Anthony Taberna's daughter now cancer-free
MANILA, Philippines — Broadcaster Anthony Taberna’s daughter Zoey is now cancer-free.
In her Facebook account, Zoey posted a video of what she has gone through in battling cancer.
"As some of you know, I was diagnosed with leukemia on December 2019. Since then, I have been undergoing chemotherapy. Everything was going on smoothly, and complications were very minimal. My hair had grown a lot and I was getting back to feeling normal, as I could do a lot more things than I could when I was weaker," Zoey opened her lengthy statement.
"But my situation changed when December 2021 came. During this time, I would not feel well often and several parts of my body were hurt. When they brought me to the hospital, they did tests and said that I had problems with my blood sugar because it was way higher than it was supposed to be. Some doctors said it was caused by my steroid medications, and by over consumption of sugar,” she added.
Zoey said her cancer cells came back in more fatal form.
"But as they looked into it more, after getting the results of my bone marrow aspiration, we found out that my acute lymphoblastic leukemia had morphed into acute myeloid leukemia. And this meant that all of the cancer cells that was supposed to be long gone, came back in a way more dangerous and fatal form. I had a hard time understanding why this was happening because from the start, my doctors said that this situation was very rare,” she said.
"I was supposed to repeat all my chemotherapy again in the Philippines, but of course, my parents wanted the better option, so that we could be sure that I will be fully healed. My doctors recommended for us to go to Singapore because medical care is really good there. So my parents did their best to find a way for us to get there, even during the pandemic. Luckily, we were given permission to go. All of this happened in a span of just 3 weeks so i really still couldn't process everything in my mind,” she added.
Zoey said she needed to undergo bone marrow transplant and two chemotherapy cycles.
"We left home on the 3rd week of January. When we got there, almost immediately, the chemo started. My doctor explained to us that I would be having 2 chemo cycles and a bone marrow transplant. Because I needed a transplant, we needed a donor,” she said.
"So my parents and my sister got tested. And luckily, my sister was the perfect match, so she became my donor. Helga being my donor didn't worry me much because the doctor said that it was just like a blood transfusion. But after a while, we found out that Helga would also have to go through multiple procedures. Like often blood extractions and different injections. I started feeling guilty because I'm the reason why she has to do it,” she added.
Zoey said they needed to stay in Singapore to observe her condition after the transplant and now she is cancer-free.
“Seeing myself get better every day made me so happy and grateful. We would encounter small complications here and there, but they're nothing big. Some of our family and friends also visited me, and distracted me in the times I wouldn't feel okay,” she said.
"We also had a lot of fun there when i became stronger. And the day I've been waiting for came! After 167 long days, we went back home to the Philippines. And now i am totally cancer free! I would still have checkups and maintenance drug infusions from time to time, but that is nothing compared to what I've been through," she added.
