DOH to give free cervical cancer screening

Submitted by admin on May 2, 2011 - 00:00
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In observance of May as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, the Department of Health (DOH) will give free cervical cancer screening to women aged 30-45 years old in its 58 accredited hospitals nationwide. As recommended by the World Health Organization, the age group targeted for cervical cancer screening is 35-45 years. The screening will be done once a week for the whole month of May based on the designated days in each zonal areas. 

In 2009, the DOH only provided free acetic acid/Pap smear screening method to women aged 15-45 years in 16 selected DOH hospitals in Davao, Cebu, and the National Capital Region (NCR). Last year, it provided free screening in 58 DOH-accredited hospitals nationwide.

Launching activities for Cervical Cancer Awareness Month will be on the following dates and places: May 2 at Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center; May 4 at Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital; May 5 at Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, and May 6 at Southern Philippines Medical Center. At the National Capital Region, free cervical cancer screening will be conducted every Monday of May. Luzon DOH hospitals have designated all Wednesdays as free cervical cancer screening day, while Visayas and Mindanao have designated Thursdays and Tuesdays, respectively. Free cervical cancer screening every Monday will be conducted at the following hospitals in NCR: Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center, Tondo Medical Center, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, Amang Rodriguez Medical Center, Rizal Medical Center, Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center, Valenzuela General Hospital, San Lorenzo Ruiz Memorial Hospital, National Children’s Hospital, and Jose Rodriguez Memorial Hospital. According to Health Secretary Enrique T. Ona, the National Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control Program addresses the cervical cancer issue in the country in three different levels. These are primary prevention which concerns promotion of healthy lifestyle and avoidance of risky sexual behavior, secondary prevention which consists of immediate screening and diagnosis to early detect women with pre-cancerous lesion and other abnormalities. Lastly, the tertiary prevention addresses concerns on immediate treatment, if possible, to prevent pre-cancerous lesion develop into invasive cancer. Presently, cervical cancer ranks as the second leading cancer among women, and that nine out of ten cases occur in developing countries. In 2010, the number of diagnosed diseases of the breast reached 12,262 and cervix had 1,984 cases. 

The highest incidence rate of cervical cancer was observed in Manila, Makati, Pasay, Pasig, and Taguig, while the lowest incidence was seen in Rizal.

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