Ms. Bernadette Sotelo-Gayares of Kabayan Cancer Support Group (standing, in pink shirt) delivers a talk on breast cancer awareness at the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Resource Center on 18 October 2019. (Kuwait PE photo)
21 October 2019 – The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait marked Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October by teaming up with Filipino community organization Kabayan Cancer Support Group, in a forum on the killer disease at the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Resource Center (MWOFRC) on 18 October 2019.
More than 200 distressed female Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who are currently sheltered at the MWOFRC attended the breast cancer forum, which is part of the Embassy’s series of programs to promote Gender and Development (GAD) among Filipino community members in Kuwait.
In a statement, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. and Consul General Mohd. Noordin Pendosina N. Lomondot welcomed the participation of the Kabayan Cancer Support Group in the forum, which shows that “the spirit of pakikipagkapwa-tao within the Filipino community is alive and well in Kuwait.”
“Filipino community groups in Kuwait have always demonstrated their willingness to lend a hand in causes and projects that benefit their fellow OFWs, especially the less fortunate ones. I thank the Kabayan Cancer Support Group for helping the Embassy spearhead this breast cancer information campaign for our kababayan who are currently sheltered at MWOFRC,” Chargé d’Affaires Lomondot said.
Chargé d’Affaires Lomondot also expressed his gratitude to the Embassy’s attached agencies—the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)—for supporting the initiative.
Kabayan Cancer Support Group’s Bernadette Sotelo-Gayares, Demosthenes Abat, Norma Omo and Joanrae Tupaz, who work as nurses at Kuwait Cancer Control Center (KCCC), gave an overview of the killer disease, including its risk factors, symptoms, stages, early detection and treatment, and prevention. A short video featuring Filipino breast cancer patients at KCCC was also played, which moved some MWOFRC wards to tears.
The group underlined the importance of breast cancer awareness among Filipinas, since it is the leading type of cancer among women in the Philippines. According to the presenters, most Filipino women consult a doctor only when the cancer is in its advanced stage (Stage 4), when the survival rate is only 20 percent. In addition, many of the disease’s risk factors—including obesity, drinking alcohol, smoking, and family history—are present among Filipinas with breast cancer.
Formed in 2015 and composed of Filipino medical professionals, the Kabayan Cancer Support Group assists cancer-stricken OFWs in Kuwait by easing their emotional burden, and providing them with financial and spiritual support. The Embassy, through its Assistance to Nationals (ATN) Unit’s Medical Response Team, also receives medical and logistical support from the group in repatriating Filipino cancer patients to the Philippines. END
