Reggie Mutia Lambo Drilon, cervical cancer survivor, outspoken patient rights advocate, and current president of the Cancer Survivors Organization at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), is calling the attention of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. to the plight of cancer patients, particularly female patients battling cervical cancer who are highly dependent on the government’s cancer health services for their treatment and survival.
In an open letter to the President that Ms. Drilon published on their organization’s Facebook Page, just in time for the 5th anniversary of the enactment of the National Integrated Cancer Control Act (NICCA), she spoke of her hope that the President will recognize the physical, emotional, and financial burden of cancer and find the means to help the many Filipinas who are already afflicted, as well as those who will still be afflicted, by the disease.
“Pagbabakuna ng mas marami pa, malawak na screening para sa mga kababaihan, at sapat na suporta sa mga hindinaiwasan ang kanser at kasalukuyang nakikipaglaban sa sakitna ito ang aming idinudulog sa inyo (Vaccination for many more [women and girls], expanded screening, and sufficient support for the patients who contracted cancer and are currently struggling to manage the disease, these are what we petition from you),” she implored the President.
She harked back to her personal experience as a cervical cancer survivor, describing a decade-long pain-filled fight that rendered her unable to work and mired in debt—a common plight for many cancer patients. She also spoke of how cancer impacts the lives of not just the female cancer patients like her, but also the extended networks that provide what little support they can, only to feel helpless when the person they cherish—mother, wife, sister, friend—struggles to recover her health, or worst-case scenario, loses her life.
Cervical cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer among Filipino women, said Ms. Drilon. Moreover, 11 women die from the disease on a daily basis; she says her own sister was one of the women lost to cancer. She expressed regret for learning too late that some types of cancer can be prevented, and that there is a vaccine that would have kept them both safe from cervical cancer.
“Dinggin nyo po sana ang aming hinaing, bigyan po sananinyo ng importansya ang sakit na cancer upang maiwasangdumami pa ang kababaihan na magkaroon nito o kaya’ylumala pa ang karamdaman (Please hear our plea, and give importance to cancer so that we prevent more women from contracting the disease, or from experiencing worsened symptoms and progressively deteriorating health due to the disease),” said Ms. Drilon.
This Cancer Awareness Month of February, Ms. Drilon is raising awareness of the challenges experienced by cervical cancer patients, but also of the very real possibility that more women and girls will be saved through effective preventive measures such as expanded coverage for vaccination and screening, as well as quality and affordable cancer care, under a well-funded government initiative. The NICCA serves as the framework for all cancer-related activities of the government, including the National Cancer Control Program and the Cancer Assistance Fund.
“Isa lang po ako sa maraming umaasa sa benepisyo ng National Integrated Cancer Control Act ng Pilipinas. Umaasapo kami na magkakaroon ng Bagong Pilipinas para sa amin, at para sa iba pang pasyenta ng cancer nanangangailangan pa. (I am just one of many who are counting on the benefits under the National Integrated Cancer Control Act of the Philippines. We are hopeful that there will be a New Philippines for us, and for the cancer patients who still need assistance)” said Ms. Drilon.
Read the complete letter on: https://bitly.ws/3d5Xn.
Ms. Drilon’s petition is aligned with the global initiative for cervical cancer elimination devised by the World Health Organization, where 90% of girls should be fully vaccinated with HPV vaccine by 15 years of age by 2030; 70% of women are screened with a high-performance test by 35 years of age and again by 45 years of age; and 90% of women identified with cervical disease receive treatment (90% of women with precancer treated, and 90% of women with invasive cancer managed). After a slow start during the pandemic, the Philippines needs to accelerate its efforts to meet these targets.