Breast cancer survivor-led patient advocacy: the ICanServe experience from the Philippines

Abstract

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Ating Dibdibin: a programme for Filipinos with breast cancer

Founded and led primarily by survivors of breast cancer, ICanServe established a programme called Ating Dibdibin (Take Your Breast Care to Heart). Long before the enactment of the NICCA and release of WHO's Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI), the programme has been in place since 2008 to promote prevention, early diagnosis, and timely access to treatment; to provide supportive and survivorship care; and to implement patient navigation to improve adherence. In the setting of the

Ating Dibdibin: community outcomes

Ating Dibdibin has been adopted by seven cities (Marikina City, Panabo City, Tagum City, San Juan City, Muntinlupa City, Taguig City, and Baguio City). In the city of Taguig, in which the Ating Dibdibin programme started in 2011, almost 200 000 women have attended lectures or forums, and more than 125 000 have been screened via clinical breast examination. Additionally, almost 6000 patients have had relevant findings on clinical breast examination and have subsequently undergone diagnostic

Empower the target group and understand their needs

As a survivor-led organisation, ICanServe understands the challenges and needs of Filipino patients with breast cancer. Financial toxicity at each level of the cancer continuum is a substantial barrier. ICanServe addresses financial toxicity by empowering both patients and local governments to access already available funding sources such as the Gender and Development Fund, which mandates a 10% allocation from government budgets for programmes such as Ating Dibdibin. Additionally, the programme

Conclusion

Ating Dibdibin can be a springboard to establish a breast cancer control programme that can branch out to other types of cancer. Other local government partners have used the same programme principles of the Ating Dibdibin programme for cervical cancer control.ICanServe's Ating Dibdibin programme offers valuable insights for countries facing similar challenges in breast cancer control, showing that patient-led efforts are not only viable but successful in low-income and middle-income settings.