‘Fine-tune your body’: OB/GYN urges annual screenings for early cancer detection

Cancer can be treated as long as it is diagnosed early, when something can still be done about it, according to obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Cecilia Ladines-Llave—which is why doctors like her are urging women to go for annual screenings.

“Screening detects diseases early, allowing early immediate treatment when all the chances of cure are still available and feasible. This is possible because the disease has been nipped in the bud, when it is still not extensive and metastatic,” she said.

From 2001 to March 2010, Ladines-Llave was the first woman chair of the Cancer Institute at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). Today, she serves as chief of the Gynecologic Oncology Unit of the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Muntinlupa City and is a professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UP-PGH.

Her advocacy as a doctor centers on preventive medicine for women. She is currently the chair of the Cervical Cancer Prevention Network (CECAP); the program director of the Cancer Institute Foundation (CIF), which runs a cancer prevention program, Moving as One; and co-investigator for the Mother-Daughter Initiative (MDI) of JHPIEGO, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University. MDI aims to encourage mothers to bring their daughters along to the clinic for cervical cancer screening and vaccination.

Ladines-Llave told GMA News Online that she encourages annual screening for women because there are many diseases that show no direct signs and symptoms but can be detected early. “Cervical cancer has a very effective screening test that can detect the disease long before signs and symptoms like masses occur,” she explained. “We are willing to spend for fine-tuning of our car to assure us that it is running in order and injuries and accidents can be prevented, but will not allot budget for the care of our bodies?”

Women's health

According to her, the top issues concerning women’s health today are:

1. Heart disease. Adopting a healthy lifestyle lowers the risk for heart disease and stroke, said Ladines-Llave. These include a proper balanced diet, exercise, no stress, enough sleep and annual screening.

2. Cancer. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, second to lung as the leading cause of cancer deaths, according to Ladines-Llave. However, she stressed that while most women consider cancer a death sentence, it can be treated once diagnosed early or even prevented through healthy lifestyle and vaccination. She recommends that women as young as 20 should already learn to do breast exams on themselves to detect masses or lumps.

3. Reproductive health. Sexual (HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases) and reproductive health issues are responsible for one-third of health issues for women between the ages of 15-44, said Ladines-Llave.

4. Maternal health. The most common concerns in this area are related to safe pregnancy and delivery.

5. Violence against women. Many women are on the receiving end of physical and emotional abuse at home. Ladines-Llave believes that one reason victims of violence and abuse do not come forward is because they feel helpless.

6. Mental health. Women are more prone to develop anxiety, depression, and psychosomatic complaints than men, said Ladines-Llave. According to a 2011 article published by Harvard Medical School, women can even be twice as likely as men to develop major depression, for reasons that can range from hormones to stress and activity levels.

7. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs). NCDs include lifestyle diseases, which can be caused by smoking, excess alcohol, taking drugs, obesity, and other factors that can be fixed by improving one's lifestyle.

The best cure

Ladines-Llave said that while there are many advances in medicine and science that can already fight diseases—such as “surgery, medications, chemotherapy, palliation and radiation”—early diagnosis and treatment “secure the best chances for cure.”

For her, it would also be a “very wise move” for governments and private institutions to allot more resources to preventive medicine, as it would save the money that would go to treating illnesses that could be avoided.

Prevention can be categorized into primary, secondary and tertiary, according to Ladines-Llave:

Tertiary prevention is the treatment of the disease itself.

Secondary prevention means early detection and immediate treatment. This is where your screening and diagnosis come in.

Primary prevention means doing healthy lifestyle practices and vaccination as a way for curbing any development of the disease.

She stressed that a healthy lifestyle means: proper nutrition (such as eating more vegetables and fruits), regular exercise, six to eight hours of sleep a day, a lack of stress, and annual screenings.

“Even without symptoms, have a yearly fine-tuning—that is, a whole body exam and test to detect disease and cancer early. Fine-tuning will assure you that you are all right and healthy,” she said.

When GMA News Online asked why it is important to celebrate womanhood this month—March is National Women's Month—Ladines-Llave said that the occasion “celebrates woman, her achievements, and her rights, especially her right to health. As woman doctors, we not only focus on the treatment of diagnosed cases but also go beyond: empowering the women with the knowledge for prevention.” — BM, GMA News