The Mandaluyong City local government announced that it will be offering free Thermalytix breast cancer screening as part of its efforts in ensuring the health and wellness of Mandaleños and help curb the number of breast cancer cases in the city.

In celebration of Cancer Prevention Month in February, the city government will hold the breast cancer screening program on Jan. 30 spearheaded by the National Cancer Prevention and Control Program of the Mandaluyong City Health Department in cooperation with the Asian Breast Center. The screening will be held at the City Health Office Annex from 8 a.m. onwards.

Thermalytix is a computer aided diagnostic engine that is powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The system uses a high resolution thermal sensing device and a cloud hosted analytics solution for analyzing the thermal images for reliable, early and accurate breast cancer screening.

The diagnostic test has been used in more than 150 hospitals, diagnostic centers, as well as in more than 5000 screening camps in India. The advanced breast cancer screening procedure has indicated very high accuracy that is non-inferior to X-Ray Mammography in general, and 25 percent better sensitivity than mammography in women with dense breasts.

Other countries that offer the test are the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Sweden, Bulgaria, and Turkey.

The city government urged interested participants to do the following preparations for the test:

- If the patient is suffering from a cold, influenza, or fever, postpone the screening test to another date.
- No bathing 2 hours before examination
- No coffee, water, or any other hot or cold drink for 2 hours before the examination.
- No food intake (including candies & gum), especially spicy foods, 2 hours before the examination. 
- No drinking of alcoholic beverages 12 hours before the examination If the patient is currently having a menstrual period, the examination must be rescheduled for next week. 
- No yoga massage or any strenuous exercise (physical therapy) 3 hours before the examination 
- If the patient is currently taking medications and food supplements, including any painkillers, vasodilators, or hormonal medications, a list should be provided, and the technician should be informed prior to examination. 
- No physical stimulation, mammography, ultrasound, or any treatment of the breast, chest, neck, or back 24 hours before the examination 
- No lotions, creams, deodorants, powders, or make-up were applied to the breasts or underarms on the day of the examination

Breast cancer in the PH

In October 2023, Philippine Cancer Society President Dr. Corazon Ngelangel said breast cancer ranks first in terms of new cases and mortality, both locally and globally, explaining that about 65 percent of local breast cancer cases are diagnosed in the advanced or late stages due to lack of adequate treatment and early detection.

Breast cancer is also the number one cancer for both females and males.

"There are 27,163 new cases a year and 9,906 deaths in a year for both sexes," Ngelangel said in an interview.

Former Philippine Society of Medical Oncology President Dr. Arthur Jason Go also ranked breast cancer as the most common type of cancer in the country followed by lung, colorectal, and liver cancer.

Women who are prone to breast cancer include girls who had menstruation before 12 years old, late menopause beyond 55 years old, those who did not give birth or breastfeed, family history, lymphoma, uncontrolled use of birth control pills and have undergone hormone replacement therapy.

"Women can check the warning signs of breast cancer like change in the size or shape of the breast, dimpling or puckering of the skin; itchy, scaly sore or rash on the nipple; pulling in of your nipple or other parts of the breast; nipple discharge that starts suddenly; new pain in one spot that does not go away," Go said.

To avoid breast cancer, he recommended that women practice checking family and medical history; breast awareness or patient familiarity with her breasts; breast risk assessment; and clinical breast exam, breast mammography, ultrasound or MRI.