A Meaningful Heart's Day 2012

Before and After Sendong, Image courtesy of lccdo.com

As a project in school, our class sold roses for V-day, and all our proceeds will be for the rehabilitation of Sendong through our partner university in Cagayan de Oro. Sendong is a catastrophic tropical storm that happened last year in the southern part of the Philippines, and it had taken at least 1,257 lives. I sold a total of 6 bouquets, that's about USD220..whee! :) I'm really happy to have taken part in this worthwhile activity, it just feels incredible to help and serve others. Try to google Sendong images, and the results will tell the story of its wrath. Peace and love everybody, and Happy Heart's day to all! :) :) :)

Beat Cancer While Pregnant!

Image courtesy of @teamroxy on Twitter

I love it when I run into these great articles in my own blog. AJC: For Pregnant Women with Cancer, Chemo Possible talks about the safety of pregnancy with chemotherapy, no matter what type of cancer. This will mean the world to a lot of hopeful moms out there who think that having cancer necessitates terminating their babies. If this is your story, I suggest you also follow @teamroxy on twitter. Roxanne is a breast CA survivor who beat cancer while pregnant, and is now blessed with a beautiful, healthy baby girl! Life is indeed amazing! :)))

Ate in Arizona

My Mom and sister Eunice at Evan's mom's house in AZ

We just tearfully bid my sister goodbye, who is now on her way to Arizona to live there and be with her husband. It will be a long flight for her, she'll be landing in LA, and then take another flight to Tucson. We are vigorously rooting for babies, little Lytles, lol!

In addition to the Grand Canyon (which is absolutely breathtaking) and Sedona (another incredible scenic spot), another great thing about Arizona is the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center located in Phoenix/Scottsdale. Affiliated with the National Cancer Institute of the US, Mayo Clinic is a leader in cancer research and patient care. They offer an extensive range of clinical trials for different types of cancers. It really is as amazing as the Grand Canyon! To find out how you could participate in their clinical trials, visit their site cancercenter.mayo.edu.

Oh, and another fave in Arizona? Why, the famous El Guero Canelo, of course! Try their Sonoran hotdogs and other authentic Mexican food. Yum, makes me crave for one right now! :)

Headache??

Headache? Take a quick stress reliever. This is sure to make you laugh. It's so Asian, LOL. Just a note, Siang Pure Oil is like a peppermint or menthol liniment in Thailand. In the Philippines, we have Efficascent Oil and White Flower that help relieve headaches, dizziness and nasal congestion.

Exemestane: Found to Harm Bones

Image courtesy of drugs-expert.com

Heads up on the drug Aromasin (generic name: exemestane), which is taken to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer. New findings show that Aromasin leads to the weakening of bone structure. (READ: NY Times: Cancer Deterring Drug Found to Harm Bones)

Each patient profile is different, and the effects of this drug may vary from one person to the next. It is still best to discuss this and your options with your doctor.

Cheers, and let us continue to the fight against cancer!

New Drugs, Lost Patents Spell Hope

Image courtesy of http://blisstree.com

I just read an article on Roche's new breast cancer drug Pertuzumab (READ: Roche Breast Cancer Drug Pertuzumab Gets FDA Priority Review), and two things got me really excited:

Firstly, another new drug for Her2-positive breast cancer patients that could potentially reduce the risk of a worsening disease. Her-2 breast CA is an aggressive type of cancer, and less prone to hormonal medications. Having more options for Her2-positive patients are exciting and uplifting.

Secondly, and I think more exciting than the first, is that Herceptin (Generic: Trastuzumab) will be off-patent in just a few years. This means that other companies will also be able to produce Trastuzumab, and prices will significantly go down. According to wikipedia, Herceptin costs about USD70,000 for a full course of treatment. The price is inconceivably high, especially where I come from. Even doctors from the UK have questioned the price of Herceptin (READ: The Guardian: Doctors Question the High Price of Cancer Drug Herceptin).With the loss of patent, I can imagine how many more patients worldwide will gain access to this incredibly expensive medicine.

Mangosteen: The Queen of All Fruits

Image courtesy of www.liveinthephilippines.com

The Philippines has an abundance of delicious, tropical fruits that also have medicinal value. One of them is the mangosteen, also deemed "the queen of fruits." Mangosteen is rich in antioxidants, including xanthones, which are believed to help fight cancer. The mangosteen fruit has a dark purple skin, and inside are white pulps that are sweet, tangy and melt-in-your-mouth yummy.

Harvest season is from August to October; it's not that easy to buy. However, there are some mangosteen products available year-round, including juice, jam, tea and health supplements. Of course, the real fruit is still the best!

To know more about mangosteen as it relates to cancer, just click on this link: cancer.org--mangosteen

What are the odds?

What are the odds of getting cancer? The numbers may be against us,but we can do something about it! Stand up, spread the word and fight fight fight! Peace and love everyone, and thank you to my readers from around the world for taking time to read my cancer blog :)))

Chemistry is a Necessity!

 A good match with your oncologist is extremely important. Choosing the right doctor goes beyond his credentials. Because cancer care is lifelong, it is essential to be in the hands of someone you trust and get along with. And that would really depend on your personality and his. Some people may want a no-frills, straight-to-the-point kind of doctor. Others would rather have a nice, caring touch. Two doctors may mean the same thing but are dissimilar in how they say it. That spells a huge difference for a cancer patient. It's pretty much like getting into a relationship. You can't really stick your finger into it, you just know if he's the right one for you. In a word: CHEMISTRY!

