Solon Seeks Annual ‘National Thyroid Cancer Awareness Week’

Manila (PNA) — To heighten public awareness about thyroid cancer, the sixth leading cancer in the country, a lawmaker is seeking the declaration of the fourth week of September every year as the “National Thyroid Cancer Awareness Week.”

Rep. Mariano Michael Velarde, Jr. (Party-list, Buhay) said the declaration would educate and make people aware that almost 95 percent of thyroid cancer in the country are well differentiated carcinoma and are highly curable by appropriate surgery. More so, radioactive iodine is the main mode of treatment for persistent or metastic lesions, according to him.

“Patients affected by this type of cancer if not given the needed treatment like surgery and radioactive iodine live with constant fear of death like other cancer patients,” said Velarde.

He said his proposal to declare a “National Thyroid Cancer Awareness Week” as embodied in House Bill 4463 would coincide with the “International Celebration of Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month” in September 2014.

“For public education and awareness campaign and to effect the purpose of the proposed declaration, a national information campaign including, but not limited to, local health agencies and clinics, physicians, health care facilities, pharmacies, libraries, senior citizen centers, and other community-based outreach programs and organizations should be in place to instill awareness among the public about thyroid cancer disease. It will also generate full support for the special needs of thyroid cancer survivors affected by the disease, from both public and private sectors,” said Velarde.

Velarde, a vice chairman of the House committees on science and technology, and on information and communications technology, said thyroid cancer is the sixth leading cancer in the country as of 2010. The incidence is three times more in females than in males.

“Thyroid cancer is the most common cancer of women at 15 to 24 years of age,” he said.

He said the warning signals of thyroid cancer are: a hard mass or nodules in the anterior neck; rapid enlargement of a long-standing goiter in older patients; cervical lymph node enlargement; hoarseness; difficulty of swallowing; and difficulty of breathing associated with goiter.

“Early detection includes fine needle aspiration biopsy of solitary nodules, or of unusually prominent, hard or rapidly growing nodules in multinodular goiter,” said Velarde.

He said HB 4463 is in line with the constitutional provision that “The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people, and instill health consciousness among them.”

The bill now pending at the committee on health chaired by Rep. Eufranio Eriguel, M.D. (2nd District, La Union) provides the DOH and the Philippine Thyroid Council (PTC) shall serve as the focal agencies for the health sector and the public in the commemoration of a “National Thyroid Cancer Awareness Week” on the fourth week of September every year. (PNA) JBP/HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES-PR/PJN

Image Credit: thyca.org