MANILA -- The Quezon City local government launched on Wednesday a free breast and cervical cancer screening caravan, together with the Philippine Cancer Society, that will provide services in different barangays in the city as part of the celebration of National Women’s Month.
Quezon City has 142 barangays (villages) with some three million residents.
“The Quezon City local government has a partnership with the Philippine Cancer Society and they will help us to make sure that those who will be detected positive will receive the care and treatment they need until they are fully healed,” Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
“Take advantage of this program by our city, and have your selves checked and examined. And we assure you that if you show symptoms or if you have these illnesses, we will take care of you until you totally recover,” she added.
Belmonte said it is her personal advocacy to promote women health care, citing that, her late mother, Betty Go-Belmonte had breast cancer which led to various complications and her death in 1994.
“Alam ko maraming kababaihan na takot magpakonsulta sa doctor dahil baka positive sa cancer. Pero iyon nga ang importanteng diyan, malaman agad kung positive dahil almost 99 percent naman ang survival rate nito kung matutukoy lang kaagad (I know many women are afraid to consult with a doctor because they may be positive of cancer. But that’s what’s important there, to immediately know if they are positive because the survival rate is almost 99 percent if it’s immediately detected),” Belmonte said.
She also bared plans of founding a special center for women in the hospitals in the city that will specifically address different health concerns of women. (PNA)
