A CEBUANO resident doctor of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) has been recognized by a United States-based medical research institute for her case study on a rare genetic disease.
Cheryl Baco of the CCMC Department of Internal Medicine has been chosen by the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance in Washington DC and the LAM Foundation as the first Filipino to join the group as a medical correspondent.
“There is a need to document such rare disease as its impact on patients is very difficult. The world needs to see the magnitude of the problem so that we can quantify how many are actually affected,” she told reporters yesterday.
Tuberous Sclerosis is a genetic disease that causes noncancerous tumors to grow in many parts of the body especially in the brain, kidneys, heart, lungs and skin, among others. This occurs in one per 10,000 births.
Baco started the study last November after an 18-year-old female from Barangay Inayawan was brought to CCMC for uncontrolled seizures.
She also had lesions on the face, toenails and back, which her parents assumed were symptoms of a skin disease. The girl was also diagnosed with epilepsy when she was four and was on anti-epileptic medication since then.
But upon detailed examination, it was found that there were nodules on her brain and the sonogram revealed multiple benign kidney cysts.
“I’m glad to have diagnosed it earlier because in that way, we can help the patient. There is also a need for the people to be educated on this because there might be similar cases, but not enough medical attention,” Baco said.
The patient is now in Bantayan Island after she was discharged from the hospital and showed improvement.
She, however, has to take maintenance medicine for her seizures for the rest of her life as experts have yet to find a cure.
Councilor Mary Ann delos Santos, deputy mayor for health, said the recognition proves that despite the absence of an actual hospital building, the City’s doctors are competent.
Baco left for Washington last night to join the other correspondents from 52 countries for the 2017 International Research Conference for tuberous sclerosis.