A beauty queen's 'advocacy'

Thursday, November 17, 2011

CERVICAL cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the Philippines. This means that it places more than 27 million Filipina women at risk.

Just because it falls short a place before number one, doesn’t mean it’s less of an important issue to tackle. Thankfully, that’s how former supermodel and Miss Universe contestant Abbygale Arenas-De Leon sees it too.

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“Of course, not,” she firmly replied to the thought of belittling the disease.

The 1997 Binibining Pilipinas Universe titlist was in Mandaue City last Wednesday, not to engage in another battle of beauties which she has grown accustomed to through the years, but to fight another kind of battle. This is to promote the cause against cervical cancer.

The Mandaue City Government celebrated its annual Women’s Summit. As part of the highlights for this year’s celebration, 117 approved City Hall women employees were given free vaccination.

According to Abbygale, who is also the current president of Bravehearts—a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness on cervical cancer and prevention through regular screening and vaccination—this specific illness is a preventable type of cancer. Preventable in the sense that one can have vaccination shots to counter probabilities of getting infected.

“Bravehearts was started by a small group of friends in 2007, and we still are at it until now—I found myself deeply involved with women’s health advocacies,” the 36-year-old shares where life’s tides have taken her after her stints at pageants and modeling.

Now working as an image consultant, Abbygale tries to strike a balance between work and play. Besides being active in this crusade against cancer, she considers it one of her favorite pastimes to hang out with her 10-year-old-son and her husband, a photographer she met while she was still modeling.

But when work beckons, she finds ways to initiate various disease awareness activities in the country with the help of Bravehearts.

One of these is the “Tour of Hope” bike tour that started in 2008. Abbygale plans on bringing the bike tour here in April, being the first activity of their foundation to be held in the Visayas.

Until then, the beauty queen sums up a little guide for her fellow Filipinas to go by with regard to their health. “There are three simple steps women should undergo to fight cervical cancer: awareness, screening and vaccination.”