Smoking linked to breast cancer?

Alamin Kay Kuya Kim

ASTATEMENT by the Department of Health (DoH) and the Philippine Cancer Society (PCS) says breast cancer is the most common of cancers in the Philippines, with 16 percent of the 50,000 diagnosed cases. (2010 Philippine Cancer Facts and Estimates).

In relation to the concern, recent findings have suggested a link between cigarette-smoking and breast cancer.

According to Reuters Health, a study was conducted last year saying that there is an increased chance of death if the patient is smoking cigarettes. The research focuses on the impact of the duration of smoking on women with this kind of tumor, and it is the first do so, according to the co-author of the study Dr. Masaaki Kawai.

“Among more than 800 women with breast cancer, those who had smoked for more than two decades had at least triple the odds of dying of any cause, or from breast cancer in particular, compared with women who never used cigarettes,” Reuters Health states.

Tobacco has its obvious effects, but despite this, cigarettes remain their reputation as strong marketable merchandise in the Philippines.

Furthermore, the likelihood of the youth replacing adult smokers is an increasing risk.

“The Philippines will continue to be Southeast Asia’s second largest tobacco consumers if young Filipinos are not stopped from smoking,” the New Vois Association of the Philippines (NVAP) warns. TRIVIA PA MORE: Quoting Dr. Arturo V. Rotor in his book, “Living With Folk Wisdom,” he says: “With all the empty plastic bottles around, you can prepare safe drinking water just by adding crushed seeds of malunggay. Fill up a liter size bottle with water coming from the top or if you are in the province, a deep well or spring.

“Add two malunggay seeds crushed by hand. Allow to set up for two to three hours or until the sediments have settled down. Slowly transfer the filtrate to another bottle for immediate or future use.”

Send your questions on anything and everything to Kuya Kim through my Twitter account @kuyakim_ atienza using #AlaminKayKuyaKim.

Ating tuklasin ang mga bagay-bagay na di niyo pa alam. Walang ’di susuungin, lahat aalamin. Ito po si Kuya Kim, Matanglawin, only here in TEMPO.