By Marjorie Gorospe
INQUIRER.net
PASAY CITY, Philippines – Multi-sectoral group Bravehearts and clothing company Maldita have recently announced an initiative, dubbed “Bitching Against Cervical Cancer,” an effort to promote awareness on preventing cervical cancer.
Maldita also unveiled an exclusive line of “statement shirts” that challenges women to “Out Cervical Cancer.” Part of the proceeds from the sale of this line of shirts will be given to cervical cancer victims through the Cervical Cancer Prevention Network program (CECAP), according to Eric Teng, Maldita’s marketing director.
Teng said his mother-in-law has been a carrier of the disease. It was this reason that prompted him to lead this initiative to help cancer survivors and help raise awareness about the condition.
Teng also believed that every woman should be aware about cervical cancer.
Dr. Cecilia Llave, chair of the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital Cancer Institute, stressed that early detection of cervical cancer is one way of preventing cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer develops in the cervix, which is the entrance between the vagina and the uterus. The Human Papilloma Virus is known to cause cervical cancer in 99.7 percent of those infected, studies show.
There are no symptoms during the early stages of the condition but it could be detected through regular pap smear, visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), HPV DNA and colposcopy, doctors said.
In the Philippines, three of four women diagnosed die within five years.
Llave said women can opt to have HPV vaccination to prevent cervical cancer.
Recent statistics show that of the current 26.98 million Filipino women, 6,000 women will most likely be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 4,349 will die from the disease.
“When you lose a woman, you lose a wife, a partner, and a mother”, says Llave who is also program director of CECAP,
She believes initiatives to prevent cervical cancer is one way of helping Filipino women.
