Maria Ella Regondola-Cabanlet, wife of Stephen Cabanlet (a Philippine Marine Officer), was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC), Baguio City, Philippines. A sample of her biopsy was sent to the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI), Quezon City and confirmation was given regarding her diagnosis. She was confined at BGHMC for her first cycle of Chemotherapy last September 19, 2009.
Unluckily, her condition was complicated by sepsis and bleeding that almost cost her life. By the Lord’s grace, she was discharged after 47 days. From November 16-27, 2009, Ella had her second cycle of chemotherapy and with God’s grace, there were no infections and complications.
The final step of treatment is Stem Cell Transplant (Bone Marrow Transplant). There are only two hospitals in the Philippines that perform Stem Cell or Bone Marrow Transplant, namely: St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC), Quezon City and Makati Medical Center (MMC), Makati City. Stephen was given an official cost estimate of about P4.208M and for this procedure alone, Stephen will not be able to earn or loan within the military service.
Upon Stephen’s appeal letter from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), the Board finally approved the amount of P1M as financial support for Ella. As of end-December 2009, the donations for Ella, Stephen’s savings and his Navy authorized medical refund have reached a total of P1.5M. If the PCSO support was counted, they would still need about P2.7M to complete the required amount. But with the grace of God, Stephen and Ella managed to raise the 4 Million and her Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) was done at the St. Luke’s Medical Center on March 30, 2010. Ella has been in and out of the hospital since then.
Read Ella’s articles under patient journals documenting her journey through the disease.
Ella in her latest confinement at St. Luke’s in November 2010. To help Maria Ella through her recovery process, you can send her your donations by clicking on the paypal button.
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