Michael okay despite his Hepa C

Curtain-raisers:

• ABS-CBN’s Talk TV, hosted by sweethearts Tintin Bersola and Julius Babao, and Ryan Agoncillo, is good only until (maybe) next Monday, July 22, and then it will be replaced by a new show to be hosted by buddy-buddies Kris Aquino (is it goodbye, Game KNB?), Pops Fernandez and Zsa Zsa Padilla, designed to be pitted against GMA 7’s Sis (hosted by sisters Janice and Gellie de Belen). Suggested title for the show: Krispy Pops Zsa. Hmmmmm. Sounds crispy (with great possibilities), doesn’t it?

• Could it be true that a minor "scandal" happened at a recent starry affair in Guam when two actors were caught by another (senior) actor giving each other the lip service? No, there wasn’t any camera around. Funfare’s Guam DPA swore it was for real.

• Could it be true that the recent FAMAS election was marred by untoward incidents involving, according to the Funfare DPA, "vote-buying, heated arguing that nearly led to violent confrontations" and other ugly eruptions? If that’s the case, FAMAS must have really deteriorated to a point where it’s fast losing its credibility. Will FAMAS president Charlie Arcega enlighten us on this matter?

* * *

You turn on the TV set these days and, sigh, you get depressed with all the sad/bad news, don’t you? Your heart sinks as you watch Alma Moreno shed tears over the lingering news that her estranged husband, Parañaque City Mayor Joey Marquez, continues to have a rendezvous with Kris Aquino, never mind if he’s still legally married to Alma and an annulment case between them is pending in court.

Your heart bleeds as Kristine Garcia tearfully confesses that, yes, she did try to end it all by taking 30-plus sleeping pills after the Big C, removed from her right breast, surfaced in the other breast. But, thank God, Kristine woke up to the reality that, despite her illness, life can be beautiful as long as you have faith in God and entrust yourself in His hands.

Last April when I was in L.A. for an interview with The Rock (star of The Scorpion King), I saw Kristine and her children at the Duty-Free Shop at the airport and she confided to me about her illness, asking to keep it off the record, and that she had just visited a "loved one" aside from seeking treatment in the States. At that time, Kristine hardly looked sick. But on TV these days, she appears much older than her years, her lovely face crumpled in desperation.

Cheer up, Kristine. As they say, while there’s life, there’s hope. Ask Rio Diaz. Or Maritoni Fernandez. Or the hundreds of other women looking straight at the Big C and not blinking.

There’s also Michael de Mesa who was diagnosed last year to be suffering from Hepatitis C, an untreatable disease just like the Multiple Sclerosis Alma Moreno is suffering from. Michael can’t figure out how he got Hepa C, which can be contracted and spread through the use of needles (such as in blood transfusion and injecting prohibited drugs, or even through manicure or during dental treatment if the instruments are not sanitized well) or through indiscriminate sexual practices.

"I don’t know how I got it," said Michael, "but I’m sure it wasn’t through injection of prohibited drugs or through indiscriminate sex. I’ve never been into those practices."

Michael was diagnosed to have Hepa C when he and other family members volunteered to undergo blood testing so they could donate blood to his estranged wife Gina Alajar last year when Gina was hospitalized. "That’s when doctors discovered that I had Hepa C," said Michael.

When you look at Michael today, however, he looks as normal and as healthy as anybody. For a while, he submitted himself to a treatment (preventive, that is, to "incapacitate" the Hepa virus) which would leave him in pain for days, including a chemo-type process that made him lose his hair (he looks better without it, doesn’t he?).

"Besides," smiled Michael, "it was very expensive, so I’m now trying an alternative treatment. The results are okay; I feel better. The treatment includes a hot bath that raises the body temperature to a little over 40 degrees centigrade para daw patayin ’yung virus. It’s a guided and supervised process so people shouldn’t try it themselves without consulting the experts."

Meanwhile, it’s on with the show for Michael who is living by his lonesome away from Gina and their children (still at the family residence in Parañaque City). He’s back onstage in tick tick…Boom!, the rock musical by Rent author Jonathan Larson to be staged from July 26 to Aug. 11 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium at the RCBC Plaza Building in Makati City, with Bobby Garcia directing. Michael plays the main character Jonathan, an artist striving to write the one show that will redefine the landscape of musical theater before he turns 30.

tick tick… Boom! isn’t Michael’s first foray into the legitimate stage. He was also in the musical Proof, also directed by Bobby Garcia and, before that, in Rent which was mounted both in Manila and Singapore where Michael reportedly fell in love with another woman, causing his break-up with Gina.

HBO Sex and the City promo

Here’s the 10th set of questions in the joint Funfare-HBO promo for Sex and the City, for the episode Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda, airing tonight starting at 10 (with a replay on Saturday, July 20, same time):

1. Who’s the guest star on the episode?

2. Who does Lucy Liu hire to represent her?

3. What type of bag is Samantha eyeing?

4. What does Lucy Liu do to Samantha after she finds out that Samantha used her name to get the Berkin bag?

5. Does Miranda abort her baby?

(Note: Send entries – indicating your name, address and title of episode – to: SATC-Funfare Promo, c/o Virtusio PR, P.O. Box 512, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila. Or e-mail to: [email protected]. Meanwhile, here are the winners, so far – For the episode telecast on June 25, My Motherboard, Myself: Carl Cabrera, Stephanie Celorico, Theresa Iceralde, Stella Mer Uy and Joseph O. Lee. For episode telecast on July 2, Sex and the Country: Sol Flores, Smile Face, Guia Yu, Ma. Lucia Marquez, Christopher Tan, Elaine Lim and Licelle Cobrador. The winners get SATC notebooks and posters.)