From Quezon City all the way up North, cycling enthusiasts pedaled their way to this city on Monday morning - the last leg of the five-day tour to raise awareness about cervical cancer.
The Tour of Hope cycling tour was a 500-kilometer journey which was also intended to raise funds for the vaccination of women.
The tour was organized by Bravehearts foundation and the University of the Philippines Institute Foundation’s Cervical Cancer Prevention (CECAP) network program and the Glaxo Smith Kline Philippines.
Bravehearts president Abbygale Arenas-de Leon said the groups immunized 500 women from Quezon City and the cities of Tarlac, San Fernando in La Union, Vigan and Laoag during their pit stops.
City officials led by Vice mayor Eddie Domingo and Councilor Chevylle Fariñas, president of the Association of Barangay Captains in the city, welcomed the event organizers on behalf of city mayor Michael Fariñas. The city government had earlier identified 100 women from various sectors here as recipients of the initial vaccine shot against cervical cancer.
To have a complete protection from the disease, women have to be treated with three immunization shots for a period of seven months. After the initial shot, the second dosage should be taken after a month while the third and last shot should be taken after six months.,”Instead of shouldering only the initial dosage, Councilor Fariñas said the city government will fully subsidize the recipients’ complete vaccination to signify its support to the advocacy.
Arenas-de Leon, previously crowned as 1997 Binibining Pilipinas-Universe, said the campaign started in 2007 when her friends decided to formally create a cycling tour that would carry the message to women.
“I got interested right way upon learning that it was the first preventable cancer by way of vaccination,” she said. Arenas said she had since kept four important numbers in mind when she joined the foundation as its president.
“I have four significant numbers to remind me of this disease – 2, 12, 80 and 5,” she said. “The first number shows that cervical cancer is the second death-causing cancer among women next to breast cancer; the next number shows that 12 Filipino women die everyday because of it; that 80% of women will get the virus in their lifetime and in 5 years, those diagnosed with cervical cancer may die,” she added.
Arenas-de Leon said having knowledge of the figures would encourage women to protect themselves from the disease.