By Perfecto T. Raymundo, Jr..
QUEZON CITY — The two-day (Feb. 27-28) Philippine National Cancer Summit is now being held here at the Novotel Araneta City here with the theme: “Stronger Philippines: Building a Resilient Cancer Care Ecosystem” .
During the first day (Feb. 27) of the summit, the panelists namely Giselle Arroyo, Dr. Frances, Dr. Dominique Ho, among others discussed the breast cancer disease in the Philippines and in the ASEAN.
They discussed the first screening mammogram which found suspicious densities in the left breast of a 7-year old girl.
The girl survived and she was present during the first day of the two-day summit.
The Global Burden Disease was tackled.
In their study, among Filipino women, breast cancer was the no. 1 cancer in terms of new cases in 2022.
The breast cancer (BC) incidence among Filipino young women aged 15-39 was rising in 1990..
In their study, it found underlying reasons for such rise such as at the early age at first menstruation, use of birth control pills, delayed Child-bearing, ethnicity, alcohol, smoking and hereditary factors.
“If you smoke, you also increase estrogen in the body,” Dr. Frances said.
Unique genetic profiles may also play a role in the increase.
“Do we listen to young women enough?
“We are 3td highest in ASEAN for BC deaths?” she added.
Some factors that may contribute to the rise of BC are the following:
–Young women are screened diagnosed, and treated too late,
–Often not perceived to be at risk.
Financial constraints, and
–Stigma and fear of seeking care or cultural factor among others.
Learning from ASEAN neighbors: Adapting best practices from Thailand..
Despite the increasing new cases in Thailand, while mortality rates are relatively stable, they were able to stop them from dying from BC.
There are the government promotion for BC screening and Universal Healthcare coverage for BC, among others.
How can we improve our outcomes?
Strengthen cancer registries, increase screening access, public awareness campaigns, early cancer education, and affordable treatment options.
What should we do?
Collaborate multisectorally, conduct research, among others.
Breast cancer is a growing concern in the Philippines, especially in women.
It was highlighted that alcohol is the major contributing factor to breast cancer.
