She has one of the best smiles in the industry, so why is she putting on a pout and encouraging everyone else to do the same?
“It’s for one of the advocacies I am most passionate about– spreading awareness against cervical cancer, Andi Manzano-Reyes told the The Standard during the launch of the Put On Your Power Pout! campaign at Makati Shangri-La Hotel.
“The partnership introduces a twist on spreading awareness: encouraging Filipino women to join the movement by wearing purple lipstick to show their support for the advocacy on cervical cancer prevention,” explained Manzano-Reyes who also hosted the event.
Cervical cancer has become a very emotional topic for the former MTV VJ, whose mom was diagnosed with the disease a few years back.
“It totally changed me,” she wrote in one of her blog entries. “…I remember her breaking the news to me in a restaurant, and when she did, I couldn’t cry as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t breakdown in front of her, I couldn’t. It was time to be strong for her. It was time to be there for her, as she has been by my side in everything. If you guys don’t know, we are 5 in the family. I’m the eldest, and not only did I have to be strong for her, but I had to be strong for everyone.
Manzano-Reyes wrote she would at times go all the way to Antipolo to pick her mom up to drive her to UST and bring her home and go straight to work after.
But it was watching her mom go through chemo therapy that proved to be more difficult. “Seeing the injection and chemo go through her veins made my heart break every second, yet I was smiling, forcing her to eat and making her laugh with all the silly jokes, but would run to the bathroom from time to time to shed my tears. It was so hard to see her that weak, helpless…She was at her weakest physically yet spiritually she was at her strongest. It was one of the most difficult things I’ve been through in my life. I would cry myself to sleep at night. There were even moments where I’m off air on radio and a tear would just fall from my eye, or driving home. Seeing a loved one suffer has to be the worst thing, even worse than a break up, cause a break up you know you’ll heal but with cancer, you’ll never know,” read the entry entitled “MY MOM” which she wrote in time for mother’s day last year.
Although her mom has since recovered, the Radio Dj and host says her passion to fight the disease has never wavered.
“Every woman is at risk for cervical cancer. in fact seven Filipino women die of this dreaded disease every day and has become the second leading cause of cancer deaths so we have to let everyone know that we can do something about it.”
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Put On Your Power Pout movement
This is the reason why GSK, one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical companies ramps up its cervical cancer awareness efforts this year with the Power Over Cervical Cancer campaign which urges Filipinas to realize that they are empowered—that they can do something to prevent the disease from happening to them, so they don’t miss out on a colorful life ahead or leave their loved ones behind.
Cervical cancer occurs when abnormal cells develop and spread in the cervix, the entrance between the vagina and the uterus.
The human papillomavirus (HPV), a very common virus, is the necessary cause of cervical cancer. It has been shown that 99.7 percent of cervical cancer patients are positive for HPV infection. It is also estimated that up to 80 percent of women will be infected with HPV at some point in their lives.
While HPV is primarily transmitted via sexual intercourse, skin-to-skin genital contact is also a recognized mode of transmission.
Lifestyle changes can help prevent the development of cervical cancer, such as being conscientious about one’s sexual activities. Beyond regular consultations and pap smears by your OB-GYN, vaccines that protect against cancer-causing HPV are also now readily available.
In commemoration of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, GSK Philippines launched its partnership with cosmetics manufacturer VMV Hypoallergenics. The partnership introduces a twist on spreading awareness: encouraging women to join the movement by wearing purple lipstick to show their support for the advocacy on cervical cancer prevention.
“Cancer is quite a distant concept for women who are well. What might be more important to them is keeping up with the latest trends, especially in fashion and beauty. The lipstick is a woman’s own—when she wears it, she makes a statement about herself. Through this partnership with VMV, we hope to drive women to make a statement against cervical cancer,” says Mark Castillo, GSK product manager.
Jacklyn Remo, assistant marketing manager for VMV Hypoallergenics, supports the movement: “We are fully committed toward this partnership with GSK Philippines. At VMV Hypoallergenics, we promise the safest, most proven effective care on the planet—and that extends to beauty. This unique combination of science, wellness and beauty means we also strongly stand for advocacies that help women, their health and happiness.”
JOIN THE MOVEMENT NOW—take a photo of yourself wearing VMV Hypoallergenics’ Tutu or Chorus Line lipstick (or a photo of you holding your kiss mark from the lipstick) and post it on Instagram and Facebook with the hashtags #PowerPout and #PowerOverCervicalCancer
This story first appeared at the NEW STANDARD
