Post-breast cancer surgery bras: Regaining confidence after mastectomy

A great number of Filipino women battle against breast cancer and this disease, is not only debilitating to the health but can also result to a social and psychological burden to some who have undergone full mastectomy or the complete removal of their breasts.

Catering to this specific need of women battling against cancer, BodyForms Philippines Inc. brought to the Philippines a set of products from Germany that can provide the necessary need and care of women after a breast cancer surgery.

“Its because of the study revealing an increase in breast cancer cases in the Philippines. In Southeast Asia, the Philippines has the most number of incidence of breast cancer so they did a study before and they decided to get the exclusive distributorship of Amoena. That’s what prompted the owner to bring the product. It’s very timely to introduce the product here,” Chie Conlu, Office Manager and resource person from BodyForms Philippines Inc. told InterAksyon.

The said study was cited from the reports by the Department of Health and Philippine Cancer Society which showed that breast cancer is the most common cancer in the country, comprising 16 percent of the 80, 000 new cancer cases in 2010.

BodyForms also cited a 2012 report from the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology stating that an estimated three out of 100 Filipino women will contract the disease before age 75 and that one out of 100 will die before age 75.

With this, most breast cancer patients prefer to undergo full mastectomy. Studies show that more than 90 percent of Filipino women diagnosed with breast cancer prefer complete removal rather than breast conservation as surgical treatment, according to BodyForms.

“Rebuilding a woman’s confidence and facilitating her return to normal activity after mastectomy are becoming priorities for the country’s health and beauty industry,” a press release from BodyForms stated.

BodyForms’ breast prostheses products include special brassieres and breast forms using silicon technology that provides comfort needed after a surgery. Their post-surgery brassieres can also reduce irritation, keeps the operated breast(s) in place and restores the breast’s natural shape.

The shop also offers swimwear products that have a transparent silicone fit for water activities.



Even with this kind of post-surgery solutions, however, it is still believed that early detection is the key to prevent the disease. It is encouraged for every woman to conduct routine breast examination, mammograms and vigilance in observing changes in the physical form of the breasts and nipples.

Avoiding vices like drinking alcohol, cigarette smoking can also help in avoiding said debilitating cancer.

Breastfeeding is also known to lower the risk of having a breast cancer.

source: interaksyon.com

Despite improvements in gender equality, domestic violence in PH still 'unacceptably' high - WB

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is doing relatively well in terms of a number of indicators on gender equality compared with other countries in the East Asia and the Pacific, says the World Bank in its latest report.

However, despite improvements in gender relations, domestic violence is still "unacceptably" high as up to 5.6 million Filipino women have been abused by their partners, according to one of the authors of the report.

The report entitled “Toward Gender Equality in East Asia and the Pacific,” studied gender gaps in the area of economic opportunities, influence in home and society, and access to human capital and productive assets across the region.

Andrew Mason, lead author of the study, said that women in the Philippines are doing specially good in terms of enrollment in school where there is a significant difference in the number of male and female students in the secondary and tertiary levels.

“I think at the secondary level there are 108 girls for every 100 boys and it’s even more tilted in the direction of women at the tertiary level -- it’s about 125 girls for every 100 boys," said Mason told InterAksyon.com in a recent interview.

Same trend

Mason says the same trend in the miiddle-income countries in the region where a reversal in the "gender gap in favor of boys to a small gender gap in favor of girls" has been observed in the last two decades.

However, despite being more educated than their male counterparts, Filipino women earn less than working men. This even if there are more unemployed men than women in the country.

Latest data from the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics show that unemployed men make up more than three-fifths of the total 2.8 million without jobs in the Philippines. Meanwhile, the National Statistics Office said that as of October last year, 67.6 percent of the total underemployed Filipinos were men while 32.4 percent were women.

“In the region as a whole we see that women earn about 70 to 80 cents for every dollar that men earn and the Philippines is right in that same range – 76 (cents). In that sense there’s no wage equality or earnings equality, but the Philippines is not dramatically worse or dramatically better than (others),” said Mason.

Progress in health

The World Bank report also observed that the Philippines has made progress in the area of health with the country’s fertility rate and infant and child mortality declining over the years.

“We see infant and child mortality has gone down dramatically for both boys and for girls. In fact in the Philippines the under five mortality has halved for both boys and girls since 1990,” Mason said.

In addition, there are also more women now who give birth attended by skilled birth professionals. “Not a perfect performance but a lot of good news that we can talk about in terms of health,” said Mason.

Empowered within the home

In terms of influence at home and in society, Southeast Asian women in general and Filipino women in particular seem to be empowered within the home.

“Southeast Asian women have a high level of autonomy with respect to their cash earnings. Either the wife makes a decision or it’s jointly made. So only in a very, very small share of cases in the Philippines does the husband actually dictate what the wife does with her money,” said Mason.

