MANILA, Philippines - Sonia Roco only found about former senator Raul Roco's disease by accident.

It was during a vacation in El Nido, Palawan. She was with her husband and relatives on a boat when it capsized, prompting them to return to shore.

Sonia was able to reach dry land immediately, but her husband had to go back to save their grandchild.

His blood pressure went up, requiring him to visit the doctor -- and this was when they found out that he has prostate cancer.

"Although he was hurting, he did not show it to the public. Even I did not know what he was feeling," said Roco, who said that her husband went on with his job at the Senate as if nothing was wrong.

The senator even pushed through with the 2004 presidential campaign, which took a huge toll on his health. The following year, he succumbed to prostate cancer.

"He thought he can handle it. He thought he was superman...When he finally decided to focus on his health, I think it was too late," Roco said.

She shared how the disease, said to kill one man every 19 minutes worldwide, left traumatic -- even damaging -- effects on her family.

Prostate cancer, dubbed as the "silent killer of men," has resulted in over 4,000 new cases and 2,000 deaths in the country in 2005.

Since the disease doesn't normally show symptoms, men are advised to have their prostate specific antigen (PSA) -- a protein produced almost exclusively by the prostate -- checked regularly.

The prostate is a walnut-sized reproductive organ of males found near the urinary bladder.

Reducing the risk

Learning from her experience, Roco now aims to represent her husband to tell men to take care of their health, and to remind women to look after their male loved ones.

"With the breakthrough on the cure of prostate cancer, I will be the first to recommend it to men," she said.

Roco was referring to the newest indication of dutasteride, a drug formulated to reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

The Philippines is said to be the first country in Asia to have the medication, which lowers the chances of getting the disease by as much as 31.4% for patients with family history on top of the 23% overall risk reduction.

The drug, recently introduced by GlaxoSmithKline, has also been approved by the local Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).

The global pharmaceutical company said it has slashed the price of dutasteride by 46% in March under its ValueHealth program to make it more affordable to the Filipino public. -- Photos by Mitch de Leon, abs-cbnNEWS.com