Breast cancer survivor Edna Magsoling, assistant principal of Bung-aw Elementary School in Bogo City, shared her journey with teachers of the Madridejos District in Bantayan Island during a Project Pink forum organized by CitySavings and RAFI – EJACC. | Contributed Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Fear and anxiety are not diseases but they can be factors that will put you at risk of dying as these cripple and hinder women from seeking medical help. This was one of the key messages which cancer survivors and experts gave Project Pink Fora attendees to combat the increasing breast cancer mortality rate.
In observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month last October, City Savings Bank (CitySavings) intensified its campaign through Project Pink that especially benefited public school teachers. The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative contributes to health and well-being and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) specifically in the area of reducing mortality from non-communicable diseases and promote mental health.
“Increasing rates of death is not due to the incurability of breast cancer but because it is diagnosed at a later stage which makes it hard to cure,” said Ronald Delos Reyes, program coordinator of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. – Eduardo J. Aboitiz Cancer Center (RAFI – EJACC), one of the partner organizations of the bank in Central Visayas.
Albert Villaceran, an attendee from Madridejos District in Bantayan Island, Cebu braved the crowd and was one of the very few men who decided to join the forum despite the perception that the activity was for women. When asked why he joined, he said, “breast cancer can affect men, too. And early detection is as important to men as it is to women. The testimonies from those who survived breast cancer and the lecture by the oncologist were helpful in opening our eyes about this disease”.
A free medical mission followed where close to 200 teachers from Madridejos District availed of the clinical breast examination and pap smear conducted by trained volunteer midwives from The Integrated Midwives Association of the Philippines (IMAP) – Cebu Midwife Clinic, Inc. (ICMCI) and RAFI – EJACC.
Aside from Central Visayas, CitySavings also conducted Project Pink in various parts of Northern and Southern Luzon, National Capital Region (NCR), Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Northern and Southern Mindanao where almost 2,300 teachers attended.
Dr. Rosalinda Pulido, Head of St. Frances Cabrini Medical Center Cancer Institute in Batangas said that teachers are one of the best audiences for breast cancer discussions. “It is not common for companies to take their CSR programs this serious. It was a breath of fresh air that CitySavings is doing this for breast cancer awareness. It was well-thought of to have teachers as the attendees as they are the perfect sources of information and they can spread awareness to their peers as well,” she said.
Conducted annually by CitySavings with partner organizations and oncologists, Project Pink has raised awareness to over 4,000 teaching and non-teaching personnel from the Department of Education (DepEd) since 2017. / dcb