ZAMBOANGA CITY - At least 500 women, clad in pink clothes, marched on the streets of Zamboanga City on Tuesday to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Even senior citizens up to 60 years old joined the "Pink October Walk" to support the health advocacy.

Felicita Ricarda, from Barangay Canelar, said she has been participating in the Pink October Walk for 3 years now.

She said that she wants to promote awareness of the disease because she and her family members are susceptible to it.

The Philippine Breast Cancer Network, an alliance of breast cancer survivors and fighters, estimates that about 1 million women aged 35 to 54 develop breast cancer without knowing it, and almost 500,000 die from it yearly.

The group also states in their breast cancer fact sheet that the Philippines "has the highest incidence rate of breast cancer in Asia."

In his 2005 speech during Pink October activities that year, Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat said that the disease also affects about 200 men a year.

"Early detection is very important, for it cuts breast cancer deaths by at least 25%," he said.

This year, the congressional district is trying to raise at least P10 million for the rehabilitation of what is planned to be the Zamboanga City Medical Center's breast cancer center.

This is supposed to serve as a clinic for consultations and breast examinations.

Araceli Duran, president of the Local Council for Women in Zamboanga, said local residents found ways to donate cash in the breast cancer donation box.

"They realize the importance of their donations and what it can do for prevention and early detection [of breast cancer]," she said. Report by Dyborrhae Jewel M. Reyes, ABS-CBN Zamboanga with additional reports from abs-cbnNEWS.com.