More than 1,000 people took to the streets of Taipei yesterday morning in a speed-walking race to raise public awareness of gynecological cancers, making Taiwan the third country in Asia to host such an activity this year as part of an international movement aimed at ending women’s cancers.
Chanting slogans such as “10,000km a day keeps gynecological cancers away,” a group of 1,056 participants dressed in purple T-shirts set out at about 8am from the plaza in front of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
Their mission was to speed-walk around the memorial hall twice, a length of about 4.4km, before attending a quiz on the three most common cancers among women — endometrial, cervical and ovarian cancers.
Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Gynecologic Oncology Department director Chou Hung-hsueh (周宏學) said gynecological cancers are one of the leading causes of death among women, with an average of 4,000 to 5,000 new cases and more than 1,000 deaths being reported in the nation per year.
“It is vital that women in Taiwan and worldwide understand the importance of regular screening and follow-ups,” Chou said.
Chou said it is the second time that Taiwan has joined the Globe-athon Movement, an international initiative focused on the prevention of women’s cancers that began last year.
“The movement originated from a 72-hour relay held around the White House in 2011 held by the Chicago-based Foundation for Women’s Cancers to advocate the prevention of gynecological cancers,” Chou said.
This year, the foundation expects 70 countries to hold more than 170 events in during “Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month,” ranging from walks and runs to dance performances, Chou said.
Chang Gung Medical Organization Research and Development Committee deputy director Lai Chyong-huey (賴瓊慧) said ovarian cancer has the highest mortality rate among common women’s cancers because the symptoms are often vague and ill-defined in the early stages.
“It is often not diagnosed until the tumor has spread to adjacent organs and the disease has already reached stage three,” Lai said.
However, the symptoms of endometrial cancer tend to be obvious, Lai said, such as abnormal vaginal bleeding and disrupted menstrual cycles.
Nevertheless, some women, especially young women, dismiss such conditions as commonplace preventing early diagnosis, Lai added.
Turning to cervical cancer, Lai said that while the government’s promotion of regular Pap smears in recent years has noticeably reduced the number of women diagnosed with the disease each year, the introduction of a nationwide human papillomavirus vaccination program is needed to further curb the illness.
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