Stronger Starts with Knowing: Healthway Cancer Care Hospital Brings Proactive Screenings to BGC

Stronger Starts with Knowing: Healthway Cancer Care Hospital Brings Proactive Cancer Screenings to BGC

A stronger, healthier life often begins with one clear decision: to know your body better, ask the right questions, and take medical action earlier. This philosophy is at the heart of Healthway Cancer Care Hospital (HCCH), the Philippines’ first dedicated cancer hospital.

To empower Filipinos to take control of their health journeys, HCCH recently mounted an initiative at The Stronger Life Community in Bonifacio Global City (BGC). By offering free wellness consultations and crucial cancer screenings directly to the public, HCCH is actively shifting the national healthcare conversation away from fear and delay, and toward clarity, early detection, and coordinated care.

Redefining Cancer Care in the Philippines

When individuals understand their personal health risks and know exactly where to turn for expert medical guidance, they are far better equipped to protect their future.

“Stronger starts with knowing,” shares Dr. Kaye Recto, HCCH Deputy Chief Operating Officer. “It's about empowering each of us to understand our bodies, embrace the power of early detection, and bravely act long before any symptoms even whisper. Every Filipino deserves the peace of mind that comes from being the captain of their health journey.”

Beyond the walls of its state-of-the-art facility, HCCH is bringing early detection programs straight to local communities. The BGC wellness event showcased HCCH’s unique, patient-first approach to oncology and preventative medicine, which is anchored by four foundational pillars:

Patient-Centered Care Planning: Cancer care is never a one-size-fits-all solution. At HCCH, patients are guided through a highly coordinated care pathway featuring advanced oncology diagnostics, specialist consultations, and individualized treatment planning shaped around personal diagnosis, risks, goals, and daily quality of life.
Multidisciplinary Medical Teams: HCCH utilizes a collaborative approach where specialists across surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, diagnostics, pathology, nutrition, physical rehabilitation, survivorship, and supportive care align on a single case. This eliminates the burden of patients having to navigate complex medical systems alone.
Specialized Centers of Excellence: The hospital features dedicated units optimized around priority cancer types and patient needs, streamlining the pathway from routine screening and diagnosis to treatment, recovery, and life beyond cancer.
Navigated, Whole-Person Oncology: Recognizing that a cancer diagnosis impacts emotional, physical, practical, and quality-of-life needs, HCCH integrates comprehensive supportive care and patient navigation from early detection through survivorship.

Your Body, Your Power: Essential Cancer Screening Guidelines

Cancer screenings are not uniform; the ideal timeline depends heavily on age, lifestyle, symptoms, and family history. HCCH medical experts encourage Filipinos to listen to their bodies, understand general guidelines, and follow these vital organ-specific screening recommendations:

1. Breast Care & Women’s Health: Know Your Normal

Fear and uncertainty frequently cause women to delay essential diagnostic check-ups. However, tracking structural changes in your body and acting when something changes is a powerful preventative step. Modern breast care has advanced significantly, allowing women to transition from worry to definitive answers faster with earlier screenings, clearer diagnostics, and specialist-led guidance.

The Strategy: HCCH encourages routine self-breast awareness starting at age 20, comprehensive clinical breast examinations by a doctor from age 35, and regular screening mammography beginning at age 40.
Note: Women with a family history of breast cancer, symptoms, dense breasts, or higher risk profiles should consult a physician for an accelerated screening schedule.
Cervical Cancer Prevention: Women should discuss routine Pap tests and HPV-based screenings with their doctor at different life stages. HPV vaccinations can begin as early as age 9, with catch-up or adult vaccinations guided by a medical professional.

2. Lung Health: Look Beyond the Persistent Cough

Lung concerns can be exceptionally quiet in their earliest stages, making early symptoms easy to dismiss. Knowing your personal risk factor is vital to early intervention.

The Strategy: For individuals carrying higher risk factors, a screening low-dose CT (LDCT) scan can detect subtle pulmonary anomalies earlier, allowing expert review to determine the right next steps—whether monitoring, further testing, or treatment planning.
The Move: Routine low-dose CT screenings are highly recommended for adults ages 50 to 80 with a significant history of smoking (including current and former smokers). Do not ignore warning signs like a persistent cough, unexpected shortness of breath, unexplained weight loss, chronic chest pain, coughing blood, or a lung nodule finding.

3. Colorectal & Gut Health: Listen to the Signals

Gastrointestinal discomfort is easy to brush off, but colorectal cancer is one of the specific malignancies where routine screening can make a major difference—sometimes identifying concerns even before cancer develops. HCCH offers a coordinated path for colorectal and gastrointestinal care, bringing together specialists across screening, diagnostics, surgery, oncology, nutrition, and recovery.

The Strategy: For average-risk adults, proactive colorectal cancer screening generally begins at age 45.
Diagnostic Options: Modern screening pathways include traditional colonoscopies, FIT, stool DNA/RNA-based tests, and newer blood-based screening tests for appropriate average-risk patients who may not proceed with traditional screening. Those with symptoms, family history, prior polyps, inflammatory bowel disease, or other risks should consult a doctor earlier.

4. Head, Neck, & ENT: Early Clinical Attention Matters

A lingering raspy voice, a persistent mouth sore, or a subtle lump in your neck may seem minor, but chronic symptoms can be early signs of something more serious. HCCH’s Head and Neck care focuses intensely on treating the disease while protecting vital daily functions—including voice, swallowing, breathing, appearance, confidence, and quality of life through highly specialized, coordinated rehabilitation.

The Strategy: Because there is no single routine screening test for the majority of head and neck malignancies, symptoms matter. Any mouth sore, neck lump, voice change, swallowing difficulty, red or white patch, or unusual ear, nose, and throat (ENT) symptom that lasts more than two to three weeks requires an expert clinical check.

Life Beyond Cancer: Whole-Person Survivorship

At HCCH, the journey does not end with active treatment. True medical healing goes beyond removing a disease; it means addressing chronic fatigue, emotional health shifts, and targeted nutritional requirements. Through coordinated rehabilitation, emotional support, fertility care, and mental well-being assistance, HCCH practicing "Whole-Person Oncology" ensures that a patient's life after cancer is fully supported.

HCCH’s Visionary New Standard of Care

By unifying advanced diagnostic technology with a compassionate, highly synchronized medical team, HCCH is establishing a new clinical standard for oncology in the Philippines, walking every single step of the way with patients and families.

“Stronger starts with one step: show up, ask questions, screen earlier, and consult sooner,” says Dr. Ramy Roxas, Chief Operating Officer of Healthway Cancer Care Hospital. “HCCH is here to make that journey clearer, more coordinated, and more human for patients and families.”

Take the first definitive step toward a stronger, more empowered you today. Connect with the medical specialists at Healthway Cancer Care Hospital to begin your health journey with knowledge, confidence, and expert care.

Disclaimer: This educational article is intended solely for public information purposes and should not replace personalized consultations, diagnostic evaluations, or medical treatments from a qualified healthcare professional or oncologist.