by MIP Joshua De Leon (RC Daet North, Camarines Norte Provincial Hospital) and Dr. JR “Bogs” Rivera (CerviQ, Silip Cervix Sagip Buhay)
Cervical cancer stands as the third most common cancer among Filipino women. Despite being highly preventable, 12 women in the Philippines die from this disease each day—a tragedy directly attributed to our alarmingly low screening coverage of just 0.44 percent. In stark contrast, the World Health Organization (WHO) aims for 70% of women to be screened by 2030, a goal essential for reducing cervical cancer deaths to 4 per 100,000 women. Achieving this target requires an immense collaborative effort from both the public and private sectors. While countries like Australia are on the verge of eliminating cervical cancer by 2028-2035, the Philippines has significant work to do.
Recognizing this critical need, the local Rotary Club of Daet North of District 3820, under the dynamic leadership of its MAGICAL PRESIDENT – MIP President Joshua De Leon, has launched an ambitious project inspired by their sister club, the Rotary Club of Los Banos Makiling. This comprehensive plan aims to inspire the community to initiate campaigns to eliminate cervical cancer and save women’s lives.
Silip Cervix Sagip Buhay @ Camarines Norte Provincial Hospital
The project, named “Silip Cervix Sagip Buhay,” is a collaborative endeavor involving a wide spectrum of organizations, including Governor Ricarte R. Padilla, Congresswoman Marisol Panotes, the Provincial Health Office of Camarines Norte, Camarines Norte Provincial Hospital (CNPH), the Department of OB-Gyne of Camarines Norte Provincial Hospital, the Philippine Obstetrics and Gynecology Society (POGS) – Camarines Norte, Camarines Norte Medical Society, the Integrated Midwives Association of the Philippines (IMAP) – Camarines Norte Chapter, and CerviQ. This nine-day initiative, running from July 22 to July 30, provided a platform for a multifaceted approach to combat cervical cancer.
Key components of “Silip Cervix Sagip Buhay” include:
1. Dialogue between Medical Specialists and Professionals at Camarines Norte Provincial Hospital: Facilitating discussions to share knowledge and strategies for cervical cancer prevention and treatment.
2. Training of Medical Professionals: Equipping healthcare providers with the skills to conduct cervical screenings using advanced tools like colposcopes.
3. Educational Awareness Campaigns: Conducting daily sessions to educate patients about cervical cancer, emphasizing the importance of regular screenings.
4. Cervical Screenings: Providing screenings to over 200 women, offering them a vital service that can detect early signs of cervical cancer.
The Fruit of Dialogues
The collaborative effort between different parties identified the lack of and need for a pathologist in the hospital. Due to this, the majority of major surgery cases are being transferred to other tertiary hospitals in Camarines Sur or Manila. Other services, like cervical screening using the Pap smear approach, are conducted, but the turnaround time for results takes longer as the cytology slides are sent outside the province to be read.
The introduction of more colposcope devices for screening by CerviQ is a welcome development, as these can be used by obstetricians and gynecologists to follow up on cases with abnormal cytology tests—a procedure called colposcopy—as well as for cervical screening.
Thus, this initiative by the Rotary Club of Daet North marks not only a significant step towards addressing the cervical cancer crisis in the community but also lays the groundwork for the hospital to receive a Rotary Grant. This grant would help provide the service continuously in the hospital and potentially fund another device that could be incorporated into the hospital’s mobile bus, which provides healthcare to the nearby municipalities adjacent to Daet.
The Rotary Club of Daet North and its partners have set a powerful example of how community-driven projects can make a real difference. It is now up to us to continue this momentum, ensuring that every woman in Camarines Norte has access to life-saving cervical cancer screenings and education. Together, we can turn the tide against cervical cancer and save countless lives.
