Karen Davila: Campaigning for life

Cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy among women in the world, with 500,000 new cases and 250,000 deaths reported each year. For more than 20 years, the incidence and mortality rate for cervical cancer remained unchanged with one out of three Filipino women dying of the disease annually, and three out of four in five years. According to Dr. Cecilia Llave, program director of the Cervical Cancer Prevention Network, women need to know that this type of cancer can be cured only if detected early.

Taking a stand for this cause is award-winning broadcast journalist and mother of two Karen Davilla. “I think it’s remarkable that there’s a vaccine that could now actually protect a woman from having cervical cancer. It’s such an advancement in the fight against cancer. A lot of women may not want to talk about this openly for fear of being judged or labeled — but women are able to take control of their health by knowing the facts about it,” Karen says of the GlaxoSmithKline vaccine now available to prevent cervical cancer. 

Karen takes issues that matter the most to her very seriously and gets involved in whatever way she can. Aside from her commitments for ABS-CBN and being a busy mom to her two boys, she is also an advocate of World Vision, an organization that supports the education of the poorest of the poor in the country. So when she was approached to get on board with this campaign, Karen jumped at the opportunity to yet again use her voice to educate women about their health and their options. She shares: “I think most women tend to take care of everyone around them, but not enough attention is put on their health. When a woman is healthy and in tip-top form, she is also able to give her best to her children and also to her career. She’s able to live life more fully.” Karen also strongly believes in eating right and recommends daily exercise as she is an avid runner, but considers taking yearly feminine exams like mammograms and pap smears very seriously. “It’s been proven to be the most important early detection tool against cancer. And that can make all the difference for a woman,” she declares. 

For Karen, women will be able to take control of their lives if they are able to make the right choices. Taking control of their health like watching what they eat and having a healthy lifestyle is a daily decision, not a very easy one, but one that definitely pays off in the end.

Karen concludes, “I am a firm believer that when you feel good about yourself, you’re able to function better, both in your personal and professional life. I know this sounds a bit of a cliche, but for women to love better, we need to love ourselves first.”