Help Jun Fight Pancreatic Cancer (#fightforJun)

UPDATED May 04, 2022. It's my dad's 8th day at the hospital today. He was only supposed to stay for 3 days to have the next chemo round and a couple of blood transfusions to help with his low rbc count. But 2 days after admission, he started experiencing pain in his abdomen and on his side, the intensity of which increased until he had to take his oral pain medication. His oncologist said that it was unusual since the chemo was supposed to control the pain. Not long after, a pain management doctor had to be called in to administer intravenous medication. Next, his oxygen level went down. Then, he started to turn yellow. It started from his eyes and spread down to his legs in less than a day. His jaundice came back and brought along a host of other symptoms – bouts of fever, chills, more pain, weakness, bleeding, infection. An infectious disease doctor was asked to administer intravenous antibiotics, and the gastroenterologist added some medications for my dad’s liver, etc. This morning, the gastroenterologist tried to have my dad undergo another ERCP; it’s to attach another stent to drain the bile building up in his portal vein. The procedure was unsuccessful. The doctor couldn’t get the stent past the tumor. It has grown much bigger since his last (successful) ERCP in September 2021. After this failed attempt, the gastroenterologist and the oncologist decided that my dad should have a biliary drainage. That is, they’re going to use a needle to insert a catheter through his skin into his liver so that the bile can drain into a bag that will be attached to his side. In the meantime, they have him on pain and other medications, antibiotics, oxygen, etc. He’ll also probably need to have another blood transfusion.

Even from where I am, I can feel that the situation this time is different. It’s been wave after wave of complications and symptoms with no lull in between. No time for my dad to rest his weary body and mind. No time for my sister to regain some sense of calm. Even the doctors, there are 5 of them now, are working harder to stop or at least slow down these waves. In the meantime, on top of everything else, my dad (whenever he’s awake which, because of his medications, is only about 15% of the time recently) and sister are constantly worrying about the mounting hospital bills.

So far, the running bill is at about Php 160,000 (¥395,922 yen / $3,044). The biliary drainage procedure will cost around Php 200,000 (¥494,903 / $3,805). So that's going to be more than Php 360,000 (¥890,825 / $6,849).

The hospital has suspended use of my dad’s HMO so he hasn't been able to use it. My sister had to stop working to take care of my dad full time. I’m the only source of steady income. The money I’ve been sending hasn’t even come close to enough to begin with, but now, with the plummeting yen, it’s just become a lot less.

Last night, my sister told me that she’s thinking about selling some of our stuff and adding the money to my dad’s treatment fund. She doesn’t know how to broach the matter with my dad. A few months ago he was just telling her how upset he was already about no longer being able to leave any money behind for us, his family… I wasn’t surprised that that has been on his mind. This is how my dad is. He’s always thinking of us. I hope he understands that the only thing we want is him. We want to continue having him in our lives just as much as he wants to stay in ours.

You can help us fund my dad’s cancer treatment by sending any amount you can give through any of the channels below. Any amount you can share will help my dad afford the means to live his life for as long and as normal as possible. You can also help us raise funds by sharing our campaign on your social media.

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• Recommended for Residents of Japan: Direct deposit or transfer to Kristine Feliciano's (daughter) Japan Post Bank Account

Bank Name: Japan Post Bank

Branch: Japan Post Bank - Tokushima Central Post Office Branch

Account Holder’s Name: Feliciano Kristine Miranda

Account Number: 17233631

Savings Account Code: 16220

* A direct deposit to the JP Bank account can help donors avoid extra charges or fees for transfers or remittances. I will be the one to send the money to my dad and pay for the remittance charge. This way, all the donations can be used to cover medical expenses.

• Options for Residents of Countries Other than Japan

> Direct deposit or transfer to Felix Feliciano's (patient) bank account

Bank Name: Banco de Oro (BDO) Unibank

Branch: Banco de Oro (BDO) Unibank - SM CIty North EDSA D Branch

Account Holder’s Name: Felix G. Feliciano Jr.

Account Number: 012710033824

Routing Code: 010530667

> Send or remit through Karen Feliciano's (daughter) GCash account

Receiver: Karen Feliciano

Mobile Number: 0916 257 5865

> Send or remit through Karen Feliciano's PayPal account

Email address: [email protected]

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For first-time visitors to our fundraising page, here’s a brief summary of the development of the disease and my dad’s treatment.

August 26, 2021: My dad was diagnosed with Stage 3 Pancreatic Cancer. The preliminary diagnostics showed that the tumor had reached his portal vein. The plan was for my dad to undergo 3 cycles of an Abraxane-Gemcitabine chemo to shrink the tumor and have it removed by surgery before he undergoes his last 3 chemo cycles.

February 2022: After his 3rd cycle, my dad had another CT scan and ca19-9 test. The scan showed that the tumor had grown bigger, while the ca19-9 test showed a figure of 80,144. Some smaller tumors were also detected in his liver. The cancer had metastasized and had reached Stage 4. Surgery was no longer an option and the oncologist had him switch to a milder chemo drug.

March 2022: My dad began his chemo treatment with FOLFOX. The procedure requires a 3-day hospital stay. One chemo cycle includes 2 chemo rounds. Each round costs around Php60,000 (¥148,507 / $1,142); so each cycle costs around Php120,000 (¥297,014 / $2,284). In the current treatment plan, my dad will have to continue having chemotherapy for anindefinite period of time.