Boy with cancer needs money for chemo

Gerald Alvarez

Gerald Alvarez’s positive attitude may help him win his battle against Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a form of cancer that affects cells called lymphocytes, which are part of the body’s immune system.

Doctors at Philippine General Hospital (PGH) detected Alvarez’s destructive T cell lymphocytes on his left wrist when he was just two years old. He will turn four on June 26.

“We had him operated on in 2011 when a red mass of flesh on that part of his hand was growing bigger each day,” Alvarez’s mother, Marcelita Cruz, told the Inquirer.

Cruz said that when the mass reappeared after several months, PGH doctors recommended five cycles of chemotherapy for her son.

So far, Gerald has completed just one cycle. The second one, which is scheduled to start on June 20, will cost Cruz and her partner, Jorge Alvarez, who earns just P400 a day as a truck driver, P54,000.

“His ailment has not stopped him from being playful. He is very quick to smile. That’s why I am appealing to your readers to help my son. He may have a bright future ahead of him, who knows?” Cruz said.

Cruz can be contacted at 0933-9491887. Donations can be deposited in her BDO account (Marcelita Cruz/account number 004710061117).