Girl with leukemia needs urgent assistance

Rajah Julia Getigan, diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) | Contributed Photo

A two-year-old girl from Barangay Villa Aurora, Antequera, Bohol urgently needs financial assistance to help sustain her ongoing chemotherapy treatment.

Rajah Julia Getigan was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) last June 16, 2020. Two months prior to her diagnosis, unusual physical manifestations began to appear. She was weak and pale. She also had on and off fever. These alarming symptoms prompted her parents to seek for medical attention. As a result, she was admitted at a hospital in Bohol for three times in a span of two months. In order to avail of specialized care and treatment, she was then referred to a hospital in Cebu City. After that, a series of laboratory tests and diagnostic procedures were performed. Her complete blood count showed decreased red blood cell and platelet count. Hence, she was given blood transfusion. Her bone marrow aspiration findings revealed that she has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow that mainly afflicts children. Despite its enfeebling effects, this disease has a high cure rate which means that there is an increased possibility for survival in children. Treatment usually includes intensive chemotherapy.

Other than having cancer, she was also diagnosed last April 2020 with Down syndrome which is a genetic disorder caused by abnormal cell division resulting to an extra chromosome, the small packages of genes in the body. This extra genetic material is the cause of the developmental changes and physical features of this disease. After continuous evaluation of her condition, her medical team diagnosed her last October 2020 with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) which is a type of cancer of the blood in which the bone marrow produces abnormal myeloblasts, a type of white blood cell. This disease usually gets worse quickly if it is not treated.

Rajah Julia’s first dose of chemotherapy was given last June 17, 2020. In order to thoroughly cure her disease, her attending hematologist-oncologist

prescribed a treatment protocol designed to fully eradicate cancer cells in her body. As part of her long battle against cancer, she will also undergo regular check-ups and laboratory workups to closely monitor her condition. Additionally, she needs around P40,000 every month for all her medicines and treatment procedures in Cebu City. At the present, her platelet count is very low. Because of that, she needs to undergo platelet transfusion which includes platelet apheresis that costs around P22,000.

“Baby May,” as she is fondly called by her family, is a lively girl. Even though she has some developmental challenges like she cannot stand or walk alone, yet she has the will to live and the desire to experience life to the fullest. Indeed, she is immensely valued as she is the youngest of the five siblings in the family. By that, affection and care are lavished on her. In order to provide for their growing family, her father works as a driver whose net income is around P7,000 every month. Her mother, a housewife, takes good care of the whole family. Her father’s income is indeed very insufficient to meet both the basic food and non-food needs of the family. Oftentimes, they ran out of money and because of the COVID-19 pandemic, their family is financially burdened. Now that Baby May’s chemotherapy treatment is currently going on, the costly medications and procedures constitute a huge drain on their scanty resources. Thus, the family earnestly pleads for urgent financial assistance from good-hearted and generous individuals to help save Baby May’s life.

Those who wish to donate may contact Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko Foundation Inc. – Cebu through cellphone number 0933-194-0197 or kindly deposit donations directly to Unionbank under account name Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko and account number 00-112-000066-2. Please indicate the name of the patient in the deposit slip. Thank you very much.