Pfizer Philippines Foundation, Inc. (PPFI) has partnered with ICANSERVE Foundation for the creation of the digital playbook on how to set up Ating Dibdibin, a community-based comprehensive early breast cancer detection program.
The only one of its kind in the country, Ating Dibdibin is a partnership between local government and ICANSERVE to institutionalize the breast cancer program via a local ordinance. The partnership includes training of the entire city health team on early breast cancer detection techniques, creating patient pathways to affordable or free quality diagnosis and treatments, and survivorship programs for the resource-challenged.
The Ating Dibdibin playbook contains a guide on how to set up the program and forge partnerships with health facilities and funding agencies that can provide access to affordable care, training modules, templates like an Ating Dibdibin ordinance, a Memorandum of Agreement, toolkits, tests for training, explainer videos, and inspiring testimonials.
The playbook targets local governments to enable them to replicate the program and institutionalize and customize their own early breast cancer detection program.
The ICANSERVE Foundation partner cities report that the Ating Dibdibin program has increased breast cancer awareness, encouraged women to do regular breast self -exams, emboldened them to go for a breast check-up.
Through the years, because of the program, the local government partners have been seeing breast cancers in its earlier stages, when cancer is most curable and affordable to treat. More lives are being saved because of Ating Dibdibin.
“Breast cancer is still the number one cancer in our country. By increasing awareness efforts, promoting regular self-examination, and joining screening programs, we can reverse this trend,” according to PPFI President Noel Borlongan.
“It should be our priority to work together and do our part in raising awareness and advancing treatment programs, ” Borlongan added.
According to ICANSERVE Founding President and Chairman of the Advocacy Committee Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, “When the ICANSERVE Foundation started Ating Dibdibin in 2008, the Cancer Act hadn’t been passed. We created Ating Dibdibin to help address gaps in the breast cancer space we felt we could help address. With the passage of the law, we are happy and grateful that cancer screening has been made mandatory for certain cancers including breast. This has inspired us to intensify our efforts collaborating with local government to save one of the most precious resources of our country—the mothers and daughters and the families they nurture.”
Pfizer Philippines Foundation, Inc. (PPFI) is a non-stock, non-profit corporation organized to perform charitable and social welfare activities and programs geared towards improving health capacities, education `and awareness. Founded in 1997, PPFI seeks to serve Filipino communities to improve health outcomes for a stronger nation of healthier citizens.
Through collaborations with non-government organizations (NGOs) and civic welfare groups, the government and its relevant agencies, as well as through the engagement of Pfizer colleagues as volunteers, PPFI aims to innovate, implement, and sustain equity-based programs that will significantly improve Filipinos’ healthcare access.
ICANSERVE Foundation is a non-stock, non-profit organization that promotes and conducts early breast cancer detection in local communities providing sustained access to accurate diagnosis, timely treatments and patient navigation. It started Ating Dibdibin in 2008 with a grant from the Pfizer Foundation USA under the auspice of the American Cancer Society. ICANSERVE, a founding member of the Cancer Coalition Philippines, lobbied for the creation of the National Integrated Cancer Control Act passed in 2019.
