Mom of 5-year-old girl with leukemia looking for more good samaritans

Sophie Marie Amante

A stranger’s random act of kindness reunited leukemia patient Sophie Marie Amante with her father and two siblings in Cebu province last year.

Since 2016, 5-year-old Amante and her mother, Marolyn, have been staying at a charitable institution in Paco, Manila, to make it easier for her to undergo treatment.

“Last December, a good Samaritan picked Sophie from a list of patients at Philippine Children’s Medical Center and asked her what her Christmas wish was. She said she longed to go home to Cebu to celebrate Christmas with the rest of our family. We received P5,000 from the donor,” Marolyn told the Inquirer.

The visit did Amante a lot of good, allowing her to complete the initial cycle of chemotherapy treatment without any complications. She is now on oral medication for the first cycle of a maintenance program.

“She is taking three medicines—Mercaptopurine, Methotrexate and Cotrimoxazole—and will take it for four years,” Marolyn said, adding that one month of medication costs P22,000.

She appealed to other good Samaritans for help as her daughter was also set to undergo intrathecal triple therapy this month. The procedure for Stage 3 leukemia patients aims to treat other cancers that may have entered the central nervous system.

Marolyn Amante can be reached at 0956-6397931. Deposits can be made to her BPI account under her maiden name, Marolyn Cabunillas, with account number 2359-2578-91.