Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo: Stem cell treatment
MANILA, Philippines—Like her predecessor, former President and Pampanga lawmaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has turned to stem cell therapy in an effort to improve her health.
Arroyo said in her official Twitter account that she would have her fourth stem cell intravenous treatment with her alternative medicine doctor on Monday.
Arroyo said her treatment would involve cultured stem cells, and it would be “much more modest in price than the one coming from sheep or one’s own body.”
A close friend and ally of Arroyo, Quezon Representative Danilo Suarez, confirmed that the President has started stem cell therapy, and that she told him that the stem cells she has been using did not come from lamb placenta, and was the less costly form of stem cell treatment.
“If you have a lot of health problems, you will try such things,” Suarez said on Sunday.
Suarez said he has even filed a resolution to investigate the practice of stem cell treatments in the country, as well as the claims being made about it, considering that it has been gaining popularity.
“The public needs to be better informed about it. It might have setbacks that we need to know about,” he said.
The therapy involves the use of fresh cells, which are injected into the body to regenerate cells to treat illnesses or reverse aging.
Earlier, the Department of Health said it was also looking into regulating the facilities offering such a treatment, so as to curb dubious clinics that would try to cash in on the trend.
Among the former public officials who have undergone the therapy is deposed President Josephh Estrada. Estrada has admitted that he underwent fresh cell therapy or stem cell treatment in Frankfurt, Germany.
Arroyo did not name the alternative medicine doctor handling her stem cell treatment.
In July, shortly after she was allowed to post bail for her electoral sabotage case, she visited the wellness center of oncologist Antonia Park. Park is reportedly known for treating patients using herbal medicines and an organic diet.
Arroyo is also undergoing thrice-a-week therapy at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center. Last week, she said she saw two alternative medicine practitioners as part of her search for a second opinion on her condition. She also said she has initiated communication with a neurovervical spine purist who would do repeat surgery, as recommended by her doctor Roberto Anastacio.
Arroyo has undergone cervical spine surgery for the severe pains in her upper limbs, which was attributed to compressed veins in her neck. A titanium plate was placed on her spine.
But she also has had difficulty breathing and swallowing because the titanium plate supporting her cervical spine was dislocated.