Meet Dr. John Querol. He is my mom's oncologist, and he is heaven sent. He's handsome, funny, bubbly, genuinely caring and intelligent. A perfect match for my mom! :)

Where to find him: He has clinic at The Medical City Room 1412, MWTHS 10-12nn. He can also be found at VMMC and Marikina Valley Medical Center.

Overcome Illness with Faith

Image courtesy of http://romeitaly.ca

It is February 5, and today Italy is celebrating the Day for Life. Read comforting words from Pope Benedict as he draws inspiration from Sunday's Gospel through radiovaticana. At this day and age, I still believe in miracles and healing through faith. Cheers to all and have a blessed Sunday! :)

St. Peregrine: Patron Saint of Cancers

St. Peregrine Laziosi Parish, Muntinlupa, Philippines

Happy Sunday Philippines and hello to the rest of the world! :) A little fact about the Philippines: We are the only Christian country in Asia. Weird, isn't it? Credit that to our 300 years of Spanish colonization. Anyway, this morning, our family heard mass at the St. Peregrine Laziosi Parish along National Highway, Tunasan, Muntinlupa. St. Peregrine is an Italian saint, and he is honored by the Roman Catholic Church as a patron saint for cancer patients. He is known for the cancer on his leg, which miraculously healed after a night of prayer. To know more about his life, visit catholic.org.

Allow me to share with you a prayer to St. Peregrine for one suffering from cancer:

"Dear St. Peregrine, I need your help. I feel so uncertain of my life right now. This serious illness makes me long for a sign of God's love. Help me to imitate your enduring faith when you faced the ugliness of cancer and surgery. Allow me to trust the Lord the way you did in this moment of distress. I want to be cured, but right now I ask God for the strength to bear the cross in my life. I seek the power to proclaim God's presence in my life despite the hardship, anguish and fear I now experience.

O Glorious St. Peregrine, be an inspiration to me and petitioner of those needed graces from our loving Father. Amen."

Best time to go to St. Peregrine Laziozi Parish: The Healing mass is at 2:30PM. After the mass, worshipers line up to touch the relics and receive healing.

How to go: Take the South Super Highway, and exit at Susanna Heights. Just follow the road till you reach a stoplight. Turn right, then just go straight about 300-500 meters. You won't miss the church on your right.

Feb 4 is World Cancer Day!

February 4 is World Cancer Day. Stand Up and Do Something! Visit worldcancerday.org to see the cancer awareness events happening around the world. It's actually really cool. And of course, keep visiting this blog, where I post an entry a day on our experiences in fighting cancer, and how you can do it too! Let's all be more vigilant, fight fight fight! :)

QUIT SMOKING!

Image courtesy of helpmestopsmoking.org.uk

This is a very touchy topic for me because it is too close to home. My father is addicted to smoking. He has always been a chain smoker, consuming countless packs of cigarettes a day. Now he limits himself to a few sticks, but he really just can't get himself to go cold turkey. As a child, I remember ripping apart his cigarettes, hiding his lighters and throwing them all away to get him to quit. When I was 9 years old, I got detained by airport officials in the Middle East because they found a lighter in my pocket. It was quite a scary experience for me because it was a foreign land, and the ladies who detained wore black robes, and even their faces were covered with black veils. I recall being separated from my mom and sister, and I was being questioned in a small room.

I was driving when I found out that my mom had a mass in her lung. I got a call from my dad, and I screamed a him and I kept screaming inside the car until I already tasted blood on my throat. I was shaking and crying and screaming the entire trip to the hospital. There was so much anger directed at my father. I love him very much, but I hate the fact that he just can't get himself to quit smoking.

I have never smoked my entire life. My number one rule in dating is that he doesn't smoke. I cringe at the smell of it, and to be honest, it just makes me want to throw up. I went to Hong Kong last December, and I just hated the entire city because everyone was smoking left and right.

To whoever is reading this, if you're a smoker, please quit smoking. Tobacco is the leading cause of cancer in the world. If you can't do it for yourself, please be mindful of others. I'm sorry that I can't relate to your addiction, and I don't know how you feel when you say that it's just so incredibly difficult to quit. But maybe if you think about people who are fighting to live every single day, you would think twice before lighting up.

Pendant for Pain?

Just a few months ago, my mom was experiencing this unbearable pain on her arm. On a scale of 1-10, she would say it was a 10 or 11. She was literally screaming in pain, and while she was given pain killers and underwent physical therapy sessions, that didn't really help to stop the pain completely. It has brought me tears also because I felt I wasn't doing enough to help her. Fortunately, her dear friend Cynthia learned about my mom's condition, and gave her a quantum pendant from Malaysia to be worn everyday. Quantum pendants are said to have scalar energy that in turn boosts energy, reduces pain and protects from harmful radiation. My mom did wear it, and in just a couple of days, NO PAIN. We were shocked.

Now, I'm a natural skeptic, and I must admit, I did have some hesitation into writing this entry because people might think I'm a crazy scammer. But I've seen the effect of the quantum pendant on my mom, and it really does work! BUT I do have to say, be wary of fake pendants, which seem to be everywhere. I don't really know how to check the real one from a fake, but like in all online purchases, buy from a reliable source and do a lot of research. The price of a real quantum pendant would be about 150USD, but to see my mom completely relieved of her pain, priceless! :)