MANILA, Philippines – Each October, pink ribbons remind girls to get screened and checked for breast most cancers.
However behind the Breast Most cancers Consciousness Month campaigns lies a dire statistic: extra Filipino girls are being recognized with breast most cancers than ever earlier than.
In 2022, round 33,000 Filipino girls had been newly recognized with breast most cancers, making it the most typical most cancers amongst girls within the Philippines.
Our nation’s price is among the many highest in Asia, which is a trigger for alarm. For each 100,000 girls, about 60 Filipinas are recognized with breast most cancers annually, whereas the common in Southeast Asia is round 42, and throughout Asia, about 34.
To place it in perspective, practically a million of the two.3 million new breast most cancers instances worldwide come from Asia alone. The truth that the Philippines’ price is considerably greater than the regional common reveals that Filipino girls face a higher danger.
It’s one thing we must always all be involved about. However why is that this occurring?
Frequent dangers
Dr. Diana O. Cua, a breast surgeon at Makati Medical Heart and one of many first Filipino surgeons to coach in breast surgical procedure at Stanford College, stated that one main trigger is that existence and household habits have shifted through the years.
“Many ladies now have kids later in life or have fewer kids. Extra individuals are additionally dwelling in cities, and charges of weight problems are going up, all of which may elevate the danger of breast most cancers,” she instructed Rappler.
However life-style isn’t the one wrongdoer. Screening stays a weak spot within the nation’s healthcare system.
“Breast most cancers screening within the Philippines is just not but totally organized. Most ladies get checked solely once they go to a clinic for one more purpose,” stated Cua. “There additionally aren’t sufficient mammogram machines in lots of areas, which implies many cancers are nonetheless discovered at a later stage.”
And as Filipino girls stay longer, extra attain the age the place breast most cancers danger naturally will increase.
“Early analysis will be troublesome due to journey, value, and lack of correct steerage via the well being system,” she added. “However in tertiary facilities like MakatiMed and different hospitals, we’re seeing extra girls recognized at early levels — and since they obtain full therapy, most go on to be fully cured.”
Throughout ASEAN international locations, the Philippines ranks amongst these with the very best breast most cancers charges, alongside Singapore. Extra girls are creating danger components resembling weight problems, hormonal adjustments, and later pregnancies, Cua stated. Filipinos additionally face sluggish medical entry and monetary obstacles.
“Research have discovered that low entry to mammograms and delays in analysis and therapy result in extra superior instances and better dying charges,” stated Cua. “The problem is twofold: extra girls are in danger, and lots of nonetheless can not get examined or handled early. Fixing each issues is essential to saving extra lives.”
Nonetheless, even girls recognized early usually face “catastrophic well being bills inside a yr,” stated Cua. “Many have to journey far for assessments or therapy. Some hospitals nonetheless lack imaging or biopsy companies, and there aren’t sufficient most cancers specialists in lots of areas.”
PhilHealth’s Z-Profit package deal now covers extra therapies, elevating monetary protection to P1.4 million, however gaps stay. Solely choose hospitals supply the Z package deal, and the method can nonetheless be lengthy and bureaucratic.
“Exterior huge cities, affected person navigation — somebody guiding you thru the system — remains to be hit and miss,” Cua stated. “These hurdles result in delays and therapy breaks, which may significantly have an effect on restoration.”
Affecting the youth
One troubling development Cua has noticed is that extra younger girls are being recognized with breast most cancers. A few of these cancers are extra aggressive.
“A lot of my sufferers of their 30s and 40s are very proactive. They really feel a lump, get it checked, and are recognized early. These are the ladies with extremely curable Stage 1 or 2 cancers,” she stated. “However I additionally see a number of younger girls who’re in denial, and by the point they arrive in, the most cancers has already unfold.”
Youthful girls, she added, face distinctive challenges after therapy, resembling fertility points and emotional restoration. There must be extra age-sensitive help techniques in most cancers care, Cua stated.
There isn’t one certain trigger for breast most cancers danger. There are numerous controllable and uncontrollable components, together with genetics.
“Within the Philippines, about 1 in each 20 girls with breast most cancers has inherited mutations in genes like BRCA1 or BRCA2,” stated Cua. “If breast most cancers runs in your loved ones, it’s value asking your physician about genetic testing.”
Nonetheless, she emphasised that life-style stays a serious space the place girls can take management. Ladies at this time are likely to have kids later, transfer much less, and devour extra processed meals. Weight problems, excessive blood sugar, and excessive ldl cholesterol additionally elevate hormonal dangers over time.
“One of the best factor we will do is maintain our general well being — eat actual meals, transfer usually, and preserve a wholesome weight,” she stated.
Greater than consciousness
Whereas breast self-exams (BSE) are sometimes promoted as a life-saving behavior, Cua defined that the information paints a extra nuanced image.
“BSE alone doesn’t truly decrease breast most cancers deaths; it could actually even trigger pointless panic or further assessments,” she stated. “What we must always concentrate on is breast consciousness: understanding what’s regular on your physique so you may spot adjustments early.”
One of the best system includes mammograms and ultrasounds, paired with instant medical session when one thing feels off.
“It’s not nearly having extra machines — it’s about making care accessible and serving to girls perceive what to do subsequent,” she stated. “Consciousness ought to result in motion.”
Hope for the long run
Regardless of the grim image, Cua is optimistic that progress is feasible. Cheaper variations of key most cancers medication like trastuzumab have made focused therapies extra inexpensive, she shared. Newer therapies resembling CDK4/6 inhibitors and immunotherapy are additionally extending lives.
Diagnostic instruments have improved, too; extra sufferers are receiving core-needle biopsies and hormone receptor testing, permitting medical doctors to design extra personalised care plans.
On a world stage, there’s additionally coverage progress, with the World Well being Group (WHO), World Financial institution, USAID, Europe, and Japan pushing to extend their finances allocation for breast most cancers.
“Breast most cancers will quickly be acknowledged as a world well being precedence beneath the 2025 United Nations Political Declaration on Non-Communicable Illnesses,” Cua shared. “This implies extra worldwide funding and stronger authorities accountability, and a step ahead for ladies in every single place.”
To really cut back breast most cancers deaths, Cua believes the Philippines wants stronger early-detection pathways, expanded entry to screening, and simplified therapy techniques.
“It’s not sufficient to inform girls to get checked,” she stated. “We have to convey care nearer to them, particularly outdoors Metro Manila, and ensure profit packages sustain with new proof.”
On the finish of the day, it’s about how we will flip consciousness into entry, and entry into motion. It’s a group effort.
“When all these items come collectively — early detection, equitable care, and monetary help — that’s once we’ll begin seeing fewer deaths from breast most cancers,” Cua stated. “Not due to one single repair, however as a result of we lastly made the system work for ladies.” – Rappler.com
Dr. Diana Cua is a board-certified medical oncologist at The Medical Metropolis and an energetic member of the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology (PSMO). She accomplished her Physician of Medication on the College of the Philippines Faculty of Medication and her Inside Medication and Medical Oncology coaching at The Medical Metropolis. Dr. Cua has been concerned in varied most cancers analysis, medical trials, and consciousness campaigns targeted on early detection and ladies’s well being.
