screening

By Gabriellea B. Pariño

chairman Teofilo Guadiz III in a dialogue to resolve the phaseout of the old jeepneys.

MANIBELA, which has around 3,000 members, said groups from other provinces have expressed interest in joining the transport holiday on July 24 to July 26.

Paras-Leynes said that the agency is coordinating with its regional counterparts to validate the possible participants to the planned strike in their areas.

Transport groups earlier said they are planning a three-day transport strike to coincide with President Marcos’ SONA.

Mr. Marcos will deliver his second SONA on July 24, a Monday.

GRADUATION SCENES.

A girl cries into the shoulders of her classmate as more than 400 Grade 6 students of Rafael Palma Elementary School in Manila graduated from elementary school on Thursday. Despite a continuous downpour, graduating high school students and their parents line up at the entrance of the Batasan Hills National School in Quezon City (inset).

THE Department of Health (DOH) will look to adopt organized screening for breast cancer in communities as more and more Filipino women succumb to the disease every day.

Breast cancer remains the top cause of death in Filipino women, the DOH said.

In a round table talk, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire discussed the department’s plans to incorporate organized screening in the country as part of the government’s universal healthcare plan.

“Organized screening would really be the key and I agree very much to that, because as part of the Department of Health, we are really for the prevention side of things. Now with this primary healthcare, meron po talaga tayong dapat gawin when it comes to breast cancer,” Vergeire said.

About 3 in every 100 women in the country are diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. There are also 27,000 new cases of breast cancer reported every year, according to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

Vergeire pointed out that health literacy remains a problem among Filipinos which can become a barrier for cancer treatment and screening.

“No matter how much you tell the patients in the community, they will not agree to self-testing or screening for breast cancer. There should always be guidance for self-examination,” she added.

The official also said that she will be pushing for organized screening to help more women understand the importance of getting screened during the probable early stages of cancer.

The DOH estimates that around 70 to 80 percent of women go to cancer centers because they already feel or see symptoms of the disease among themselves.