This concerns an article titled “Early detection, screening best defense against cancer” published on page 10 in the Oct. 15, 2023 issue of the Midland Courier.
I agree with the article even though I am not a doctor.
I am witness to the sad and painful plight of five relatives who died of different cancers such as gastric, lung, breast, and colon cancer.
Irrefutably, early detection and screening are the best defense against cancer but what is our government doing to protect and save people who are susceptible to acquiring cancer?
The government must be aggressive in allocating funds for the purchase of cancer detection equipment such as a colonoscope and distribute these to government hospitals around the country.
Years ago, a reputable hospital unveiled a huge poster that colonoscopy detects colon cancer.
Around five to seven years ago, a colonoscopy would cost P30,000.
In addition to funding the procurement of cancer detection equipment, the government should fund a sustained campaign on the early detection of cancer on traditional and social media platforms. It is unfortunate that huge taxpayers’ money are wasted on infrastructure projects.
I am a witness to the wasting of taxpayers’ money on useless projects such as the multi-billion rock netting and river flood control projects in Benguet and Mountain Province.
Add to this was the more than P20 billion that was spent for various repair or rehabilitation projects for Kennon Road for the past years. Unfortunately, Kennon Road is not fully used unlike in the 70s to 90s where buses pass through the shortest route going in and out of Baguio.
Had our government spent billions to modernize government hospitals in the Cordillera which include the procurement of state-of-the-art equipment to detect and treat terminally-ill patients then cases of cancer-related deaths could have been prevented or reduced.
It is our hope that the Lower House and the Senate will also prioritize the allocation of ample funds for the improvement of the medical care services of Filipinos and to scrutinize the huge fundings allocated to infrastructure projects. — JUNIPER DOMINGUEZ, Sabangan, Mountain Province
July 27, 2024