The Philippines has one of the lowest screening rates for breast and cervical cancer in the world, which according to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) is only 1 percent, or 540,000 out of 54 million women undergoing cancer screening.
Breast and cervical cancer are the top two cancers among Filipino women, yet a “big portion of the country’s cancer burden is preventable” if more early screening can be conducted, the PIDS said.
“We are diagnosing cancer patients at a very, very late stage,” said PIDS senior research fellow Valerie Gilbert Ulep, who released his study last month.
He said Cambodia and Myanmar, which are considered lower-middle income countries like the Philippines, have better cancer screening rates.
In Malaysia and Thailand, which are considered upper-middle income countries, the screening rate is 20 percent. Yet “they are worried that their rate is low,” Ulep said, adding that in high-income countries, the cancer screening rate is around 50 percent.
The government think tank attributed the low screening rate to lack of funds, especially for the poor – with few government hospitals offering cancer screening.
Another factor is the fear of finding out one has cancer, as Ulep noted that patients go for screening “when they are suffering and it is too late.”
He added that cancer patients between 40 and 60 years old account for most deaths, resulting in untold social and economic costs to the country.
Having one of the lowest cancer screening rates in the world, for the top two cancers among Filipino women, which by now already have established and affordable screening protocols that can make those diseases entirely treatable and therefore prevent unnecessary deaths through early detection, is entirely inexcusable for any health department of any government in this planet.
The Philippine government should be able to find the political will and funds to make cancer screening, at the very least for breast and cervical cancer, more accessible to all Filipino women by now.*
