My Breast Cancer (Vitamin B17 Deficiency) Recuperation Journey

CHEMOTHERAPY 01

Day 0 Chemo 1. Wed. 07/19/2017 5:20PM

Hi! My Journal, Finally I have the time to scribble now. Thanks to my good friend “Noel Jerome Noel”, poking me to get one small notebook and Hurray!!! I’m writing on it now. Ha ha ha!!!

Just finished my first cycle of chemo this morning. So far so good. God is good all the time.

Since I have to rest, I’m charting my meds to make sure I’m able to take everything without fail. In between, I’m reading the books that Jerome, “My Living Guardian Angel” shared to me. God sent him to me exactly on the day (July 14, 2017) when I was told by my surgeon (Dr. Mateo Tipgos) that I have an Invasive Ductal Carcinoma-in-situ, solid type, nuclear grade 2, histologic grade 3, 2.4cm size, no definite lymphovascular invasion, with foci suspicious for perineural invasion, tumor within 0.1cm of the nearest surgical margin.

I told him (Dr. Mateo Tipgos) over the phone “Doki that is a bad joke” ‘coz he is a joker. But he was really very serious, so I asked him what is the first thing I have to do. He said: “Let us ask for second opinion to make sure of the diagnosis.” Obediently, after my clinic on that day, I went to Perpetual Succour Hospital (PSH). God was just so good that right away I was entertained by Dr. Nilepta Lim, the pathologist who taught me Pathology while I was having my OB-Gyne residency training at PSH way back 1996-1999. She agreed with the diagnosis after checking the slides under the microscope. Thus, my surgeon advised surgery as soon as possible.

He said that I could have Lumpectomy and Radiotherapy.

But I reckoned to have modified radical mastectomy (MRM) so that he can give me the complete staging and they can manage me properly to the best of their ability. Thus, I called my anesthesiologist right away, to check if he would be free on June 19, 2017. Once again, God is so good that I have Dr. Johann Hugo as my anesthesiologist.

My anesthesiologist, Dr. Johann Hugo was having a hard time accepting the fact that I have a cancer because he knew that I also joke a lot. Yet I told him that I am not wrong and I don’t do bad joke. Yet I jokingly mentioned to him that if it is possible I will have the 2 breast removed so I could really choose well the size I need for silicon replacements. And we laughed.

I got admitted at PSH on June 18, 2017. My niece, “Sinead Morata” and my sister “Rabbi Morata” were with me. My guardian angel, “Jerome” literally my living guardian angel again came over. I told him it was ok to visit me but on the day of my surgery please don’t come, ‘coz I don’t want you to see me in my most ungroomed moment. But this guardian angel just kept visiting me everyday without fail that when I was discharged on June 22, 2017, he and his sister, “Rachel Noel Caballes” were helping us to carry all our things to our very small car “Kia Picanto”.

God just works in His mysterious ways. Jerome is my prayer warrior to the point that he has to convince his entire family to pray for me and light a candle and had it lighted from early morning until noon as per suggestion of his other sister, “Lia Noel”.

On the day of my admission, my very good friend, “Dr. Claudia Vilma Prado” and her husband, “Sir Anthony” and her beautiful daughter Tonivi came over. Right after surgery all my very good friends came over too. Just it was so untimely for them, as I could not entertain since I was so sleepy that I could not even move a single muscle of my eyes as if I was having Hypokalemia, “when your potassium of your blood is too low.” That’s how knocked out I was with my in vitro transcription and translation (IVTT) Diphenhydramine (Benadryl - intravenous). With that state I could barely tell who came first. My niece, Sinead was the one who mentioned that the following doctors and associates came over: Dr. Maria Christina Aban, Dr. Cytesse Cambronero, Dr. Marissa Garcia, (My IM - Internal Medicine Internist) who cleared me of my surgery,

Dr. Roselyn Cabahug Yu, Jeanie (my Secretary), and 2 other secretaries who happened to be my patient too (Che-che and Maricel) and Dr. Melvic Pimentel-Justimbaste who arrived when I was already awake.

As far as memory goes I remembered Dr. Yvette Garcia, Dr. Lyn Alana Busa,

Dr. Editha “B-B Tiu” Vasquez with her husband “Sir Glenn” came over as well.

My three other good friends are worth mentioning too for their support despite not being able to come. First is Dr. Lizelle Go who had been taking care of Dr. Tyronne Mercader (her long time partner and friend) who had been on dialysis. Second is Dr. Maritess Pepito who had been on duty. Third is Dr. Gina Jiao Cal who’s in Australia.

Before I forget, my cousin Ma. Concepcion “Bebskie” Acosta visited me too. My husband and son I personally instructed on with my niece Sinead not to come over even if he insisted (another story to tell).

Thank you to all of you, from the bottom of my heart.

For almost 3 weeks I’d been trying to accomplish my AM and PM meditation from Sonia Ricotti’s "Unsinkable Bounce Back System” and do the best I can to eat raw vegetables and fruits. I’m obsessed on my watermelon juice ‘coz it has a lot of folic acid and hopefully prevent hair loss in God’s mercy although I am ready to be bald that’s why I have 10 pieces of bandana. For now Let me stop here.