Curing breast cancer

“Getting cancer is like playing the slot machine,” a documentary on the still-mysterious causes of many cancers has said. Depending on the combination of certain factors—genetic disposition, environmental influence, immunity status, ingestion of carcinogenic matter, viral infection, or radiation—the outcome of every “spin” of fate determines whether one falls ill with cancer or escapes this dreaded disease.

The odds may also vary depending on what kind of cancer one has (aggressive or slow-growing), how early or late it is detected and treated, and the chances of it spreading through the body. Other theories posit that all of us harbor dormant cancer cells, and it only takes a “trigger” for these cells to develop into “active” cancer types.

For now, we know the exact cause of only two cancer types: liver cancer and cancer of the cervix. Both of them have been linked to viral infections: Hepatitis B in the case of liver cancer, and the human papillomavirus (HPV) in the case of cervical cancer. HPV, though, has also been linked to other types of cancer: penis and vulva, anal, throat, head and neck.

In the same documentary, the point was raised that in the future, all forms of cancers may be found to be viral in origin, although no one knows yet what form these viruses may take and what mode of transmission they may follow. For now, it all remains speculative.

Recently, tantalizing data surfaced regarding possible cures for breast cancer, which is the most common form of cancer in women. American researchers, in a study published online last Sunday in the journal “Nature,” said they have identified four genetically distinct types of breast cancer, and “within those types,” reports the New York Times, “they found hallmark genetic changes that are driving many cancers.”

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Reports the Associated Press: “The new finding offers hints that one type of breast cancer might be vulnerable to drugs that already work against ovarian cancer.” The study, the same report said, “is the latest example of research into the biological details of tumors, rather than focusing primarily on where cancer arises in the body.”

“This is the road map for how we might cure breast cancer in the future,” Dr. Matthew Ellis of Washington University, a researcher for the study, told the New York Times. He added that the results of the study could enable them to “investigate which drugs work best for patients based on the genetic profiles of their tumors.”

But don’t break out the bubbly yet. The Times says that “researchers and patient advocates caution that it will take years to translate the new insights into transformative new treatments.” Says Karuna Jaggar, executive director of “Breast Cancer Action,” a patients advocacy group: “There are a lot of steps that turn basic science into clinically meaningful results. It is the ‘stay tuned’ story.”

Meanwhile, the hard slog of detecting, diagnosing and treating breast and cervical cancer, along with all other forms of cancer, continues. For Filipino women, detection and diagnosis is the first difficult step to hurdle. In more developed countries, mammograms and Pap smears have already become part of every woman’s basic health routine, sharply driving down the number of women being diagnosed with breast and cervical cancer. But in “low resource settings,” like the Philippines, only a small number of women have access to mammograms (or any of the new forms of tests like breast ultrasound) or Pap smears or even the simpler, cheaper VIA. Until screening becomes accessible and affordable for the majority of Filipino women, many more will continue to die from cancer.

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A five-person delegation of Spanish parliamentarians was in the country this month, consulting with health authorities, communities and individuals to get a better view of the health problems and priorities in this country. The Philippines is a “priority country” for Spain’s foreign cooperation program, and the visitors were here to get a better picture of the health situation and assess how they, as parliamentarians, could help influence Spain’s assistance.

At the same time, they also issued several calls to Philippine government officials and influential individuals. Specifically, they “encouraged” Congress to adopt the Reproductive Health bill, “which has been designed to focus on the reduction of maternal mortality by increasing access to basic and emergency maternal care, contraceptive methods and post-abortion care; compulsory sexuality education for teenagers; increase of the health system support to guarantee adequate childbirth assistance, centres and hospitals; and government funding for poor women.”

They also supported a provision in the RH bill calling for “age-appropriate” sexuality education in public schools for young people, including the prevention of gender-based violence, “to improve the goals in public health and the prevention of harmful practices against women and girls.”

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The Spanish parliamentarians vowed to work for the inclusion of essential health services, like the national health insurance system and the

integration of sexual and reproductive health services in their government’s development assistance plan in the Philippines.

They also resolved to “monitor and promote the weight of health in the overall ODA (official development assistance).”

Even foreign visitors have seen the urgent need for the passage of the RH bill, and here’s hoping our own senators and members of Congress pay heed to the words of their counterparts in Spain.