The Philippines also does better with the rest of the world when women’s involvement in politics is to be measured, according to the study, which is a companion to the World Bank’s 2012 World Development Report. Between 22 to 23 percent of legislators in the country are women while the world average is 19 percent. In the East Asia and Pacific region, the average is 18 percent.

“It’s low in absolute terms. It’s not even 50 but it’s higher than the global average by a few percentage points,” said Mason.

Domestic violence problem persists

However, Mason said that while domestic violence in the country is low compared to countries making up the Pacific region, it is still “unacceptably” high if put in actual numbers.

Two-thirds of adult women in the Pacific region have experienced violence in the hands of a partner. In the Philippines, around 18-19 percent of women reported domestic violence.

“If you look in the scale of the region, it’s on the relatively low side. But it’s still, I would say, unacceptably high. If you convert this percentage into numbers of (Filipino) women this means about 5.5- 5.6 million adult women have experienced domestic violence at the hands of a partner. So there’s good news and bad news hidden in this statistics,” he said.

source: interaksyon.com

Jobseekers warned as 4 more Filipino victims of human trafficking are rescued in Malaysia

MANILA, Philippines – Four Filipino women victimized by human traffickers and forced to work in nightclubs were rescued by the Royal Malaysia Police earlier this week, the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has reported.

The four were locked up and forced to work in a night club in Johor Baru, some 220 kilometers away from Kuala Lumpur and is near the Malaysian border with Singapore.

The Embassy lauded the quick action undertaken by the Malaysian police, through its Criminal Investigation Division (CID)-Anti-Human Trafficking Section, Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya said.

The victims, all residents of Metro Manila, were allegedly recruited and escorted by a certain Ramil Garcia from Manila to Zamboanga and then Sandakan in Sabah, with the promise of high-paying jobs in Malaysia .

When they arrived in Sandakan, Garcia turned them over to a certain Norminda Buko Whigan for "sale" to night club owners as customer service workers. The Filipinas were informed of their real work only upon their arrival in Sandakan .

After a two-week stay in Sandakan and with no offers from club owners there, the traffickers brought the women by plane to Johor Bahru in West Malaysia, where they were offered to a club owner Emy Wong.

The ladies were locked up at the Wong residence, and made to work at the club the following day.

The women, with ages between 27 to 36 years old, eventually were able to ask for help from the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and others, which alerted the Embassy.

In the evening of April 18, Malaysian CID agents, accompanied by two Embassy officials, proceeded to Johor Bahru in West Malaysia and raided the club.

The club owner had left the club, together with the Filipinas, minutes before the police arrived.

The team then proceeded to the Wong residence, where the Filipinas were locked up, and rescued the four Filipinas. The police also arrested Mrs. Wong's husband, who was in the house. Mrs. Wong is now being pursued by authorities.

The Filipinas were then brought before a local judge, who issued an interim protection order. They are now in a shelter run by Malaysian police and welfare authorities. They will later be turned over to the Embassy for repatriation to Manila .

The Embassy reminded Filipinos to be aware of the modus operandi of trafficking syndicates, so as to protect themselves from becoming victims.

"Our Filipinos should already beware anytime they are made to exit through the ‘back door’ in the Tawi-Tawi area without proper documentations. In most likelihood, they are being trafficked already," the Embassy said.

source: interaksyon.com

Pinays in The Netherlands celebrate Intl Women's Day

Filipino women gathered in Utrecht, The Netherlands on March 17 for the “Pilipina sa Holland: Ipagdiwang Natin ang Ating Kalakasan,” an event celebrating International Women’s Day.

The event aimed to help Filipino women in The Netherlands become economically independent.

In The Netherlands, 50% of Dutch women are economically independent but only 33% of non-western migrants are, said Diana Oosterbeek-Latoza, coordinator and social cultural worker of Bayanihan, a group that advocates for women's welfare.

Oosterbeek-Latoza said the event aims to "show that the economic position of the women is not yet strong. So the challenge for us, especially to those women who have achieved that level of independence, is to unite and lobby the position of the women in The Netherlands."

"We have to integrate, participate and hold hands together. That is not to say that we, Filipinas, should only join Filipino Women’s Organizations but Women’s Organizations in general," she added.

Philippine Ambassador to The Netherlands Lourdes Morales said much has already been done to make women equal to their male counterparts in the workplace but much still remains to be achieved.

She noted that the United Nations has been crucial in pushing for gender equality worldwide.

Morales said the theme of this year's International Women's Day celebration — Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty — "recognizes that gender equality and empowerment of women has not been fully reached by rural women and girls who comprise one quarter of the global population.”

She said the international community should give more attention to women in rural areas in their struggle for gender equality and empowerment.

She cited an aphorism or pithy observation from Mahatma Gandhi: "Woman is the companion of man, gifted by equal mental capacities. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man's superior." - VVP, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com