International Women's Day at SM City Lucena

In the Philippines, the International Women's Day of March 2009 was celebrated at SM City Lucena in Quezon by the SM Women's Health Committee in the partnership with the Cancer Institute Foundation, Inc. (CIF) for the Cervical Cancer Prevention Network (CECAP).

The SM Women's Health Committee in collaboration with CECAP advocates empowerment of women by them taking control of their own lives so that can be healthy, happy and productive. As its corporate responsibility offering to women, SM's advocacy supports a series of awareness campaigns, educational lay forums, screening women for cervical cancer and breast care missions in communities. CECAP on the other hand believes, in its "it only takes a minute to save a life" maxim, that one minute can make a difference in every woman if that precious moment is spent on making the step to a more health-conscious lifestyle. Eating the right kind of food, proper exercise, seeking consultation and getting screened are just a few of the many ways to use that one significant minute.

Because part of this common cause is to educate women, lectures on What Every Woman Should Know about Cervical Cancer, Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle, and I Will Be There For You were presented by Dr. Cecilia Llave, Dr. Larraine Malabonga and Mrs. Abbygale Arenas-de Leon, all representatives from the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) Cancer Institute (CI) and CIF-CECAP. A cancer survivor, Dr. Jane Adevoso, also shared the moving story of her struggle against the Big C.

Mayor Ramon Y. Talaga of Lucena City and Congressman Ruffy Biazon graced the event and gave inspiration through their messages to the audience. Both Congressman Biazon and Ms. Mary Anne King of the SM Supermalls Women's Committee concluded the event by leading the thumb painting which symbolized unity among various sectors in the fight against cervical cancer.

See more photos of the event here.