Cancer ni Rommel blessing
How could a fitness buff like Rommel Adducul have acquired what is termed as ‘‘nasophrayngeal cancer’’? He neither smokes nor drinks, pero para maintindihan na lang natin ang lahat: It happens to the best (and the heal thiest) of us.
A cancer type common among Asians, kung hindi pa raw napansin ng Purefoods teammate ni Rommel na si James Yap ang bukol sa kanyang leeg, the former would have dismissed it as a normal growth brought about by colds or runny nose. Thanks to Rommel’s wife, Dr. Jocelyn Cobankiat (they were married in 2007), kung saan ang inakala rin nilang lump na dala lang ng simpleng sipon ay hindi kinaya ng antibiotics intake for two weeks.
Biopsy was immediately made, only to find out na nasa stage 3 na pala ang sakit ni Rommel. Although he was diagnosed to be positive of cancer, his chances of survival are high. Having undergone half of the six-cycle, 35-session chemotherapy, so far, the results are unexpectedly amazing: Umiimpis kundi man nalulusaw na ang bukol in Rommel’s nasopharynx (the air space at the back of the nose and above the soft part of the palate).
But it won’t be until June kung kailan matatapos ang proseso, within which may panahon na kailangang ma-confine si Rommel sa ospital for one straight week for about three times.
Aminado si Rommel, with a towering height of 6’6”, that going through it all is difficult just as it is weakening. ‘‘Pero kailangan gawin,’’ sey niya, at this present stage kung saan tanggap na niya ang dumapong sakit.
At first, isa lang daw ang namutawi sa kanyang bibig: ‘‘God, why me?’’ In reality, hindi lang naman dahil sa karamdaman tayo dumadaan sa ganung stage, even man-made tragedies entail thought-provoking questions na hinahanapan natin ng kasagutan.
Without sounding too book-dependent, we go through several stages: From shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression all the way to a acceptance. The way I perceive Rommel’s state, nasa huling stage na siya, where the amazing part of it is that he considers his disease much more of a blessing than a curse.
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On The Ricky Lo Exclusives tomorrow night on QTV 11, get inspired by Rommel’s accepting stance and insights tungkol sa kanyang sakit. It was when he came face-to-face with Tito Ricky that they both discovered na pareho pala sila ng birthday (April 21), the same day the interview took place!
But more than that is my discovery that while his team lost to the Sta. Lucia Realtors, Rommel stands out as a winner in the game called life.
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