Beauty queens offer breast cancer awareness tips

Pia revealed that she has friends who have discovered breast cancer through routine screenings, both at an early stage and unfortunately, at a late stage.

“It’s very personal to me…I’ve found out that I have a friend who nalaman nila na may nakita because of the checkups that we do. Some of them early detection naman which is great,” the Miss Universe 2015 told The STAR in an interview during the Avon’s Boob Love event held recently at the CCP Complex in Pasay City. The fun run was in line with Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October.

“But unfortunately, meron din na nalalaman nila na medyo late stage na. Na medyo kailangan nilang matutukan,” she added.

For Pia, it’s a wakeup call that one should really make breast exams a part of their regular health checkups.

“And even when you think na, ‘Ah, nagpa-test, nagpa-checkup naman ako,’ (after a few years) you cannot predict how fast these cancer cells grow. From when you first detect it, it can grow like exponentially or really fast within a few months.”

She reiterated the importance of making breast cancer awareness a priority. Pia herself checks her breasts every six months.

“Because I have a few cysts that I am monitoring. (Fortunately) there’s nothing to be worried about but I wouldn’t know kung hindi ako nagpapatingin,” she said.

Pia also reminded that even men can also have breast cancer.

“And if we think, ‘Ah wala naman sa pamilya namin or hindi namin to mamamana, ganyan, you just don’t know. Sometimes, it’s your lifestyle, sometimes it’s stress,” she further shared.

It’s just better to be safe, she stated. “Magkano lang naman yung magpa-checkup ka kesa malaman meron na pala at napakalaki pa nung maging kapalit.”

Michelle, on the other hand, said that cancer awareness advocacy, in general, is very personal to her because she has immediate relatives who have cervical cancer, leukemia and close family friends who had stage four breast cancer.

“So, I’ve actually seen the effects and how it can affect those around you, emotionally and psychologically,” she said.

The Miss Universe Philippines 2023 recalled, “As a young girl, seeing all of these and learning about it (also in) school (taught me) about how you should really love your body to get early detection.

“I’ve always experienced like this mix of feelings in terms of fear and just knowing what I have to do to make sure that I can live for as long as possible. So it’s something that’s hard to talk about but it’s also something that we should normalize.”

The actress-model also does regular checkups for breast cancer.

“Because I’ve seen what’s stage four breast cancer looks right now. So I always believe that prevention is better than cure. That’s why I really check myself on a regular basis and when I feel something abnormal, I go to my doctor.”

Miss Supranational 2023 first runner-up Pauline Amelinckx, Kapuso star Kyline Alcantara and other guests also took part in the Boob Love event. — Charmie Joy Pagulong