Dr. Lorna Diorico (seated), president of Philippine Medical Women’s Association Cebu Chapter, performs cervical cancer screening procedure on one of the patients at City Central School. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)
A TOTAL of 172 women from the different barangays in Cebu City received free cervical cancer screenings at the City Central School on Sunday morning.
The activity was conducted by the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society (POGS), together with the Department of Health (DOH), Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Cebu City Health Department and the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation (RAFI), in line with the Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.
According to the DOH, cervical cancer is the second most common disease among Filipino women, next to breast cancer.
POGS president Dr. Maria Lilibeth Sia Su said the objective of the activity was to screen as many women as possible to determine early stage of cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and is usually transmitted during sexual intercourse.
She said cervical cancer does not show symptoms.
“Most of the patients do not have symptoms. That’s one of the reasons why these patients do not consult a doctor,” Su said.
Screening detects pre-cancerous lesions, which can easily be treated.
“No woman should die of cervical cancer in this day, because we have all the needed technology. Cervical cancer is preventable. One only has to undergo pap smear, as simple as VIA (visual inspection with acetic acid),” said Dr. Virginia Abalos, chapter president of POGS.
Madeleine Ybañez, 27, a mother of two from Barangay Paril, said it was her first time to undergo cervical cancer screening.
“Para mahibaw-an kon naa bay problema kay 16 baya ko nagminyo (So I would know if there’s a problem because I married at 16),” Ybañez said.
Jersah Halos, 25, of Barangay Buhisan, said it was already her second time to undergo screening. She decided to avail of the screening because it was offered for free and she wanted to make sure that she is free from cervical cancer.
Part of the activity was the giving of HPV vaccination to children ages 9-12 years old.
Dr. Pherdes Galbo, project head of POGS, said the most important thing to prevent the disease is to educate the children about HPV and to vaccinate them.
“Even if you have that vaccination, I cannot guarantee 100 percent that you cannot get HPV, but definitely you will have a slim chance of cervical cancer,” Galbo said.
He said vaccination is ideal for 9-12 years old because their antibodies are very high compared to the older population.
Christina Casaña, a cervical cancer survivor who was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 40, encouraged women to undergo screening so what she experienced will not happen to them.