IT WAS the tenth year the Survivors’ Day was celebrated last Saturday, and yes, the celebration is literal.
This is about cancer survival of children. You have permission to cry now.
It was in 2007 when Doc Mae Concepcion J. Dolendo thought of celebrating life.
In 2007, children with cancer from poor families had very little chance of survival, just around 10 percent simply because there was no other facility in the whole of Mindanao that attends to the poor. Doc, incidentally was but one of three pedia-oncologists in the whole of Mindanao. One was in Zamboanga, the other in Davao City but chose not to practice his specialization. That left Doc Mae to wage a long hard battle.
Doc Dolendo said the picture was so grim, they had to hang on to the tiniest glimmer of hope, and that glimmer was found in the few survivors. The message was, cancer is curable. But early detection is key.
December 8 is Doc Mae’s birthday, and so she decided to celebrate life with the children. There were just 35 patients and survivors, and so she can afford to treat them all.
Now, there are over a thousand with an average of 250 patients a year and growing in the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) where the humble beginnings of the Cancer Institute took shape. From a 5-bed corner of the pediatric ward, it is now a 50-bed pedia-onco department accepting children from all over Mindanao, and of late... even from outside Mindanao.
As Doc Mae said, they do run out of medicines and medical essentials considering the humongous expense they have to contend with every day. But what they do not run out of us the love from the community.
“This teamwork, multidisciplinary approach is the secret of our success,” Doc Mae said in Saturday’s Survivors Day.
As the celebration progressed, hundreds of children, many bald, just as many wearing masks like it was their necklaces, and just as many bald with mask-necklaces... went up or were helped up the stage.
The first notes of Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” played. Their shrill voices sang in different notes and tones and rhythm, as over a hundred children would tend to do.
I lost it, and just felt my eyes water as they segued to the chorus. I wanted to just sit down and sob.
I love Fight Song. It’s my gimme a boost song. But it never gave me the punch in the tummy as when these children sang it. Because for them, they are literally fighting for their lives. I cry.
This is my fight song
Take back my life song
Prove I'm alright song...
My power's turned on
Starting right now I'll be strong
I'll play my fight song
And I don't really care if nobody else believes
'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me.
*****
saestremera@gmail.com