They say that what we do for love is often invisible.
We plant seeds in silence.
We wake early to prepare a meal, often before others rise.
We whisper reminders to ourselves about health — to check, to notice, to listen — and hope they echo in time.
Screening is one of those unseen acts of love. It is the quiet faith that what lies under the surface matters — that in the soft tissue of the breast, in the blood vessels, in the cells that divide without notice — there may be stories waiting to be intercepted.
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A Memory from a Friend
A friend once told me she didn’t need her mammogram because she felt fine. Months later, she was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. Her body had whispered, but she had not listened.
This is why screenings matter.
They are not for the sick — they are for the well, for those who want to stay well. They are a way of honoring what the body doesn’t yet reveal. Screening is listening and overcoming fear.
It is a gesture that says: “I care enough to look before pain arrives.”
READ: 10 Breakthrough Technologies Revolutionizing Breast Health & Cancer Prevention
The Numbers Behind the Whispers
- In the Philippines, 65% of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at advanced stages (III or IV).
- A relative survival rate over five years for Filipino breast cancer patients hovers around 44.4%.
- Only 1% of Filipino women undergo screening for breast and cervical cancer, according to estimates (540,000 out of 54 million)
- Mammography screening in women aged 50–69 is associated with a 25% reduction in breast cancer mortality globally in many high-income settings.
- Preventive screening for chronic diseases often catches unnoticed conditions: in a population health study, annual screening in a group of 10,000 revealed over a thousand cases of prediabetes, hundreds of diabetes, and dozens of chronic kidney disease & colorectal cancer.
These numbers are more than data — they are lives, half-untold stories, and chances missed.
READ: Lower Your Cancer Risk Today: Simple Steps to Take
The Quiet Power of Prevention
We must screen for what we don’t yet see.
It is professing: “You matter — even in your quiet, invisible corners.”
Some of us are early with our signs; some wait until the pain arrives. Screening is the sentinel of early stories — allowing healing to begin in time.
Research tells us that breast cancer survival rates are dramatically higher when found early. Yet in many communities, women are still diagnosed late — when treatment is harder, longer, and less certain. Too few undergo regular checks. Too many put them off because they feel fine, or because access is limited, or because fear holds them back.
The truth is simple: early detection saves lives. That is not a slogan; it is a reality proven again and again.
But screening has its limits and debates. Medical ethics and science warn us: overdiagnosis, false positives, unnecessary follow-up — they are real harms.
That’s why screening must come with wisdom, counseling, and shared decision-making, not blind hope.
Health Education: The Garden That Nourishes Screening
Screening does not stand alone. It blooms in gardens of information, trust, access, and community. During Health Education Week, we must sow knowledge about how, when, and why to screen — not in didactic lectures, but in stories, dialogues, and accessible conversations.
In many Filipino communities, screening remains distant — geographically, financially, emotionally. Mammography is centralized; many Filipinas live in places with limited access.
Low health literacy, cultural beliefs, fear, stigma — these are the soil in which indifference grows. Yet in seeds of trust, awareness, and compassion, change can grow roots.
Small Steps, Big Change
- Begin with breast self-awareness — know what’s normal for your body. Notice changes.
- Encourage clinical breast exams in your local health center when available.
- Find out about subsidized or free screening programs (local government, NGOs).
- Mentor someone — help a friend or sister understand screening. Walk the path together.
- Advocate — lobby local health offices, barangays, or communities for screening access.
Each small step is a creed: “I believe in prevention, in knowledge, in care.”
Screening as Love
Prevention is love made visible. When we choose to screen — for breast cancer, for blood pressure, for bone health, for vision — we are planting seeds of longevity for ourselves and our families.
Screening should not be about paranoia or dread. It is about listening. It is about saying, “I value myself enough to pause, to check, to act before harm takes root.”
Towards A Culture of Listening
If October has a lesson, it is this: wellness is not only about reacting to illness but anticipating health. To screen is to be vigilant before the body cries out. To educate is to empower before confusion takes hold.
We begin October planting seeds of awareness. This month, let us invite readers to walk with us toward a culture of listening — to bodies, to communities, to science. Let us treat screening as an act of love and presence without merely dismissing it as a scanning ritual.
Prevention is rarely dramatic. It is often unseen, unheard, unfelt. But it is one of the most profound acts of care we can offer — to ourselves, to the people we love, and to the future we hope to see.
In the next moments, you may forget this essay, but perhaps you will remember to check. Perhaps you will call your sister. Perhaps you will whisper to your own cells: I see you.
Screening saves lives because it dignifies the invisibles — the cells that murmur, the tissue that changes slowly, the body that waits.
Let us walk this month together, waking to what is unseen, unheard, and unfelt — in ourselves, in others. This is our journey in Joyful Wellness.
Planting Seeds This October
As we mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Health Education Week, let us begin to plant small seeds of awareness:
- Learn what screenings are recommended for your age and risk.
- Encourage a friend or loved one to book an appointment.
- Make prevention part of your family’s conversations, not an afterthought.
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