Boy with leukemia needs P20K for chemotherapy

Kyrone Chad Velasco

This Wednesday, Kyrone Chad Velasco is supposed to undergo the seventh of the 12 chemotherapy sessions doctors at Philippine Children’s Medical Center have prescribed for him.

However, the 12-year-old boy who is suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia has not been feeling well lately.

“He has been coughing and nursing a cold in the last three days. Doctors told us that when he undergoes chemotherapy, he should be free of these ailments,” his mother Irene said.

Kyrone was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010 when he was just 5 years old and a kindergarten student in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte province.

He dropped out of school after finishing Grade 2 because for the past seven years, he has been regularly going to Manila with his mother to seek treatment for his condition.

“My son underwent chemotherapy in 2010 and he got better until he suffered a relapse in 2014. Doctors prescribed another round of treatment for him,” said Irene, whose husband, Richard, is a garlic and corn farmer in Bacarra town.

“I am knocking on the hearts of your readers. We are finding it hard to raise the money my son needs for his medicine and laboratory tests,” she said.

For the seventh chemotherapy session, the family needs to pay P20,000.

Irene Velasco can be reached at 0919-7231802. Donations can be deposited in her BPI Family Savings Bank account (#6386-1319-78).