CEBU CITY -- Two media groups in Cebu--the Cebu Online News Press Corps (CONPC) and RMA Digital News inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with ICanServe Foundation, August 11 to intensify breast cancer awareness and early detection campaign across Cebu for the Pink October 2026.
Under the partnership, CONPC and RMA News will provide full media and digital coverage for ICanServe’s Pink October activities in Cebu from screening drives to community talks. For ICanServe, reaching more women with the right information is key.
“Early detection can make a life-changing difference for women and their families. At ICanServe Foundation, we believe that every woman deserves access to the right information, timely screening, and a support system that empowers her to take charge of her health,” said Ron Bernabe, ICanServe information officer.
Media partnerships are critical to go beyond the communities the foundation can reach directly. By working together, breast cancer early detection awareness would encourage women to prioritize breast health, and inspire more people to take action, because when communities are informed and empowered, they create a stronger chance of saving lives,” Bernabe added.
“Through our partnership with the ICanServe Foundation, we are committed to using our platforms and reach to amplify important health messages, encourage early detection, and empower more Filipinos to take proactive steps toward their well-being. This is more than a media partnership; it is our commitment to use our voice to make a meaningful difference in the community,” said the founder of CONPC and RMA News, Robby Alugar.
According to the Department of Health (DOH}, most common cancer among Filipino women is breast cancer that made up 17.5 percent of all new cancer cases in 2024 and around 33,000 Filipino women were newly diagnosed in 2022 and 33,079 cases in 2024.
About 60 Filipinas per 100,000 women are
diagnosed each year, higher than the Southeast Asia average of 42. The Philippines has 19.3 percent mortality
rate vs Asia’s 11.9 percent and global at 13.6 percent.
DOH data added that only one percent of Filipino women get screened, that’s ∼540,000 out of 54 million women; 65 percent of cases are diagnosed at advanced stages at Stage III & IV, in some studies it’s 53 percent, only 55 percent for Stage 3 and 15 percent for Stage 4 have a five-year survival rate with 9,000 women die annually from breast cancer and one in 13 Filipino women is expected to develop breast cancer in her lifetime, data revealed.
Stigma and key issues in the Philippines
The report also said that a major factor for low screening is “fear of finding out one has cancer”. Many women only go for checkups “when they are already suffering and it is too late.”
Lack of funds, especially for the poor, and few government hospitals offering free screening, it is not subsidized and awareness is not widespread. PhilHealth only recently expanded Z Benefit from ₱100,000 to up to ₱1.4 million to cover cancer Stages 0-4.
Screening rates in PH are among the lowest in the world vs 20 percent in Malaysia/Thailand and 50 percent in high-income countries. Not enough mammogram machines in many areas and not many organized national screening programs, the data revealed.
While not always stated directly in data,
health advocates report some social/cultural stigma patterns in the Philippines
which include fear of mastectomy and “loss of femininity” leads some women to
delay exams.
Fatalism or the “Bahala na” attitude and going to albularyo/herbal remedies first rather than early screening and detection. Experts cite that delayed childbearing, fewer children, urban living, obesity, high-fat diet, oral contraceptives, alcohol, sedentary lifestyle are some of the risk factors.
Groups like ICanServe Foundation believe that early detection saves lives. But with 65 percent diagnosed late and only one percent screened, the gap is in awareness plus access to mammograms and breast ultrasound facilities in public hospital.
“People don’t have to die from a disease that’s so curable,” said Bernabe and other advocates.
