Manila (CNN Philippines Life) — It was 2015 when Elena Bautista-Horn, Vice President of SM Prime’s Corporate Affairs, felt a lump in her breast. She initially shrugged it off, telling herself that maybe it was just her menstrual period that caused it.

“I waited pa one month kasi sabi ko baka I just have my period and then usually, when you have your period, you get exaggerated tissues. After a month, nandoon parin. So, I went to see the doctor,” she says. Horn was officially diagnosed with breast cancer that same year, but has since survived the illness through chemotherapy and her unfaltering belief that breast cancer can be won.

Two years later, she now frontlines SM Cares’ celebration of the Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, where they partnered with the Philippine Breast Cancer Society to hold ‘Pink Ribbon Day,’ a daylong event at the SM Mall of Asia, complemented with various activities — from a free clinical breast examination by volunteer doctors to a panel discussion with breast cancer survivors, former T.V. personality Jaymee Joaquin and scriptwriter Bibeth Orteza Siguion-Reyna, hosted by Ms. Kris Aquino — all aimed to help fight breast cancer.

Joaquin shares how it wasn’t the diagnosis that scared her; it was when she was told that she had to go through chemotherapy sessions, and then having the sudden realization that she was to lose all her hair. She was at Stage 2A breast cancer when it was detected; a stage early enough to be cured but also late enough to dismiss chemotherapy.

“Hindi pa siya nag-sink-in eh. I’m sure hihiwain lang ‘yan, tatanggalin ‘yung lump. Wala yan, I have high tolerance for pain. So parang for me, I thought it’s not that serious, parang denial pa. Talagang nag-hit nung sinabi ng oncologist, ‘I think you might have to do chemo,’” she says.

“[Chemotherapy is like] a combination of your worst hangover and the worst flu combined. In my case, I didn’t puke at all but everything you eat just stays in your stomach. So parang umiikot-ikot lang siya,” she adds.

Siguion-Reyna, on the other hand, had a late breast cancer diagnosis. “Late diagnosis dahil hindi ako nakinig sa aking katawan,” she shares. “’Yun pala may mga signals na ‘yun, nagkakaron ako ng sinat gabi-gabi … I was telling myself, ‘Buti nalang di mataas ang lagnat ko pwede pa ako manood ng sine.’ I did not know na symptoms na pala ‘yun.”

Joaquin says that she was quite fortunate in that her cancer was detected early. “An ounce of prevention is actually tantamount to cure,” explains Dr. Christina Galvez, president of the Philippine Breast Cancer Society.

Galvez adds that the Philippines has the highest number of incidents of breast cancer in Asia, and so events like ‘Pink Ribbon Day’ is essential in supporting Filipino women in the country. “We want to really educate [para] matangal lahat ng fears regarding breast cancer. We hope that we can catch breast cancer in the early stages so that we can aim for cure,” she says.

Horn also says that the event highlights the free clinical breast exam, as this could readily support female attendees who want to get checked but are frightened by the plausible prognosis. “Kasi ‘yung iba natatakot magpa-check. At least eto merong support group, nandito ‘yung mga tao, and then also it’s a free service so parang wala na silang reason not to have it done,” she says.

Asked about the misconceptions the general public has of breast cancer, she says: “People don’t die of breast cancer anymore. It just happens because it’s detected late, that’s why don’t get scared — go out, get checked, because as long as it’s early on, it’s curable.”

Horn says they hope to replicate this event in other SM branches so as to help more women in the communities that SM serves.

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SM Cares is the CSR arm of SM Prime Holdings, Inc. Its advocacies include programs on persons with disabilities, children and youth, women and breastfeeding mothers, environment sustainability, senior citizens, social entrepreneurship and overseas Filipino workers (SM Global Pinoy).

As a responsible integrated property developer, SM ensures that its CSR programs serve as a catalyst for positive change for the community that it serves. To know more about SM Cares, please visit the SM Cares website, SM Cares Facebook page, or e-mail smcares@smprime.com.