A cancer story

CEBU, Philippines - Carmi Cantina was a typical young adult having the time of her life. She hanged out with friends and took her meals with them; at times even joining the gang in a drinking spree. Like many at her age, she worried over nothing.

She finished her BS Nursing and passed the licensure exam in the same year, and consequently landed her first job as a nurse. By the looks of it, everything was going smoothly for her. But a visit to the doctor changed that ideal picture.

She was 23 when she went to have a lump on her right breast checked. On May 5, 2012, a week after the biopsy, she got the news she so dreaded. She did not break down, though. She did not know what to feel.  She was not in denial. She was on hospital duty at that time, and had to keep herself together. 

It was only when she got home that the bad news began to sink in. Her knees shook. Tears just flowed as she started telling her brother and cousin about it.

She wept as she called up her mom. She told her sorry - sorry that she had cancer. She felt like she was a disappointment to her family. She was, first of all, disappointed with herself.

She was sad, not only because she had cancer, but more because she would be a burden to the family. She did not ask God why it had to be her. She questioned, instead, why it had to come at a time when she was moving full speed forward with her plans in life, particularly on her career.

Her self-confidence dissipated. She felt she was losing in life because she had cancer. She began to feel useless. And helpless - she had nothing in her bank account, and her family was not rich.

And yet she went through the motions. She underwent a total mastectomy to her right breast on July 26, 2012, and started chemotherapy sessions by September. She finished six cycles of chemotherapy without the physical presence of her family. She wanted it that way; she did not want them to see her struggle and suffer.

She has survived the ordeal. The support of family and friends pushed her to fight on. They encouraged her and said kind words that really mattered a lot - ideas that she tended to forget at the time because she was blinded by bitterness and pain. She realized that many people actually wished for her to live. They tried to lift her spirit. 

Her friends set up a Facebook page to reach out to colleagues so they could raise funds for Carmi. The help and support she got was much more than she could imagine. Her support group even grew beyond family and friends.

Many helped financially, including the Eduardo J. Aboitiz Cancer Center. Her doctors, the Cebu Doctors University Hospital, her friends and friends of the family, relatives, and even those she barely knew also helped in a big way.  They all wanted her to live; they made her want to live.

It has been two years now since Carmi was diagnosed with cancer. As of the latest checkups, by God's grace there is no evidence of the disease. Laboratory and diagnostic tests find everything to be normal. She hopes it's totally over. She feels fine, perfectly healthy.

She has learned so many lessons and made a lot of realizations from the experience. Her battle is a testament to the value of family. No words can ever express her gratitude for them, for making her feel she was not alone in the fight. 

All the people who have helped her she considers to be newfound treasures. Through them, she was able to feel God's helping hand. She knows that she is forever indebted to these people, and commits to pay the kindness forward, so that other people with cancer would also find hope.

The statement "God is good, all the time" is no longer just words to Carmi - she has experienced it. She is presently adjusting to life as a breast cancer survivor. It is still a struggle to stick to her prescribed diet.  But she has gone back to work.

Cancer will not stop this lady from pursuing her career. Her life is no longer like before; it is now very different. Cancer has changed her, physically and emotionally. But she is moving on.

Her view of the world has changed, too.  She is now more aware and appreciative of things, great and small. And she is a lot stronger - and more purposeful.

She has taken on a life mission. She wants to be a living proof of God's miracle. So that, by her example, others who have cancer may not give up on life but may have hope instead. (FREEMAN)