YES, WE CAN BEAT CERVICAL CANCER!

The statistics are alarming. Every two minutes, a woman dies of cervical cancer in countries where access to public health, services and awareness remain a challenge.

- By LAI S. REYES

In the Philippines, 12 women lose their lives to cervical cancer every day.

To address this global challenge, the World Health Organization set a global strategy on Nov. 17, 2020 to reduce cervical cancer cases to below four per 100,000 women – “90-70-90” – in Asia and Latin America by the year 2030.

To achieve this goal, “90-70-90” means that 90 percent of girls must be fully vaccinated with HPV vaccine by the age of 15; 70 percent of women must be screened with a high-performance test by 35 years of age and again at 45 years of age; and that 90 percent of women identified with cervical disease receive treatment, 90 percent of women with pre-cancer are treated, and 90 percent of women with invasive cancer are managed.

While there are already laws in place, the question remains: How can the Philippines achieve this target?

Working towards WHO’s ambitious but achievable targets, local government officials, healthcare leaders, and stakeholders shared their insights, experiences, and the steps they’re taking to eliminate cervical cancer in a health forum dubbed, “Together for Health: The Progress Made and What Needs to be Done for Cervical Cancer Elimination,” which was held last Nov. 27 at The Manila Hotel.

THE THREE PILLARS OF CERVICAL CANCER ELIMINATION

Often referred to as a silent killer, cervical cancer shows no symptoms until its later stages — when treatment becomes more difficult and less effective.