Thyroid cancer sufferer seeks help for surgery

DIESTRO

STILL short of funds, Ruby Diestro requested the postponement of her operation in the thyroid region that was supposedly scheduled for Jan. 14.

“I was scared and in pain. I was already there (at Philippine General Hospital) last week but I left because I had only P15,000 on hand, which I got on a loan,” said 58-year-old Diestro.

The cost of the operation totaled P65,000, plus P45,000 for the surgeon’s professional fee, she said.

Before she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2013, Diestro earned a living selling longganisa (sausages) to help her husband Arsenio, who works in a slaughterhouse.

They are raising three children, including 20-year-old daughter Nhica who accompanied Ruby to PGH on the day she was was supposed to undergo surgery. They came all the way from their house in Gen. Mariano Alvarez, Cavite province.

“I am appealing to those with kind hearts, so that I can finally have an operation and be able to go back to work,” she said.

Ruby Diestro can be reached at 0907-7747188 and donations can be sent through her PSBank Account No. 227111013961. Santiago R. Alcantara