National screening program eyed to win war vs cancer

In order to win the war against cancer, the government must come up with a systematic and integrated policy that will put in place a comprehensive national screening program for early detection of the disease.

Dr. Dennis Sacdalan, an oncologist at the ManilaMed, said early detection remains the best strategy for reducing cancer cases such as colonoscopy for colon cancer, mammography for breast cancer and Pap smear for cervical cancer.

“As individual technicians, we do promote screening. We try to promote it with relatives of patients because they may be at risk. To raise awareness, I hope we can promote some cancer prevention strategies or cancer screening procedures that can help detect cancers early, at the point where it’s curable even before it develops,” he said.

The prevalence of cancer continues to be one of the biggest health problems in the country, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

In 2016, the Philippines had the highest incidence rate of breast cancer among 197 countries, according to the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society. 12 Filipinos die of cervical cancer every day.

The DOH ranked colon cancer as fourth overall in incidence and mortality.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and third in women.

“Screening procedures have been recommended worldwide in order to prevent or reduce deaths due to cancer. Studies have shown that certain screening procedures are needed to contribute in reducing mortality,” said Sacdalan.

Screenings can be conducted in hospitals which specialize in cancer, including government medical institutions designated by the health department as with cancer centers.

ManilaMed is one of the leading medical centers in the country which is poised to become a hub for cancer detection and treatment.

This year alone, it is set to install a state-of-the-art linear accelerator, which is a form of radiation therapy that targets specific areas housing cancer tumor or tissues, and destroys the cancer cells through a high frequency x-ray.