CEBU CITY, March 16 (PNA) — The Cebu City Council has passed an ordinance that seeks to provide free breast cancer screening for poor women in the city.
The four women in the City Council, namely, Councilors Margarita Osmeña, Lea Japson, Nida Cabrera and Mary Ann de Los Santos, authored the ordinance.
They stressed the need for early detection of the disease.
“Cancer is one of the leading killer diseases in the country today and the leading killer disease for women,” read a portion of the ordinance.
The ordinance was passed in time for the celebration of the Breast Cancer Month this month,
The proponents also cited a report from the Philippine Society of Oncology that breast cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer in the country, accounting for 15 percent of all new cancers diagnosed and about eight percent of the total number of cancer-related deaths.
Under the newly approved ordinance, indigent women ages 20 to 75 years old who live in Cebu City but have no permanent income can avail themselves of the program, which will be managed by the City Health Department (CHD).
The ordinance requires the CHD to establish a special unit and assign personnel who will focus on implementing the program and making all 80 barangays aware of it.
The Cebu City Government is also set to purchase P10 million worth of mobile imaging facilities, which will include a customized bus that can be used to deliver free mammography and ultrasound tests for women ages 30 to 65 years old.
If the results show that the patient has breast cancer, the CHD is also mandated to refer the individual to an oncologist. (PNA)