Looking at the health data for the province from 2016 to 2022, one notes that for the first five years, neoplasm was cited as the 5th leading cause of mortality.
Neoplasm is the other name for tumor, an abnormal growth or lump that becomes cancer only when it spreads uncontrollably to other parts of your body. But not all cancer cases involve a tumor growth.
Fatalities caused by neoplasm or tumor rose from 66 in 2016 to 69 in 2017 before increasing considerably to 102 in 2018.
The same record sourced by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) from the Provincial Health Office (PHO) showed that deaths from tumors were just 14 cases in 2019 and 15 in 2020.
Why this is so, the report did not explain. It is possible that those with the condition did not seek consultation with health authorities at the time, especially in 2020 when the movement of people was curtailed by the COVID-19 quarantine.
Latest data from the PHO shows that for 2021, those who succumbed to cancer totaled 69 cases, or a mortality rate of 25 cases per 100,000 population.
The PSA report, however, indicated that the fatalities for the same year stood at 128, or nearly twice the PHO number.
The PHO statistics also said that the 2022 figure is 107 cases, which increased to 117 in 2023 or a mortality rate of 42 per 100,000 population.
There is no updated report on the top 10 leading causes of mortality in the province of Catanduanes for last year, but it is significant to note that for 2022, cancer was already the top 3 contributor to deaths due to diseases, just behind ischemic heart disease and hypertensive diseases which both affect the heart.
And the mortality statistics may be understated, with some premature deaths blamed on an unseen being especially in barangays where people still believe in folklore.
That is why it is significant and fortunate for the people of this geographically isolated province that the Immaculate Heart of Mary Hospital in Virac already has an oncology clinic since last year.
From just one patient in April 2023 that saw Dr. Kristine G. Tejada, a Bulacan-based medical oncologist, the number of cancer sufferers now undergoing chemotherapy at the private hospital has risen to nine as of latest count.
The availability of the cancer treatment on the island saves the patient the extra cost and inconvenience entailed by traveling for the once-every-three-week treatments in the mainland or the metropolis, where the time lost to traffic alone is enough to worsen one’s suffering.
According to a study conducted by Valerie Ulep, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), the cost of cancer treatment can range from P120,000 to more than a million pesos.
Depending on the type of cancer, the estimated price of chemotherapy starts at P20,000 per session, an amount certainly above the average monthly income of the Catandunganon family.
The PIDS study said while PhilHealth and other medical assistance programs covers about 64 percent of inpatient spending in public hospitals and 49 percent private hospitals, the patient’s family often experience financial problems due to the high cost of care.
Another study observed that at least 7 in 10 cancer patients in the country drop out of the treatment regimen due to lack of funds, leading to their premature but avoidable deaths.
Not only that, the cancer patient is supposed to undergo post-cancer treatment care even after he or she has already completed either surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or immunotherapy.
The best prognosis is for the cancer to be detected early or at Stage 1, Dr. Tejada stressed, so one does not need to undergo the more costly treatments.
Everyone who received the bad news that the biopsy is positive for cancer does not have to treat the diagnosis as a death sentence as the national government is already providing much-needed financial help through Philhealth coverage and the MAIFIPP.
The Marcos administration’s moving ahead with the establishment of the Philippine Cancer Center and regional specialty centers in the countryside is a good start in the campaign to reduce cancer mortality.
As the country observes Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October 2024, it is highly important that the Department of Health and local health authorities in intensifying their collective efforts towards prevention and early detection services to reduce the burden of cancer especially among poor Filipino families.