ONLY 1% OF FILIPINO women are screened for breast and cervical cancer, according to a government think tank, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said in a statement on Sunday.
“Screening for breast and cervical cancer among Filipino women could be the lowest in the world with just 1% of eligible women getting themselves screened, the first step to cancer prevention,” the state think tank said.
The Philippines’ cancer screening rate is way lower than that of Malaysia and Thailand at 20% each, PIDS said.
“Cambodia and Myanmar have better numbers than the Philippines,” it said, citing PIDS senior research fellow Valerie Gilbert Ulep, who made a study on the issue last year. “The West has a 50% screening rate.”
PIDS said the low screening has been traced to lack of government funds especially for the poor.
“This results in very few government hospitals offering this screening service,” it added. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza