Early breast cancer detection leads to immediate treatment and a significantly lower cost of medical expenses, breast cancer advocates said in Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum on Wednesday, April 19. Kasuso Philippines Foundation for Breast Care Inc. Trustee/Volunteer Aileen Antolin noted that breast cancer detection should start as soon as a female starts menstruating. "May mga changes na na nangyayari when you have your menstruation (There are already changes that happen when you have your menstruation)," she said. It is also important that each community in the country has a mechanism in place where women of menstrual age can get regular breast checkups to detect any issues at a younger age. (From left) Philippine General Hospital Cancer Institute Dr. Jorge Ignacio, Kasuso Philippines Foundation for Breast Care Inc. Trustee/Volunteer Aileen Antolin, and Cancer Prevention Advocate Partylist Representative Jude Acidre. (Photo: Luisa Cabato)
Despite the group's nationwide efforts to disseminate information on the disease, Antolin admitted that the country still faces obstacles regarding breast cancer detection and treatment. Among those are the stigmas associated with doing a self-breast exam, participating in clinical trials, the hesitancy to consult medical professionals, and the lack of medical facilities and oncologists. "Ang pinakamalaking bulk ng problema ay nasa early, early, detection and awareness, yun talagang mahirap mo nang tibagin. Ang laki na ng kailangan mong tibagin na mindset doon in order for them to be encouraged to get into a healthcare system (The biggest bulk of the problem is in early detection and awareness, which is really hard for you to overcome. The kind of mindset you have to break at that stage is big in order for them to be encouraged to get into a healthcare system)," she added. Moreover, Antolin noted that out of the estimated 300 oncologists in the country, at least 200 are practicing at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), which forces breast cancer patients from the provinces to travel to Metro Manila to seek treatment. "Ang realidad po talaga mas maraming pang nandito sa NCR kaysa sa probinsya kaya nga po karamihan ng mga pasyente sa mga probinsya lumuluwas pa ng Maynila para magpagamot kasi wala doon. Una walang ospital doon, pangalawa walang oncologists doon (The reality is that there are more [oncologists] here in the NCR than in the provinces, that is why most of the patients in the provinces go outside of Manila to get treatment because there is none there. First, there is no hospital there, second, there are no oncologists there)," she added. Meanwhile, Dr. Jorge Ignacio, chairman of the PGH Cancer Institute, said that some patients already had the opportunity to try new yet promising breast cancer treatments from clinical trials, but the country still needs to establish a centralized ethics review board on these trials to attract more pharmaceutical companies. "In Singapore, they usually get a permit for clinical trial after three months; in the Philippines, we usually get it in six to 10 months," Cancer Prevention Advocate Partylist Representative Jude Acidre stated. Being the first to try new breast cancer treatments will not be the only benefit of this fast-tracked processing of permits but also knowing how effective these medicines are for Filipino genes, he added.

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