Cancer walk slated

A walk for cancer consciousness will be held in the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex tomorrow, Sunday, which will kick off the country’s observance of the 27th National Cancer Consciousness Week.

Sylvia Palma of the Philippine Cancer Society (PCS), which is spearheading the walk dubbed "Lakad Laban sa Kanser" as well as several events that will be undertaken to promote cancer consciousness from Jan. 13 to 19, said the walk around the CCP complex would be participated in by cancer survivors.

It was learned that several celebrities who conquered their cancer ailments, would participate.

On Monday, a conference will be held at the Manila Midtown Hotel where morphine’s palliative role in alleviating pain caused by cancer will be discussed by invited delegates from the medical profession particularly cancer specialists, and also pharmaceutical companies, the Department of Health and other concerned government and non-governmental agencies.

In this conference, the move for liberal use of morphine in treating sick people, particularly cancer-stricken patients, will be tackled.

It will be recalled that Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit had issued earlier calls urging physicians, particularly cancer specialists, to be more liberal in prescribing morphine to their patients.

Dayrit said the overrated addictive effects of morphine has caused cancer specialists to be hesitant in prescribing morphine to their suffering patients, thereby exposing them to unnecessary pain.

According to Dayrit, the country has posted a low utilization rate of morphine with most of the 30 kilos of the drug imported last year not being consumed.

Dayrit said the low utilization rate of morphine was not parallel to the number of recorded deaths among cancer-stricken patients.

It was learned that for this year, the government has imported 50 kilos of morphine, which was targeted to help cancer patients alleviate the pain and suffering caused by their ailments. – Rainier Allan Ronda