First part: Breast cancer: Unveiling the enemy
Second part: Fighting the enemy
FIGHTING cancer is not just about getting a timely diagnosis and adequate treatment, it is also about fighting misinformation.
Dr. John Arnold Uson, immediate past president of the Philippine Society of Medical Oncologist (PSMO), said fighting misinformation is very important, which is why they are encouraging patients to get the right information that will navigate them to the proper health provider for cancer.
“The most important thing is not only to know the right information, but also to get the right information and where to get the right information,” Uson pointed out.
Joel Chong, country president of Novartis Healthcare Philippines Inc., shared the story of his aunt in one of the inspiring conversations on breast cancer earlier this year.
His aunt passed away from breast cancer. It was detected early. Unfortunately, she did not receive proper evidence-based medicine, but instead received traditional treatment.
Her disease obviously progressed from a potentially curative setting to a metastatic stage, where she eventually received proper treatment, but it was too late, and she passed away not long after.
His aunt was an educated, registered nurse working in a tertiary government hospital, and treatment would have been 100 percent free.
His uncle, an educated high school teacher, chose to believe the false promises of alternative treatments and insisted she forego surgery and chemotherapy and instead rely on herbs to cure her cancer.
“My dream, since then, has been to contribute to the advancement of innovative medicines that can cure this horrid illness that robs people of their mothers, sisters, wives, and friends. Secondly, it was to combat false news. Having the right knowledge saves lives. Making decisions based on inaccurate or incorrect information kills,” Chong said.
“Ultimately, we hope patients can make decisions based on facts not opinions resulting in them receiving the best treatment, producing the optimum outcome and improved quality of life,” Chong added.
Medical oncologists and surgeons have emphasized the importance of timely diagnosis and proper and adequate evidence-based treatment.
Dr. Frederick Ivan Ting, medical oncologist at Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod City, said doctors are reminded to discuss herbal medication, including its potential harmful consequences, while on active cancer treatment.
Ting said there is no herbal supplement approved for the treatment of cancer by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration.
He said herbal medicines have inherent risks of toxicity and various drug interaction potentials.
“False hope in medically hopeless situations results in requests for healthcare interventions that deviate unreasonably from the standard of care. Financial exploitation from unnecessary interventions, and deprivation of the chance to prepare for the end of life and die in dignity and comfort,” Ting pointed out.
Ting reminded cancer patients that deviation from conventional treatments decreases its effectiveness, and delay in treatment reduces the chance of cure or remission, resulting in a shorter survival time.
From the limited information about cancer 20 years ago, today the internet is awash with information about cancer. Patients get lost in information overload.
Breast cancer patient manual
Women who have triumphed over breast cancer have generously shared their experience with Cebuanas and Cebuanos facing the same challenge by gifting them a valuable guidebook.
The sisterhood of the ICanServe Foundation unveiled “You Can Do This: A Breast Cancer Patient’s Manual,” a comprehensive resource meticulously crafted to aid breast cancer patients, survivors, and their caregivers in their journey to beat breast cancer.
The manual offers practical knowledge and advice about breast cancer. It is composed of five chapters: detection and screening, treatment, survivorship, palliative care, and other issues like financial aid from different government institutions.
The manual that is for survivors by survivors has three versions, with English, Tagalog and Cebuano being the latest versions.
“The manual sends the message that cancer is not a death sentence and that things can be done to ease the burden of cancer diagnoses. More than anything, no one is alone in their fight,” ICanServe president Nikoy de Guzman said during the manual’s launch in Cebu on October 5, 2023.
ICanServe Foundation is a Philippine-based advocacy group of breast cancer survivors and volunteers.
De Guzman recalled her first breast cancer diagnosis in 2002. She had breast cancer twice.
She said information at that time about the disease was scarce because the internet and technology were not that big yet.
Likewise, she was gifted the first book, ICanServe book where she saw pictures of women who, like her, were going through breast cancer and navigating it wholeheartedly with big smiles on their faces.
“It may be mundane to some, but the stuff I read, like where to buy prostheses, how to tie head pieces to cover our baldness, and contact information for other breast cancer support groups. I had just everything I needed to know in my journey to wellness,” De Guzman said.
Mary Anne Alcordo-Solomon, the coordinator for the ICanServe Foundation in Cebu and a cancer survivor herself for 19 years, urged cancer patients to stick to the scientifically tested path, because time is precious.
Always consult with the medical team before taking any alternative medication for cancer.
Solomon recalled that she may have “lost her hair, but she didn’t lose her faith” at the time of chemotherapy.
Ron Bernabe, another cancer survivor and volunteer at the ICanServe Foundation, said she was very thankful to the foundation, as she was guided to the right path in taking her treatment.
She recalled being advised to try alternative medicine, but ICanServe guided her on what to do and where to seek help.
“I am thankful to ICanServe. I was down while going through treatment, but they never stop giving tips and advice,” Bernabe said.
“I am a warrior, and I survived breast cancer,” she added.
Global Breast Cancer Initiative
Meanwhile, Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, founding president of the ICanServe Foundation, said the Global Breast Cancer Initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) targets to reduce breast cancer mortality by 2.5 percent per year and save 2.5 million lives over a 20-year period (2020-2040).
Three pillars were identified, and one is public health education to improve awareness of the signs and symptoms, and of the importance of early detection and treatment.
The target for this pillar is to achieve a diagnosis of at least 60 percent of invasive breast cancers at stage I or II.
The second is for public and health worker education on signs and symptoms of early breast cancer, so women are referred to diagnostic services when appropriate.
The initiative plans is to complete evaluation, imaging, tissue sampling and pathology within 60 days.
The last pillar is centralized services and treatment for breast cancer -- given that cancer management requires some level of specialized care.
The goal for this pillar is to have 80 percent treatment completion and successfully return home.
The Philippines is one of two countries in Asia with a cancer law passed and one of eight countries in the world that have a cancer law.
Alikpala said there are many provisions in the law to help patients, no matter the cancer stage, gender, ethnicity, income, or background.
“I know it is not easy; I know there are other pressing concerns for the government, but let’s face it, cancer moves quicker than we can write implementing rules and regulations, road maps, and clinical practice guidelines. It moves faster than we can debate budgets,” she said.
She called on the media to call out who is accountable for delays in the delivery of service and free or affordable medicine for the poor and the middle class.
She said any delay in the implementation of the cancer law can mean the progression of the disease or death.
Before the pandemic, she said the WHO predicted an 80 percent increase in cancer incidence by 2030. “I’m scared to know about the revised WHO projections after Covid,” she said.
“We have to outsmart cancer to get ahead of it and stop it from crushing more hearts and pockets of Filipino families,” Alikpala said.
(The story is published with the support of the Philippine Press Institute, Philippine Cancer Society, ICanServe Foundation and Novartis in collaboration with the Swiss Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines and the Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Association of the Philippines.)