Survivors Speak

ICONS OF HOPE: Jo-Ann Camacho

ICONS OF HOPE: Jo-Ann Camacho

Jo-Ann Camacho “Our lives are always worth the fight!” I thought I was immortal and will never get sick. However, I found out that I was vulnerable as well. I was humbled tremendously. I was on vacation around October 2023 when I felt a hard lump in my right breast...

ICONS OF HOPE: Marge Jorillo

ICONS OF HOPE: Marge Jorillo

Marge Jorillo Vice President for Corporate Communications, GSIS Board of Trustees Member and Treasurer, ICanServe Foundation “Totoo pala, your life truly does flash before you.” I found out I had breast cancer in May 2005, thanks to the reddish brown discharge I had...

ICONS OF HOPE: Triple Negative Breast Cancer Survivors

ICONS OF HOPE: Triple Negative Breast Cancer Survivors

Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) Survivors Gina Torres Evangelista Jhalyn Mancenido Siwa “To our newly-diagnosed sisters, know that you are not alone.” GINA TORRES EVANGELISTA, Certified Aromatherapist I was diagnosed in March 2009 with Stage IIIC Triple Negative...

ICONS OF HOPE: Bettina Aboitiz

ICONS OF HOPE: Bettina Aboitiz

Bettina Aboitiz “I almost forget I ever had cancer.” In 2014, during a routine screening, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I didn’t have a lump, no pain, no symptoms. It was just another annual check-up. But that mammogram caught something I never would have found...

ICONS OF HOPE: Dr. Ces and Dr. Peachy

ICONS OF HOPE: Dr. Ces and Dr. Peachy

Dr. Cecilia R. Montales Executive Assistant for Health, City Government of Taguig Patient Services Committee Chair, ICanServe Foundation Dr. Marie Irene R. Sy Executive Assistant for Health, City Government of Taguig "Cancer reminded us that doctors are not...

ICONS OF HOPE: Abbygale Arenas de Leon

ICONS OF HOPE: Abbygale Arenas de Leon

ABBYGALE ARENAS DE LEON Certified Image Consultant, Managing Director, Personi-fi Image Studio, Inc. Binibining Pilipinas - Universe 1997 “Small victories matter; celebrate them.” Early detection is a lifesaver — it gives you the best chance to fight and win. I...

ICONS OF HOPE: Malou Fores

ICONS OF HOPE: Malou Fores

MALOU FORES, co-founder and CEO of Mamou “I value and cherish every waking moment that I am blessed with.” If my cancer journey has taught me one thing, it is that nothing is permanent, and that life is determined by the choices and decisions we make for ourselves…...

ICONS OF HOPE: Bibeth Orteza

ICONS OF HOPE: Bibeth Orteza

BIBETH ORTEZA, writer, actor, director, spokesperson and member, board of trustees, ICANSERVE Foundation “I find the humor in my tumor.” I’ve always never given in to despair or sadness — not as a child, not even when I was diagnosed. During my fourth chemo in March...

ICONS OF HOPE: Frances Yu

ICONS OF HOPE: Frances Yu

FRANCES YU, Director, Nena’s Sanctuary Independent Director, Century Pacific Food, Inc. and Shakey’s Pizza Ventures, Inc. “I learned to value life in a way that I did not before.” In everything that happens to me, I try to see and be grateful for the obvious, and also...

ICONS OF HOPE: Doctor Moms

ICONS OF HOPE: Doctor Moms

Cora and Dr. JC Masangkay Irene Lee and Dr. Chelsea Manalansan Mimi and Dr. David Martin “Our children inspired us to keep fighting. Now that they are doctors, they care for us like no one else can.” We were all diagnosed around 20 years ago, when our children were...