Pink October/Breast cancer awareness month: 3rd Moon Walk set today in Cebu City

The third Annual Moon Walk event will be held this afternoon in Cebu City as part of the country's observance of "Pink October" or the Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The Moon Walk, held coinciding with the full moon, is being spearheaded by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc (RAFI)-Eduardo J. Aboitiz Cancer Center, and the Cancer Care Network of Cebu.

Government agencies and offices, private schools, women groups, and other private organizations are set to join the Moon Walk parade from the Capitol building, at 6pm, to the Cebu Normal University where a brief program will be held.

Organizers said Moon Walk has been a yearly "walk-for-a-cause" to promote a collective effort in fighting cancer through a massive awareness campaign focused on the early screening and detection of breast cancer.

"Be conscious, everyone (even men) should have a regular breast examination," said Dr. Manuel Villamor, president of the Philippine College of Surgeons, in his message for the observance of this year's Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

This year's theme, "Kanser sa Totoy Mapakgang... Magmabinantayon sa Imong Dughan" (Prevent Breast Cancer... Monitor Your Breast), encourages everyone to fight cancer through proper information and vigilance.

Breast cancer has been ranked number 1 among the causes of high mortality rate of women in the country, but Villamor said early screening and detection are the best prevention of breast cancer as these give enough time for cure and treatment.

"A regular breast examination for women (even men) who have reached a fertile age (menstruation age), and a yearly breast screening and mammography for women above 40 years old is a must," he said.

Villamor said that lumps and masts in breasts are common to women especially during menstruation when estrogen level is high and body cells are most active.

The time to consult a doctor is when one sees or feels these lumps have grown larger; there are discharges, dimples, wound that don't heal, and more masts on any breast; and there is unusual pain of the breast, said Villamor.

Senior resident physician Alice Pepito, of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center's oncology section and general surgery, agreed with Villamor that Stages 1 and 2 in breast cancer are still treatable phases.

Pepito complained that people usually consult with the doctor only when their cancer is already worst or in stage 3.

"They usually come to us when their breasts are either already bleeding, giving off awful smell, or has already spread and made them bedridden. Then they make us doctors do the impossible," she said.

The VSMMC said it set every Wednesday as the day for breast's general consultation and tests, and every Monday for breast cancer follow-up.

The hospital's record last year showed that, among the 961 patients taken for new consultations on breast, 833 were follow-up patients (have symptoms but not necessarily cancer) but 136 were diagnosed to have breast cancer. - Jasmin R. Uy/RAE