FANNY SERRANO(left). A breast-cancer survivor wears the passionate supporter’s elegant confection. OSKAR PERALTA(right) Precious Lara Quigaman in a silver and pink strapless gown with floral accents.

‘I AM doing fantastic! I am great! I’m clear. Absolutely 100-percent clear and clean. It did not spread. They got everything out, so I’m definitely not going to die from breast cancer.” We can only wish that any woman suffering from such a dreaded disease be as fortunate as Christina Applegate, the Samantha Who? star who was declared cancer-free after a double mastectomy.

The situation is especially heartbreaking for the Philippines. Mostly indigent women comprise 70 percent of those with breast cancer, the highest incidence of the disease in Asia alongside Pakistan.

In May Sen. Pia Cayetano, chairman of the health committee, said: “More women are manifesting the disease at an early age, from their 30s to 40s. Generally, the disease is still diagnosed late in its course, hence the survival rate of breast cancer in the Philippines is below 50 percent.”

In the US, where about 250,000 women below 40 are breast-cancer survivors, early detection is still key. Applegate, 36, started Right Action for Women, which aids women who otherwise cannot afford tests such as the breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan that saved the star’s life. Survivor Sheryl Crow, 45, supports Feel Your Boobies, a foundation started by young breast-cancer survivor Leigh Hurst in the hopes of getting women talking and self-checking.

Elizabeth Hurley, 42, is carrying the flag for the Estee Lauder Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. The proceeds from the beauty label’s Pink Ribbon Collection will raise money for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Meanwhile, the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade has a strong voice in 21-year-old The Hills starlet Lauren Conrad.

EDDIE BADDEO. Ria Bolivar in fuchsia asymmetric neckline gown with leather cummerbund.

Hereabouts, being uneducated, unaware and uninformed about breast cancer will certainly lead to death. Woman Today Asia magazine celebrated its silver anniversary via a lively show of fashion, music and discussions to create mass awareness with regard to the disease. In one segment, publisher Monica Aveo and editor in chief Marita Nuque invited noted fashion designers to showcase pocket collections featuring pink, the color of the breast-cancer awareness campaign.

Catwalk divas and beauty queens shared the stage with real women who are cancer survivors wearing couture creations, from Fanny Serrano, Danilo Franco, Edwin Uy, Eddie Baddeo, Barge Ramos, Arielle Agasang and Oskar Peralta.

When the survivors took the stage, in sure steps and with evident pride on their faces, the audience heartily applauded them, blessed in the knowledge that a disease as devastating as breast cancer can be conquered with grace and determination.

The ‘C’ Word

l‘I AM doing fantastic! I am great! I’m clear. Absolutely 100-percent clear and clean. It did not spread. They got everything out, so I’m definitely not going to die from breast cancer.”

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