BREAST CARE. Featured image above shows SLMC President & CEO Dr. Dennis P. Serrano prepares to cut the ribbon to open the new Comprehensive Breast Cancer Care Center in Global City, Taguig City. Flanking him are Dr. Marie Belle Francia (left), head of SLMC Cancer Institute, Global City, and Dr. Gemma Uy, head of SLMC Center for Comprehensive Breast Care, Global City. (Photo: SDN) 

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ST. LUKE’S MEDICAL CENTER, Global City/Quezon City, October 29/30, 2025 (SDN) — Mindful of women’s well-being with regards to various illnesses, particularly the dreaded cancer, the St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC)) has launched its state-of-the-art Centers for Comprehensive Breast Cancer Care in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig City, and in Quezon City, Metro Manila.

Led by its president and CEO, Dr. Dennis P. Serrano, with the complement of its battery of medical professionals, St. Luke’s launched in Global City the Breast Center on October 29 and October 30 in Quezon City.

Dr. Serrano described the launch as “a meaningful day, not just for us, but really for the people we serve, every Filipino woman, every family, every community that has been touched or affected by breast cancer.”

He cited the prevalence of cancer incidence among women in the Philippines, citing figures from the internet, saying, “breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the Philippines.

The St. Luke’s president said the country has some 30,000 new cases of cancer every year, and that 10,000 of those stricken with the Big C die every year.

“What is unfortunate is that two out of three of these women are discovered with already an advanced cancer, when treatment is more complex, more expensive and also probably less hopeful in terms of survival,” Dr. Serrano pointed out.

He lamented, though, that many doctors are already aware that in many developed countries they have a survival rate of 90 percent for breast cancer victims. In the Philippines, he added, the rate is only at 44 percent survival.

“It is not because our women are less prone but because it is our system has not given them the best chances to access screening, diagnosis, and eventually care and that is something that we seek to change,” Dr. Serrano emphasized.

The St. Luke’s head sees the Breast Center to stand as a Center of Excellence as well as center of compassion and hope for women.

Launch of St. Luke’s Breast Cancer Care Centers synch with Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October

“So, I hope will eventually expand as a beacon of hope not just for our patients but also for their family, also, for their communities,” he says, adding he also hopes it will become push the country to have a more focus on breast cancer and the welfare of breast cancer patients.

Furthermore, he voiced hopes that St. Luke’s Comprehensive Breas Cancer Center will send the message throughout healthcare and throughout the country that “breast cancer is an (illness) we can fight, and it is not the end that when patients are diagnosed, screened and treated we offer them not just hope, not just cure, but also a future that they can look forward to wherein they can survive and they can be more functional and be with their family even after the diagnose of breast cancer.”

The new facilities are described as a center that is “dedicated to every woman’s breast health journey. ”

And by “comprehensive”, its wide range of services include Breast Imaging, Biopsy Procedures, Surgical Oncology, Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Pathology, Rehabilitation Program, Psycho-Oncology Clinic, High Risk and Genetic Clinic, and Patient Education and Support.

It means patients under the modern hospital’s new facility can expect to be fully attended to “through the full spectrum of breast health — from early detection and diagnosis to treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term recovery.”

St. Luke’s is not leaving even a single stone unturned as the Breast Center boasts of a complement of a multi-disciplinary team of specialists in complete synch as they provide seamless, coordinated care.

Over at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City, Dr. Serrano presided over the opening of its own Comprehensive Breast Cancer Care Center to serve more Filipino women to provide them a more accessible facility for their diagnosis, screening, treatment, and rehabilitation.

Dr. Serrano said the Breast Centers boast of trusted experts on cancer care already experienced with the illness. He said his hospital ensures every patient’s medical and emotional needs are matched with precision and compassion.

St. Luke’s launched its two Breast Cancer Centers as the country marks this October Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Incidentally, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has been promoting the early detection of breast cancer as it reminds its members of their increased financial coverage for the Big C’s treatment.

A Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) survey has revealed a sad reality. PIDS found in 2023 that only 1 percent of Filipino women underwent cancer screening which came up as only 540,000 of women from around 54 million getting screened (SunStar).

An as Dr. Serrano hopes, they are seeking this sad reality of late screening for breast cancer to change through its two Breast Cancer Care Centers, saying patients’ journey begins with St. Luke’s. — EDD K. USMAN (©)

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The author

EDD, a native of Sub-Saharan Africa Buluan/Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, BARMM, college at UST, is a Manila-based journalist for over 40 years (33 years with Manila Bulletin), has five Media Awards (1 with University of the Philippines (UP) 2017 Science Journalism Award), covered and traveled over 40 times abroad), has contributed to Rappler, Business Mirror, Manila Business Insights, Panorama Magazine, Agriculture Magazine, and others, former Manila-based Foreign Correspondent of Saudi Arabia newspapers Saudi Gazette and Riyadh Daily, and The Peninsula (Qatar newspaper), with 2008 East-West Center (EWC) Journalism Seminar in the United States, 2000 Executive IT Seminar in Seoul, South Korea, with three Silver Awards in Photography, writes Muslim and Current Affairs, Enterprise, Science, Tech, Products Launch, and virtually everything under Heaven. (©)