Navotas City Mayor John Rey Tiangco (7R, front row) and Vice Mayor Tito Sanchez (8L, front row) graces the launch of the intensified Cervical Cancer Screening Campaign at the Navotas City Hall together with City Councilors and representatives from the CHO. (Screengrab from Navoteño Ako Facebook Page)
QUEZON CITY, (PIA) – The City Health Office (CHO) of Navotas will conduct a free cervical cancer screening for women residents aged 20 to 65 years old starting August to September 2023.
The initiative is part of the city government’s intensified campaign against cervical cancer through the promotion of early detection and prevention towards improving treatment success as well as increasing the survival rates of women.
Navotas CHO’s NCD (Noncommunicable Diseases) Department Medical Coordinator Dr. Jacqueline Inventor led the program launching on Monday, August 7, with a focus on sensitizing cervical cancer screening at the community level.
“Please do remember that cervical cancer is a highly preventable and curable disease. Cervical cancer screening is not a test for cancer. It is a test to prevent cancer,” Dr. Inventor explained.
Aside from the provision of primary screening test such as the Visual Inspection of the cervix using Acetic acid (VIA), women can also avail of the HPV (human papillomavirus) DNA testing that is newly introduced to serve as a secondary preventive measure for cervical cancer.
“This is a call for all women ─ please tell all your friends and all your family members, let us get screened and tested for cervical cancer and we can end cervical cancer at once,” Dr. Inventor added.
Transformative healthcare solutions provider Jhpiego Philippines supported this program through its Scale Up Cervical Cancer Elimination through Secondary Prevention Strategy (SUCCESS) and Centralized Laboratory Model for HPV Screening (CLAMS) project in partnership with the Department of Health – Metro Manila Center for Health Development (DOH-MMCHD).
Jhpiego Philippines specifically aided in the provision of capacity-building activities including specialized training among the healthcare professionals who will lead the dispensation of the screening program.
Those who may want to avail of the service can go to the nearest health centers in their respective barangays until the last Friday of September. (PIA-NCR)
