the state of our health and this is something that we can pass down to future generations),” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire during the screening program, giving emphasis to the over 37.8 million Filipino women who are at risk of cervical cancer in the country.
Manila City Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan also urged the parents of young girls aged 9 to 14 years old to have them vaccinated against HPV, a vaccine-preventable disease (VPD).
The Mayor also encouraged women residents of the city aged 30 to 49 years old to aval of the free cervical screening program offered by the government.
Meanwhile, the Metro Manila Center for Health Development (MMCHD) also conducted free cervical cancer screening tests to women aged 20 years old and above in the City of Pasay last September 4 together with the Pasay City Health Office (CHO).
In addition, Philippine Cancer Society (PCS) Program Director Romeo Marcaida is targeting to further collaborate with the local government of Manila to promote the use of the ACT NOW Prime Care Portal which will serve as a self-reporting system for women who experience symptoms of cervical cancer.
In June 2023, the PCS partnered with the Quezon City government for the implementation of the web portal to advance breast health and prevent breast cancer by providing free screening tests to women who reported their symptoms. (PIA-NCR)