Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. Photo by RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net
A year after breaking the news that she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago is appealing for prayers for a miracle healing.
“Please continue to pray with me and all cancer patients, as we vanquish this disease,” Santiago said in a post on her Facebook page.
Santiago, 70, also posted a “Cancer Miracle Prayer for Miriam,” which called for the intercession of St. Peregrine, the patron saint of cancer patients.
St. Peregrine has been called “The Mighty” and “The Wonder Worker.”
Santiago earlier said she was taking a “magical” tablet to fight the cancer.
She was her usual bold and feisty self when she announced her medical diagnosis to the media last year.
“I’m very excited. I’m not kidding. I said, ‘Yes, I’ve got cancer.’ Because now, I’m entering another dimension of my human life. That has always been my attitude,” she told reporters last year.
Before going public with her cancer, Santiago had been on medical leave from the Senate due to chronic fatigue syndrome.
But despite her illnesses, she had been filing bills and resolutions and chairing committee hearings. Earlier this year, she led hearings on the constitutionality of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
She later released a committee report stating that the draft BBL would require changes to the Constitution.
On Santiago’s Facebook page on Thursday, her supporters sent well-wishes and shared their own prayers after she posted her plea for a cancer miracle.
Santiago is on her second consecutive term in the Senate, and she is among the graduating senators next year.