My name is Kristine de Leon. I am a Metastatic Breast Cancer Patient. But this fundraiser is not meant for me instead for our eldest sister. Her name is Filipina, she lives in the Philippines with her husband, three kids and mother-in-law. She recently is a Metastatic Breast Cancer Patient. Like me, she had Stage 2 breast cancer. She was the first one to have it besides me and our mom. Please allow me to give a bit of who she is to me. When we were little kids like every other sibling, we fight a lot over silly things. Probably because we were compared against each other often. When we grew older, everything changed. She is a person who I can rely on and can endure hardships when things get tough. As a mass communications graduate, she has a knack for talking with confidence. A skill that I lack when I was younger. She’s my opposite. I’m an introvert she’s the extrovert. Back in the days when the internet was used only on a desktop or laptop, we rely on her navigating talent. She’s like our talking map. Ask her a place around the city’s capital and she can give you directions, even rerouting us if the road ahead is being repaired. She’s been around the city when she was still studying, goes to auditions for her modeling career, worked for an advertising company and used to be an event organizer. I sometimes get jealous of her because she had the freedom to go where ever and do what I wanted to do at that time, which is being on a runway. Like I said the first time, we often fight when we were younger and even swore I’ll get back at her after she gives birth to my first nephew. After her pregnancy, to my surprise, I did the opposite. I held my beautiful baby nephew and swore to him that I will stop fighting with his mom and help them out as long as I can. I guess the presence of another precious life made me realize that it’s better to live a life where there’s just happiness and peace. After all, it will be so stressful if you constantly bicker with your lifetime best friend over a pair of pants you thought was yours. She’s one tough woman you don’t want to mess with. She is quiet but will join the fight especially if what she’s fighting for is family or friends. I remember her always supporting me and our two sisters whenever we join pageants. Much like our second-stage mom. She would check other candidates that are making the judge's list and make sure other contestants don’t sabotage our belongings. Gives us words of encouragement to make us feel confident before we go out on the stage. She’s a thoughtful partner and a caring mother to her three kids. When she and her own family comes to visit us and our parents in our hometown, we had our own sibling time in one room, we would laugh out loud just because of the silly things we say. Now I’m farther away, we can only make noise via video call. The feeling of happiness is different when you have your siblings physically present to laugh with you. I wish to have that bond again when we visit her and the rest of our family. To laugh out loud with four siblings. Even though we have our illnesses, as long as we can survive them for another year or two, it would mean a lifetime of memories for us. My sister's Medical History: In 2009 her breast cancer diagnosis was stage 2. She had a right mastectomy. After that, she was prescribed to take Tamoxifen as her chemo pills. She only stopped after finding out that she was pregnant with her second son 7 years ago. She breastfed for more or less than 2 months. A little over a year, after the second pregnancy, she got pregnant again with her daughter in 2017. She had a cesarean pregnancy. Breastfed for a couple of months. When she was ready to have another check for her breast cancer, the pandemic happened. For almost 8 years she was not able to go back to her Oncologist for a checkup or continue her medication. Starting in December last year, she felt more back pain and then a stiff neck. She had a series of tests starting with an ultrasound. She was having a hard time moving her neck without pain. My sister was given lidocaine for pain and was advised to do physical therapy. She was able to eat properly for a while but then the pain did not go away. She could not even talk to us when we video chatted because just a slight movement on her head makes the pain unbearable. It was hard to swallow and chew food. Only soups and small portions can pass her mouth. Next was an MRI. The results of her MRI were sure enough sign that her Breast Cancer metastasized in her bones. She already went to an oncologist and the treatment plan for now is every month's injection of XGEVA to protect her bones from getting brittle and for the cancer not to spread further and to other parts of her body. That would be her lifetime medicine. She’s also going back to her tamoxifen pill, pain medication and an anti-hormonal. Right now my sister's family finances are not much to support her lifetime treatment. My family, our siblings, our father and some relatives are also helping. But with other expenses such as schooling for their three children, they need help to at least support her for a couple of months until they can catch up with their bills. I’m asking our friends, close friends, relatives, and even strangers who can donate and help with my sister's treatment. Health care in the Philippines is not like in the United States. It’s much more expensive and does not give many deductions or nonexistent copays. You have to pay a big amount of money for you to get treated. It will be a great blessing for us and we’ll be very grateful for any amount you can give. Thank you so much!
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