7-year-old leukemia patient tells parents not to lose hope

Mark Anthony Antoc Jr.

Giving up the fight against cancer is not an option for 7-year-old Mark Anthony Antoc Jr., whose goal is to take care of his parents when they get older.

A cough, nonstop fever and stomach pain in May 2019 kept Antoc going back to a hospital in Valenzuela City for blood transfusions.

Doctors, however, could not determine his specific illness so they referred him to the Philippine Children’s Medical Center where he underwent an operation for a lump in the armpit in January 2020.

Since then, Antoc has been undergoing chemotherapy after he was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia.

“The young boy’s determination to live longer is unwavering,” said his mother, Guia Villarin. “He’s the one who is sick, he’s the child … yet he’s the one teaching us not to lose hope.”

A kidney ailment has left her husband unable to work so the couple and their three children rely only on the P1,200 monthly allowance Villarin gets from volunteering as a barangay tanod, along with the assistance given to them by her in-laws.

The family, however, owes the hospital P190,627 for Antoc’s six chemotherapy cycles. He has completed all but the last one because, this time, they cannot afford the tests required before each session.

“The doctor has been asking me when we can go back for my son’s chemo but we don’t even have the money for the swab and X-ray tests he needs to undergo before we can go to the hospital,” Villarin said. The family needs P2,100 for both tests.

Those who would like to donate can deposit any amount into Villarin’s BDO Kabayan savings account no. 005820306822. She can be contacted at tel. 0908-9096967.