Hodgkin lymphoma dashes 20-year-old’s dream to be the first of 4 kids to finish college
Demie Sastre
The youngest in a brood of four, Demie Sastre was on track to be the first among them to graduate from college when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma stage 3 in December 2015.
At that time, she was a sophomore Home Economics student at Bulacan State University in Malolos City. Due to her condition, she was forced to quit school.
Under a social service charity program at St. Luke’s Medical Center, the 20-year-old went through 18 cycles of chemotherapy in 2016 and 2017.
“I will undergo a stem cell transplant procedure this month. Doctors will harvest some of my good cells. These will be preserved, protected and returned to my body after high-dose therapy kills all the bad cells,” she said.
Sastre asked Inquirer readers for help in raising the P1.5 million needed for the operation.
Her father is still recovering from a stroke, her mother is a vendor, while her three siblings have families of their own to look after.
“I’m praying for a miracle,” said Sastre who can be reached at 0965-0542244. Donations can be deposited in her BDO account (Demie Sastre, 007780-1336-53).
