We are profoundly honored and deeply humbled to announce that the Philippine Cancer Society (PCS) — through its landmark community health program, ACT NOW: Access to Cancer Treatment Now — has been formally recognized at the prestigious Made with Patients Awards, hosted by the Patient Focused Medicine Development (PFMD), in partnership with Sobi and Unite4Rare.
This is not just an award. This is a global declaration that Filipino patients matter — that their voices, their stories, and their lives are worthy of the world's attention.
What is the “Made with Patients Award”?
The Made with Patients Awards is the first and only global accolade exclusively dedicated to celebrating individuals and initiatives that place patients at the absolute center of healthcare. Now in its 4th Edition, the award has gathered 242 nominations submitted from 26 countries across 5 continents, representing countless stories of impact from every corner of the world.
Judged by a multistakeholder panel of global experts — including patient advocates, medical professionals, and health policy leaders — the award shines a spotlight on those who do not merely talk about patient-centered care, but live it, lead it, and prove it. It is about inspiring a fundamental shift toward health equity in every aspect of healthcare.
Today, the Philippines stands proudly on that world stage.
About ACT NOW: Access to Cancer Treatment Now
ACT NOW is more than a program — it is a movement.
Born from a conviction that no Filipino should be denied access to cancer detection simply because of where they live, how much they earn, or how far they are from a hospital, ACT NOW is among others a comprehensive mobile health initiative that brings life-saving breast and cervical cancer education, risk assessment, and screening (its initial movement with lung, liver upcoming) directly to communities — all the way down to the barangay level.
At its operational core is an integrated "30-Day Screening to Treatment" model — a revolutionary framework that compresses the typical months-long delay in the Philippine health system into just 30 to 60 days, navigating every patient from community-level detection, through medical access programs, and back home for rehabilitation and long-term support.
Deployed through mobile screening buses that travel directly to neighborhoods, parks, and community centers, ACT NOW tears down the traditional barriers of geography, transportation cost, and institutional intimidation that have long kept Filipino women from seeking life-saving care.
Key Objectives of ACT NOW
- Accelerate Diagnosis to Treatment — Implement the 30-Day Screening to Treatment model, dramatically cutting months-long delays to just 30–60 days for breast and cervical cancer patients.
- Decentralize Specialized Care — Bring high-quality health education and mobile screening directly to the barangay level, ensuring that geography and travel costs are never again a barrier to early detection.
- Empower Patient Leadership — Transition breast and cervical cancer survivors into "Ambassadors for Hope" and Peer Navigators, giving them real decision-making authority in community outreach and rehabilitation strategies.
- Increase Health Literacy — Conduct targeted risk assessments and educational campaigns that shift community perception from fear-based avoidance to proactive, confident early detection.
- Ensure Continuum of Care — Provide immediate navigation for patients with suspicious findings to centers with existing Medical Access Programs (MAPs), and ensure their successful reintegration back to their communities for long-term rehabilitation and support.
This award was received on behalf of the Philippine Cancer Society by Dr. Herdee Gloriane C. Luna, Executive Action Team- Oncology Manager — a medical oncologist, a relentless advocate, and one of the most passionate champions of patient-centered cancer care in the Philippines today.
Under Dr Corazon Ngelangel, PCS President, and Dr Herdee Luna’s leadership, ACT NOW evolved from a legislative blueprint into a living, breathing community program — one that meets patients where they are, walks alongside them through their most vulnerable moments, and refuses to leave anyone behind. Many thanks to Dr Maricar Sabeniano, Dr Gloria Cristal-Luna, and Operations Managers Miss Jennifer Guinto and Mr Romeo Marcaida for their unwavering dedication to this program, assisted by the whole Philippine Cancer Society team and that of the local government health units.
We Dedicate This Award To:
- Every patient and survivor who trusted us to walk this path beside them
- Every community navigator who turns fear into confidence, one conversation at a time
- The Department of Health Cancer Control Division for their unwavering national leadership
- The Quezon City Local Government, Mayor Ma. Josefina Belmonte and Quezon City Health Department, Dr Ramona Abarquez and Dr Karen See, as well as the City Council lead by Councilors Alfred Vargas and Charm Ferrer - for strongly championing cancer control at the city level
- Partner hospitals: East Avenue Medical Center,· Quezon City General Hospital, · National Kidney and Transplant Institute, · Lung Center of the Philippines, · St. Luke's Medical Center Quezon City
- Medical societies: Philippine Society of Medical Oncology, · Philippine Society of Oncologists, · Philippine Medical Association
- Patient advocacy partners: Cancer Warriors Foundation Philippines, · ICanServe Foundation, · Cancer Coalition Philippines, · LungHap, · Yellow Warriors
- Every barangay health worker, volunteer, and community leader who believed that no Filipino should face cancer alone
Through programs like ACT NOW, PCS does not wait for patients to come to us. We go to them.
This award belongs to every Filipino patient who dared to hope, every navigator who refused to give up, and every partner who believed that together, we could change the face of cancer care in our country.
Maraming salamat. This is bayanihan in its purest form.
About the Philippine Cancer Society
The Philippine Cancer Society is the country's leading non-governmental organization dedicated to cancer prevention, early detection, treatment support, and patient advocacy. For decades, PCS has been at the forefront of cancer control in the Philippines — forging partnerships across government, civil society, the private sector, and the medical community to build a future where no Filipino dies of a preventable or treatable cancer. ACT NOW is one of the 4 primary operational pillars of the Philippine Cancer Society Community Cancer Action Network (PCS CCAN). PCS CCAN is a nationwide volunteer-led initiative that empowers advocates to fight cancer at the grassroots level. It functions as a collaborative platform that unites cancer survivors, health professionals, and community leaders to expand the reach of the Philippine Cancer Society. The four primary operational pillars to address cancer across the Philippines are Legislative and Policy Advocacy (LGU Frameworks, NICCA Support, Policy Reform), Education and Grassroots Awareness (Information Sharing, A.C.T.I.V.E Campaign Engagement, Early Detection Lectures), Technical & Screening Services (ACT NOW Mobile Triage Assistance, Digital Onboarding), Navigation & Community Care (Patient Bridging – Patient Navigation Program, Support System Linking).
Photo credits to Made with Patients Awards 2026, Patient Engagement Open Forum