Health Is Dignity, Not a Luxury

In a time when medical science has made the prevention of cervical cancer possible, no woman should die from it—especially not because of shame, silence, or lack of access.

Yet in Western Visayas, this remains a sobering reality.

Only 0.44 percent of the region’s female population was screened for cervical cancer in 2024, according to the Department of Health. Of the 10,791 women screened, 520 were found to have signs of precancerous or cancerous lesions. These are not just numbers. Each one represents a missed chance to intervene, to protect, and to uphold a woman’s dignity.

Cervical cancer is preventable and treatable when caught early. Free services such as HPV vaccination for girls aged 9 to 14 and screening methods like VIA, Pap smear, and HPV DNA testing are already available in government health facilities. But access and uptake remain painfully low—largely due to stigma, disinformation, and gaps in local implementation.

It is time we stop treating women’s health as a luxury and begin defending it as a basic human right.

HPV vaccines and cervical screening are great equalizers. They give every girl—regardless of income or social status—a fair chance to live without fear of a cancer that is both slow-growing and detectable. But to achieve this, local government units and schools must do their part. All girls, including those out of school, must be reached and protected.

No young girl should miss her shot at safety because of where she lives or how much her family earns. Health is not a reward. It is a foundation of dignity.

Equally urgent is the need to tackle the silence and shame that continue to surround gynecological health. Many women are still hesitant to get screened, fearing judgment, misunderstanding, or ridicule. This culture of silence is deadly. It drives women to seek help only when symptoms are already severe—often when treatment options are fewer and costlier.

We need to normalize conversations about cervical health, HPV, and prevention. Women must feel safe talking about their bodies without fear or stigma. Public health should be a space of respect, not moral policing.

Communities must also step up. Access is not only about affordability—it’s about geography, outreach, and trust. In many remote barangays, women still do not have regular access to screening. This must change. Local governments and health offices must take screening and vaccination to the people—especially those who live farthest from urban centers.

Some barangays in Western Visayas are already leading the way by organizing local screening events and deploying mobile health teams. These examples prove that community-led prevention is possible. All it takes is political will, consistent funding, and a commitment to protect women not just when they’re sick, but long before.

Cervical cancer is one of the few cancers that we can stop before it starts. We have the tools. We have the knowledge. What we need now is compassion backed by action.

No woman should have to suffer—or worse, die—from something we already know how to prevent. We owe it to our mothers, daughters, and sisters to protect their health not as an afterthought, but as a promise.