2004 Dec Breast Cancer Screening
December 10, 2004
As seen in USA Balita newspaper
Dr. Peter S. Kennedy is a medical oncologist affiliated with St. Vincent Medical Center. He has cared for countless numbers of women from ethnic minority groups referred to him for the treatment of early breast cancer. Over the years, he had become alarmed by the number of Filipino women, particularly nurses and teachers, who had locally advanced tumors in their breasts. They had ignored signs of maignancy, and had not undergone routine mammography screening.
The obvious question was, "Why?" Passing mention had been made about "modesty" in one of the reviews Dr. Kennedy had perused. But no one had investigated the issue carefully.
Dr. Kennedy then enlisted the help of Dr. Eduardo Lim, a Filipino medical oncologist, to assist in the program. With Dr. Lim's understanding of the language and culture, the team could better understand the reasons behind women's reluctance to undergo screening mammography. It would also facilitate their ability to get the message to women regarding the curability of breast cancer diagnosed by mammography and regular self-examination.
The doctors reasoned that the best way to approach the problem would be to interview women themselves. Dr. Lim made it clear that they needed to be cautious, respectful and formal, but persistent.
They obtained a research grant from the Daughters of Charity Foundation. The Daughters were keen on helping this underserved population and chose St. Vincent Medical Center to administer the program. They hired a young man, Pedro Ramirez, Jr., who had experience in community development and population screenings.
As of this date, the project is well underway. Hundreds of women have been interviewed in a varity of venues. It was learned that modesty is an insignificant component of women's reticense to be examined. Instead, the single largest reason expressed by over 50% of responsing women who do not undergo mammography is that their physician did not recommend it. Over a third of these women have not had clinical breast examinations by their primary care physician.
We urge Filipino women to be pro-active in their health care and ask their primary care doctor to refer them for mammography.
For more information on the Cancer Awareness and Prevention Center at St. Vincent Medical Center, please call Pedro Ramirez at (213) 484-7385.