Marie Lea Aragon (Lea) takes her role in cervical cancer prevention very personally. For her, every woman who walks into a health center in Parañaque City represents a responsibility and a promise: to provide timely, respectful care and to ensure no one is lost in the system.
“Many women were afraid before,” Lea says. “They did not know what cervical cancer was, what the cervix was, or why screening was important.” One program and a concerted effort helped change that.
Lea is the nurse coordinator for Parañaque City’s Cancer Control Program, coordinating screening and treatment across the city’s primary care facilities. Parañaque is a highly urbanized city located in Southern Metro Manila along the western coast of Luzon in the Philippines. Lea also manages program data and oversees the release of results. During Phase 2 of the Unitaid-funded Scale Up Cervical Cancer Elimination with Secondary Prevention Strategy (SUCCESS) project, she assumed the additional role of focal point for data, ensuring the smooth management of patient and community-based screening across health centers, laboratories, and treatment facilities.
Parañaque City worked closely with SUCCESS through Jhpiego in the Philippines, to increase women’s community access to human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and treatment of precancerous lesions through thermal ablation, supporting the introduction and preparation for country expansion.
Lea began managing the city’s cervical cancer screening in 2015. At that time, awareness was low, and misinformation was common. Encouraging women to get screened was difficult, especially when procedures felt unfamiliar.
Data management was entirely via pen-and-paper methods. Screening lists were written on paper, and treatment required referrals to tertiary hospitals. Follow-ups were inconsistent.
“Because we were using manual reporting, some women were lost during follow-up,” Lea explains. “We no longer knew what happened to them after referral.”
Using informational materials developed through the SUCCESS Project, she conducted community sessions with simple language and visuals to explain cervical cancer and emphasize the importance of early detection, but the real change began during the second phase of the project.
Jhpiego introduced a client monitoring tool (CMT), a live worksheet accessible to providers and navigators. For Lea, the change was immediate.
“When the CMT was introduced, we immediately saw how advanced and innovative it was,” she said. “The data was real-time, and we could see whether the laboratory, nurse, or health provider had already acted on the case.”
Referrals became easier to track; follow-ups became visible, and information was no longer fragmented.
“Coming from manual (pen-and-paper) recording and reporting, the relief this digital monitoring tool gave us was huge,” Lea says.
Lea’s confidence in managing services grew alongside the system.
“The data is now real-time and complete,” she said. “You know it is not manipulated, and nothing is missing.”
The tool was later modified to be QR code-based and paperless. Screening results are uploaded as PDFs and linked to each client’s record, including treatment details and before-and-after images of the cervix.
“This is very helpful for women like hotel workers who only have about 20 minutes during their break,” she said.
Health workers across barangays were trained in screening and treatment, strengthening coordination.
“All health workers can now see in the system if a woman has been screened, treated, or followed up,” said Lea.
And clients are noticing the difference in the quality of care. “The feedback from patients has been very positive,” she said. “There is now a continuity of services.”
Capacity strengthening also extended to data analysis. Through Jhpiego, Lea was trained in using statistical software for data management, data analysis, visualization, and reporting—which enabled her to analyze program data and prepare accurate reports for the Department of Health and the city health office.
“The training was very useful in analyzing data and providing accurate information,” she says.
Lea also received clinical training on near point-of-care DNA testing platforms and on providing thermal ablation for precancer treatment.
“With HPV testing and the thermal ablation device, our work became much easier,” she said.
Parañaque City continues to build on these gains. HPV DNA test kits have been budgeted, and self-collection allows women to collect samples themselves, reducing discomfort and protecting privacy.
“With the improved process, women no longer need to be afraid,” Lea said. “Self-collection is very empowering because clients do not have to undergo a procedure that causes discomfort or privacy concerns.”
Lea is proud of how far their program has come. “We gained lessons, experiences, and insights that enable us to help many women prevent and treat cervical cancer,” she said. “I always tell women who come for screening that our goal is for no one to develop cervical cancer because of strong awareness, systems, and the support provided through SUCCESS and Jhpiego. Through screening and early treatment of HPV, we can achieve this.”
For Lea, sustainability is key. She calls on local governments to invest in long-term cervical cancer prevention programs.
“It is important to have policies that make this program sustainable and continuing,” she says. “I call on other cities to ensure that there is a dedicated program for women.”
As Parañaque City scales up, Lea remains hopeful. “It has been an honor to collaborate with the SUCCESS Project,” she said. “It has been instrumental in strengthening services and supporting our plans to scale up HPV testing.”
For Lea and the women she serves, the journey continues, grounded in stronger systems, empowered health workers, and the belief that cervical cancer is preventable.
Geri Matthew Carretero is the Communication and Knowledge Management Officer for Jhpiego in the Philippines. Tracey Shissler is the the SUCCESS/Jhpiego Program Director.
