Almost two-years na nang ma-discover ng mga doctor na meron siyang lymphoma. Na-diagnose ang sakit niya last March 29, 2001.
Bago raw namaalam si Patricia, nag-request ito ng immediate cremation sa kanyang family.
Nag-start ang sakit ni Patricia sa little chest pain na during the time ay graduating siya sa Ateneo University sa kanyang Master’s Degree in Education.
Nang minsang bumisita siya sa doctor sa Makati Medical Center, binigyan siya ng cough medicine at isa pang gamot para sa sakit ng dibdib na nararamdam niya. Pero since nandoon na rin lang siya, pinayuhan na rin siyang magpa-X-ray. "Everything happened so fast. When I was down at the X-ray room, all the friends of my father (the late Ramon Borromeo na isang orthopedic sa Makati Medical Center) were there and they asked why I was there. They had my X-ray rushed. Then they didn’t let me go anymore. They said they had to do a CT-scan. From the CT- scan, the doctor broke the news to me that they suspected it was lymphoma," sabi niya pa.
Nakiusap din no’n si Patricia na maging honest sa kanya ang doctor at huwag itago sa kanya kung anong totoong kalagayan niya. "I told him to be honest with me, not to sugarcoat anything because I was big enough to know the truth," sabi pa niya.
Pansamantalang gumaling si Patricia matapos ang combination ng chemo, dasal at iba’t iba pang natural medicine. Nakapagtayo pa siya ng The Early Academy (TEA) House sa Makati, isang nursery school. "It’s a dream come true for me. Even as a little girl, I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. You’d read in my high school yearbook that I wanted to have my own school," she adds sa nasabing interview ni Ms. Alano.
Nang pansamantala rin siyang gumaling, bumalik siya sa pagmo-model - siya ang finale sa bridal fashion show ni Rhett Eala.
Si Patricia ay ex-girlfriend ni Richard Gomez bago nagpakasal ang actor kay Lucy Torres. Anak siya ni former Miss Philippines Myrna Panlilio at ng the late Ramon Borromeo. – Salve V. Asis