MANILA, Philippines—Mindful of the saying that a healthy wife means a happy life, the Marikina City government has launched with civic and medical organizations several health programs to benefit more than 150,000 female residents.
Marikina health office head Alberto Herrera said that among the programs to be offered for National Women’s Month to women 18 years old and older were free screenings for breast and cervical cancer.
Herrera noted that “early detection [was] important,” especially since last year’s city records showed that 53 women died of breast cancer and 14 due to cervical cancer.
Of the 53, 20 women or more than a third of the recorded breast cancer deaths were aged 65 and older. On the other hand, deaths due to cervical cancer were highest among women aged 50 to 54, with four cases.
The cases of cervical cancer deaths went down slightly last year compared to 2013 when 17 women died of the disease. However, for breast cancer, there were 12 more cases in 2013 compared to last year.
In 2011, the Department of Health said that breast cancer was the “No. 1 cause of cancer morbidity and mortality among Filipino women, accounting for almost 30 percent of all female malignancies.”
The screenings will be held in Barangays Malanday (March 7), Kalumpang (March 12) and the Industrial Valley Complex (March 18)—communities with the biggest number of women in the city.
Apart from the cancer screenings, the city, in partnership with the Philippine Obstetrics and Gynecological Society and Rotary Club of Marikina, will also conduct a seminar for pregnant women next Tuesday.
Herrera said that around 200 women, including teenage moms-to-be, were expected to attend the gathering at the Riverbank Center aimed at “informing them of the importance of prenatal checkups.”
He added that the city’s partner organizations would give the attending expectant mothers formula milk to ensure a healthy pregnancy.