Pia and Maxene Magalona, cervical cancer prevention advocates.

If you could stop cancer from touching your family, wouldn’t you?

That is the question Pia Magalona posed to all women and their families as she and daughter Maxene launched “Laban ni Maria”, a line of statement shirts under their 3 Stars and a Sun brand, in support of cervical cancer prevention through vaccination.

Introduced recently at the “Laban ni Maria: Rocking Against Cervical Cancer” concert in Eastwood, the line of graphic witty shirts brought home the message that cervical cancer is every Filipina’s battle.

Cervical cancer still remains the second highest killer cancer of women in the Philippines. Statistics show that 12 Filipinas die of cervical cancer everyday but few realize that this deadly disease is now preventable through screening and an affordable vaccine that gives long-lasting protection. GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) vaccine is highly effective not only in protecting against the two most common cervical cancer-causing HPV types, 16 and 18 but also against 12 others, giving protection for 14 out of the 15 cancer-causing HPV types.

“Laban ni Maria is really about empowering the Filipina woman,” Pia Magalona said. “They need to know that they are important members of their communities – as mothers, as friends, as sisters – and that they need to take good care of themselves. Cervical cancer is a cancer we can do something about - it’s preventable. Take the opportunity to protect yourself and your family.”

Meanwhile, Maxene especially wants to remind girls her age to be more aware of how they can take care of their health. “Now that I’m already in my early twenties, we really need to be more responsible, especially with regards to our health. I want them to know that cancer can really happen so by all means necessary, prevent it. Do what you can to avoid having something like this happen to you and your family.”

To bring the message home to the youth, Maxene came up with the idea to design statement shirts. For every “Laban ni Maria” shirt purchased, P80 pesos will be donated to Bravehearts, a multi-sectoral coalition against cervical cancer led by the Cervical Cancer Prevention Network (CECAP) and the Cancer Institute Foundation (CIF). The funds raised will be used to vaccinate indigent women who don’t have access to affordable health services.

Laban ni Maria shirts are available at 3 Stars & a Sun Stores in Broadway Centrum, Power Station Macapagal Ave., Robinson’s Galleria, Robinson’s Metro East, Robinson’s Place-Imus, Cavite and at the online store: francismclothing.multiply.com.

People got their first glimpse of the Laban ni Maria line at the “Laban ni Maria: Rocking Against Cervical Cancer” concert and fashion show fusion, which aimed to raise awareness for cervical cancer through a fun-filled night of music and fashion. Presented by The Francis M. Clothing Company and MTV Philippines, the concert featured popular bands Pupil, Imago, Astrojuan and Us-2 Evil-0 and a special live performance of Francis M’s “Girl be Mine” with Elmo Magalona.