Proud to be part of the recently concluded POGS Millennium Run for Women's Health

MANILA, Philippines -- People may know her as a former supermodel and beauty queen turned professional image consultant, not to mention wife to famous photographer Jun de Leon.  But over the past four years, Abbygale Arenas-de Leon, has been steadily working on a cause that she believes in.  So much so that she’s recently accepted the challenge, albeit reluctant in the beginning, to be the first president of Bravehearts, a multi-disciplinary crusade for cervical cancer prevention and treatment.

“Napagkasunduan lang ng mga kaibigan ko na gawin akong presidente!,” says Abby of how the responsibility landed on her lap.  She continues, “I never agreed kasi nga alam ko na maraming trabaho but then I realized kung walang gagawa, magtititigan na lang kami? [Inisip ko na lang], as the president, nilagyan lang nila ng mukha ang Bravehearts.”

A non-profit organization, Bravehearts was initially led by the Cervical Cancer Prevention Network (CECAP) for the Cancer Institute Foundation (CIF).  The group holds seminars and projects with the help of its partner organizations and companies. Abby started on the organization when a friend of hers who works for the organization’s partner pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline asked her about cervical cancer. Up to that time, Abby has only heard of other forms of cancer such as breast, ovarian, and lung cancer.

“Those were the only kinds of cancers that I’ve heard of.  And then I got invited to listen in on the causes of the disease and how it can be prevented.  After learning that it's the only type of cancer that has a vaccine for prevention, that really got me interested. It's such an amazing news that people, especially women, should know about."

Spreading the news

The good news brought Abby from one place to another, joining lectures and screenings, encouraging and empowering women with the knowledge that they can prevent cervical cancer from ever touching their lives.  "We're going down to the baranggays and addressing local government units to create more awareness about the disease."

According to the 2005 Philippine cancer facts and estimates, 3,807 Filipino women die every year because of cervical cancer. and there are 7, 277 new cases diagnosed every year.  "There was a doctor who reported that five years ago when the campaign started, the consciousness was very low; only 10 percent knows about cervical cancer and I was part of the 90 percent who had no awareness at all.  Today, about 87 percent of the population is aware, which is really good, pero hindi nararamdaman yung percentage na 'yon because we have yet to reach the next level which is vaccination."

Conforming with the Bravehearts' ultimate goal - to make the Philippines cervical cancer free - Abby fortifies the objectives of the organization by pushing for more vaccination programs.

"My first project [as the president] was to vaccinate 500 women.  We couldn't vaccinate before because the organization doesn't have the money.  When we finally had some, we did a fund raising to be able to produce more."

One of the group's prominent activities is the Tour of Hope (ToH) which has been running since 2008.  It has raised over two million worth of pledges and sponsorships, covered 1,500 kilometers and visited 15 cities with approximately 2000 participants - all for saving thousands of women through vaccination drives.

Despite all these efforts, Abby recognizes that they still have a long way to go in reaching their goal.  "Nakakalungkot kasi kahit araw-araw ka mag-lecture, it's difficult to convince  the women when they themselves feel they should be the least priority.  It's the martyr in us.  So everytime we do lay lecture, we tell them that every woman is important. Just imagine kung mawala ka sa pamilya mo [because of the disease] when you could have prevented it from happening.  How do you explain that to your children.  Parang may takutan factor but as a mother, doon talaga ako kinukurot," says Abby who has a 10-year-old son named Irijah.

Another difficulty in persuading many to get vaccinated is the cost of the inoculation which has to be administered three times in the course of eight months.  "Recently, we're getting more and more support from the LGU.  When they get to hear the lecture, they offer financial assistance. They give it through salary deduction, minsan six months to pay or one year to pay."

Given the current situation, Abby is optimistic that there will come a time when these vaccines will be available for free in all health centers as part of an adult immunization program of the government.  In the mean time, she continues to work, even more harder than she did before, in letting the public know about the disease and what can be done to prevent it.

"Before we let them go, we plead with them to tell the good news to at least 10 more women they know.  Just imagine how it will multiply in the long run," she concludes.