|
MANILA,
June 9 (PNA) – The city government of Marikina has added another
feather in its cap with the first community-based breast cancer program
in the Philippines.
Marikina City Mayor Marides Fernando said the program is under her flagship program, a first in the country.
A
memorandum of agreement was signed with support group ICanServe
Foundation on Friday at the Marikina City Hall quadrangle aimed to help
source funds for women with breast cancer.
The MOA was signed jointly by Fernando and Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, founding president of ICanServe.
The
program, dubbed as “Ating Dibdibin”, is a national breast cancer
screening program designed by ICanServe under the auspices of the
American Cancer Society.
“Catering
to women aged 20 to 75, “Ating Dibdibin” aims to reach about 54,000
females through barangay assemblies and various gatherings in schools,
private hospitals, socio-civic organizations, and homeowner
associations,” Fernando said.
“It
also seeks to fight ignorance and the fear many women have of cancer,
and to make breast self-examination a lifetime habit,” she added.
Fernando
said the program is considered timely and important for a country with
the highest incidence of breast cancer in Southeast Asia.
“More
than the fear of the financial burden of treatment, fear of cancer
itself has prevented women from regularly doing BSE, which in most
cases offers them their only opportunity for early detection,” Alikpala
said.
She
said that Marikina City health workers and volunteer breast cancer
survivors from the ICanServe community are being trained on BSE,
story-telling, and facilitation.
The
training is an essential component of their participation in the
program which intends to ease the breast cancer screening experience of
Marikina’s women population.
“Breast
cancer survivors will encourage women to undergo regular screening and
spread the message of hope: Cancer is treatable and can be overcome,”
Alikpala said.
Fernando said that all female government employees will subject for free breast screening.
Sixteen doctors from various barangays health centers in the city will conduct the breast exam.
“Those
who show symptoms of breast cancer will be referred to Amang Rodriguez
Medical Center for free biopsy and surgery,” Fernando said. (PNA) |