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QC kicks off anti-cancer screening plan

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SAYING cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer claiming 12 lives a day, the Quezon City government on Wednesday kicked off a community-based screening program to fight the disease.

At a news conference, Dr. Karen See, The Department of Health (DOH) cancer control coordinator, said the city government has come up with a roadmap to eliminate cervical cancer through a private-public partnership.

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The DOH -National Capital Region thanked the Quezon City government “for this important milestone.”

“Gone are the days when the problem of health is the concern of the Department of Health,” its representative said.

The city initiatives included free cervical cancer screening tests and treatment, the allocation of P28 million to diagnose 20,000 women this year, and the implementation of an Ordinance Establishing the Comprehensive Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control in Quezon City. 

“We encourage our women to take the screening tests. Do not be afraid to do so,” See told reporters.

“We do not just look after the welfare of the women in our city but also after the women not from Quezon City but are working here,” she stressed.

She noted that in 2021, the city’s Health Department demonstrated the viability of an integrated screen-and-treat approach toward the prevention of cervical cancer using high-performance (molecular assay) test and provision of early treatment services in its health centers. 

In 2024, Quezon City became the first city in the Philippines to establish an integrated cancer control policy through the enactment of City Ordinance SP-3285 of 2024 or the Quezon City Integrated Cancer Control Ordinance.

The screening tests targeting women of 30 to 49 years old can be done at the city’s 66 health centers.

Jacq Ruiz, Women Workers for Health Empowerment Network spokesperson,  said cervical cancer is curable.

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