Help Our Mom Beat Breast Cancer

Help Our Mom Beat Breast Cancer

Dear Family and Friends, we are first and foremost asking everyone to please send prayers of healing to our mother, Imelda. As many of you know, cancer is evil and nasty but our family stands tall and determined to fight with her, every step of the way.

January 25, 2019 - My mom had a successful Thyroidectomy (complete removal thyroid gland) weeks after she noticed a presence of a lump on her neck. After the operation, she was advised to have her follow up checkup after a year to check the status. February 2020, she went to the doctor believing that it was only a follow up checkup, nothing else.

However, during the session, the doctor felt a lump on her breast which is too small to be easily noticed. He then urgently advised my mom to have it removed asap. The family agreed but we were not really prepared of what happened next, no one will ever be.


On 18th March 2020, she had her ‘supposed to be’ lumpectomy (surgery to remove abnormal tissue from your breast). With the doctor was a pathologist to examine the specimen right after it was removed. After hours of waiting, the doctor went outside the operating room to deliver the news. The lump was malignant – cancerous. The whole breast tissue had to be removed. Thus, mastectomy (surgery that removes the entire breast) was done.

You can imagine how it had come as a complete shock to our family. We were thinking what’s next?

While waiting for other comprehensive tests/biopsy results (2-3 weeks), my mom had to go back to the hospital once every week for monitoring. The biggest challenge we had was dealing with Enhanced Community Quarantine rules due to the Covid-19. She was only assisted by my uncles and my father up to hospital’s entrance. She would go inside then alone. Also, no open oncologists’ clinics until ECQ has been lifted. We were expecting for it to be lifted by May 1, 2020 but rather, it was extended for another 15 days. The surgeon his self was not really comfortable that we have to wait another 15 days to have my mom checked with an oncologist.

May 1, 2020, the surgeon had a talk with an oncologist and agreed to check my mom’s situation Currently, the oncologist and I are just having consultation and instructing us for the next steps through viber! Now we have to prepare for the medication.

My mom is scheduled to have her first chemotherapy session on May 6, 2020 if all blood tests and organ ultrasound are normal. We were informed that she’ll undergo at least 6 sessions (still for checking after 6 sessions) which will be administered every 3 weeks. Each session will cost 30,000+ for medicine itself, plus doctor’s fee, and plus other hospital fees. We are about to ask for help for institutions such as PCSO once documents are completed. After chemotherapy, she’ll undergo radiation therapy.

After series of operations for the past months, which had costs us hundreds of thousands, I’m starting to fear that we would be running out of financial support for her medical needs due to lots of uncertainties. Due to ECQ, for almost 2 months, I am the only one who could still able to work, thanks for the work from home arrangement.

The idea of having to stop these treatments in the future would be really devastating. So we are asking our families and friends if you have any extra cash to help my mom fight for her life. Seeing our parents dealing with these difficulties is a heart crashing moment and this is the least we all could do to help.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. If you have any further questions or would like to send the money directly to me, you can do so at:

BPI:

John Erwin Reyes

1620 0096 24


GCASH: 09175910110

Email: [email protected]


Thank you so much for your support!

-Erwin, EJ, Ivan.