PIA Press Release
Tuesday, January 31, 2012Cebu-based NGO to hold free screening for breast, cervical cancerby Hazel GloriaCEBU CITY, January 31 (PIA) -- The Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc (RAFI), a Cebu-based NGO and the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical center will hold a cervical and breast cancer screening activity for free on Feb. 4 at the Eduardo J. Aboitiz Cancer Center (EJACC) Conference Room located within the compound of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Cebu City. According to RAFI, this is part of its advocacy to undergo early detection measures to prevent breast and cervical cancer. "An opportunity for women to detect pre-cancerous growth or any malignancy for cervical and breast cancer and the screening, which has limited slots, is open to the public at a first come, first serve basis," EJACC executive director Ronald delos Reyes revealed. Delos Reyes added that the screening encourages women to undergo early detection measures and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and nutrition, exercise, proper hygiene, and avoiding stresses and vices to prevent breast and cervical cancer. Based on the Metro Cebu population-based Cancer Registry of RAFI, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among Cebuano women. EJACC records showed that from 1993 to 2007, EJACC recorded some 3,005 reported breast cancer cases in Metro Cebu. Cervical cancer, on the other hand, is the second most common cancer among Cebuano women. The average number of cervical cancer cases totalled 829 from 1993 to 2007, according to the Cancer Registry of RAFI. EJACC found a continuous increase of breast and cervical cancer incidence in Metro Cebu over the past 10 years, caused by lifestyle and health-related factors, delos Reyes noted. EJACC is a program under the Integrated Development focus area, one of the five key focus areas in RAFI’s comprehensive approach to elevating lives and communities. For more information about the screening activity, please contact EJACC at 254-6351 or 256-3287 and look for Gina Mariquit.(mbcn/hfg/PIA-7 & RAFI) | 
