Walk for breast cancer gathers 3,000 people
In observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, the Eduardo J. Aboitiz Cancer Center (EJACC) of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) held the 8th annual “Moonwalk: A walk for breast cancer awareness” last Oct. 18.
Moonwalk gathered nearly 3,000 people on the lot beside Pag-Ibig Fund Tower in Cebu Business Park at 5 p.m.
At 5:30 p.m., the participants walked to The Walk in Asiatown IT Park, passing by Archbishop Reyes Avenue. At the Asiatown IT Park, the participants, wearing pink shirts, formed a pink human ribbon.
Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale graced the program that followed the walk.
Most of the participants were cancer patients, women from the barangays, students, professionals, youth, public institutions and private companies.
For this year, Moonwalk was originally scheduled to happen under a full moon last Oct. 12 but was postponed to Oct. 18 due to bad weather.
Moonwalk, a unique advocacy campaign of RAFI, held every full moon of October, aims to promote the importance of observing monthly breast self-examination for women aged 20 and beyond.
It is also an awareness campaign of RAFI on early cancer detection and prevention. At the same time, it is a tribute to the victims and survivors of breast cancer.
“We always hold the Moonwalk during a full moon and Oct. 12 was when the moon was at its fullest this month. Full moon, because it is symbolically linked to women. However, we have to postpone it to Oct. 18 due to the bad weather,” delos Reyes said.
He emphasized the importance of early screening and early detection of cancer—women should undergo breast self-examination at the age of 20, clinical breast examination at the age of 30, and regular yearly mammography screening for women aged 40 years old and above.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among Cebuano women, based on the Cebu population-based Cancer Registry of RAFI.
For more information about the activity, call Gina Mariquit at 254-6351 or 256-3287 or visit www.rafi.org.ph.
