In early January this year, I felt a tiny lump in my left breast and was not bothered by it not until March to April when it grew big and hard. I consulted my ob-gyne cousin who suggested that it should be removed sooner. I opted for the first week of June because I was very busy with the UP Alumni Association Cebu Chapter’s preparations for the Centennial of UP Cebu which culminated in May 3. My cousin left for a new job in the Caribbean on the first week of May and recommended her friend surgeon to do the lumpectomy on June 9.
The results revealed that I have Stage II breast cancer and is invasive. The first thing I did was tell a few friends and former students one of whom (Eileen Mangubat, former CDN publisher) suggested that I should have a good breast doctor and recommended one. I visited not only a good breast doctor but also a medical oncologist, Dr. Ellie May Belarmino-Villegas (who is also a former student) who explained thoroughly to me the biopsy results, the stages and the procedures to undergo. Surgery and chemotherapy were the most common procedures mentioned. Honestly, I have always been wary of chemotherapy. However, I have always been open to removal of the breast if it is in an invasive situation. Then Dr. Villegas prescribed me to undergo 12 procedures before the breast surgery which included ultrasound of the liver and the whole abdomen, and total body bone scan. I later realized that they were very helpful.
As I informed a few former students about my condition, I got a call from a former student in UP Cebu High School, oncologist Dr. Marc Denver Yray, who offered to do the operation together with his anesthesiologist wife, Anesa. I could not understand my feeling when I heard the offer because together with the offer came various assistance and support from a few batches of former students and friends. It was from Dr. Yray that I learned about the Z Package Benefits of PhilHealth which covers the surgical fees of cancer patients who are qualified. Two hospitals are implementing this Package, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center and Perpetual Succour Hospital and I chose the former. What a big relief.
The breast surgery was scheduled August 22 because I still had commitments from August 2 to 15. The days before, during, and after the surgery were very meaningful and memorable to me.
Texts, messages, and calls came one after the other extending their financial support, masses and prayers which made me forget how serious breast cancer is. The evening before the surgery, they started coming including Rev. Fr. Glenn Tito Pascual, CSsR, who came with two seminarians and prayed over me. Then the big event came. I was brought to the operating room before six in the morning ( the operation ran for two hours and I was in the recovery room for four hours) and brought back to my room at two in the afternoon where a handful of friends and former students awaited.
The path to surgery was challenging as I approached various agencies and dealt with institutional policies and listened to medical opinions and experiences. The road to recovery has been smooth, consoling, reassuring, and heartwarming because of friends, former students, and colleagues who prayed hard and endlessly for me. I have never felt so prepared for a great challenge in my life because of generous and thoughtful people surrounding me and those reaching out to connect with me. I am very grateful to all of you who expressed and preferred to keep quiet your thoughts, concern, and love. I am into another chapter in my life and you are the leading characters. Meantime, I would like to enjoy my recovery whatever it brings me.
Lest I forget, I have to commend the staff of Drs. Marc Denver and Anesa Yray especially Dr. Gamallo who was so accommodating in my processing of Z papers. Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center has not impressed me before but when I frequented the Center for my Z application, I was struck by the big change from sloppy to a first class medical center especially the PhilHealth section. Even those who visited me in the hospital were also very impressed.
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