Be safe, be aware!

Yesterday, I attended a press conference held at the Hyatt Hotel in Manila by the Department of Health alongside Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), The Cancer Institute Foundation, CECAP, UP-PGH Obstetrics and Gynecology Infectious Diseases Section, Immunizers, and corporate friends and supporters National Bookstore and Magnolia Healthy Beverages. The event was to promote awareness of cervical cancer, but taking it one step further by calling women to not only learn about the illness but have themselves screened as soon as possible.

Though the awareness campaign was initiated early this year, specifically in March which was Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, many women in the country still know nothing about it and are not even remotely aware of how deadly it can be for them; or worse, they just disregard cervical cancer as something that could not possibly happen to them. This is not only a wrong frame of mind but a dangerous one as well. In the Philippines alone, studies have shown that cervical cancer has become the second leading cause of cancer death in women in the country, killing an estimated 10 Filipino women daily. With odds like that, it’s best not to gamble.

Perhaps one of the reasons that both girls and women can be so flippant about the possibility of cervical cancer is because they have had no personal experience of anyone who has had the disease. This makes it seem foreign to them. I think they would take it far more seriously if they met anyone who has lost a mother, a sister, a wife, a daughter, or a friend to the illness.

I met someone like that about a week ago. She is a relative of a good friend and colleague of mine and is currently working at one of the top hotels in the city. Her name is Girlie and despite having had tragedy in her life, she still manages to smile and be happy and try to maintain a positive outlook. Girlie lost her mother to cervical cancer a few years ago and, as if that wasn’t hard enough, her father — who was devastated by the loss — followed his wife not less than four months after she passed away.

“It was a hard time for our whole family,” Girlie shares openly, though with sadness in her voice. Prior to her mother getting sick there had been no illness or disease in the family and they were healthy, happy, and leading normal lives. That all changed when her mother began experiencing a discharge and minor pains. “It was just something she was worried about, but she wasn’t sick or in severe pain. It was just those minor symptoms.”

The family was nervous as well and her daughters prompted her to see a doctor. It was then that she was diagnosed with cervical cancer which had already reached Stage 2A. “We were shocked and devastated when we heard the news,” Girlie shares. “Up until then, we had no knowledge that this cancer even existed. We had never heard about it or heard about other women who had it. And it was worse because it was our mother and all of us were completely blindsided.”

Her mother was shattered by the news but determined to get better. She first went to see a faith healer in the province in the hopes of being able to rid her body of the cancer without chemotherapy. She was given capsules and assorted medicines to take and after two months the healer said she would be fine. Not wanting to risk it though, she went back to the doctor for a further checkup; by then, the cancer was already at Stage 3B.

“This time we told her she had to have the chemotherapy,” Girlie shares, recalling the heart-wrenching memories. Their mother knew it too and went to the hospital to begin the difficult process of chemotherapy and brachytherapy. “It was really hard on her. The treatments made her nauseous and there was a time she was even kept in isolation because of the radiation. She was tired all the time and she would throw up. We all hated seeing her like that because she was always so full of life and happiness.”

Indeed, it was a hard time for their entire family. Their beloved mother, once so full of joy, was now crying all the time and in constant discomfort. “We really wanted to help, but there was nothing we could do for her and it made us feel so helpless.”

After the treatments began it seemed like their mother was getting better. The pain was lessened a bit and she seemed a little bit like her old self again. But, unfortunately, it didn’t last and after another month a checkup revealed that she was now at Stage 4. At this point, the family went to see an herbal doctor who prescribed natural remedies in capsule and tea form. Their mother took them religiously but they didn’t help and the disease tightened its grip. Two months later she could no longer walk.

“Everything happened so fast,” Girlie recalls. “My mother was diagnosed in August of 2003. The illness kept getting worse and worse and by November the year later she was already bedridden. In the same month, she passed away. We barely had time to even process what was happening and then it was over and she was gone.”

Up to this point, Girlie had managed to relate her story and keep her composure. I was the one that was already on the verge of tears, not even being able to imagine what she and her siblings and father had to go through. “My dad was devastated by the loss of my mother,” she said, her voice cracking. “He was completely dependent on her. He got very sad and depressed and we could see how much he was suffering. Not less than four months after my mother passed away, our dad followed suit. The doctor said it was a heart attack brought on by severe depression.”

At this point we were both in tears and I gave her time to catch her breath and collect herself since reliving the memories brought back all the pain as well. I felt awful asking her to go back to those days but I admired her strength at the same time. Knowing that her story could help others see how deadly and destructive this disease is — not only to the one who has it but their family and friends as well — prompted her to share it despite how difficult I know it must have been for her.

These days, Girlie and her siblings have each other and they are strong together knowing that God has their parents in a safer and happier place and that they are together. “We miss them every day,” she says, “but we are also glad our mother is not suffering anymore.”

Girlie’s story is one of many mothers, daughters, wives, sisters and friends who have been lost to cervical cancer. It is important that more and more women are made aware of the severity of this illness. As the slogan at the press conference goes, “Makiisa sa laban, mag-pa cervical cancer, screening na!” — a reminder to women to be screened for HPV (which can lead to cervical cancer) and urging all men to tell all the women they care about as well. Since MSD introduced the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil — which is a Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus (Types 6, 11, 16, 18) Recombinant Vaccine — there is now a way to protect women, like Girlie, from cervical cancer and more tragic deaths.

The first and biggest step is awareness, so ask your doctor about it today, have a checkup, read up online, and tell others who might not be aware. In this case, as with anything having to do with cancer, knowledge is power and it is always better to be safe than sorry.