Asian Hospital’s Asian Cancer Institute celebrates 8 years of supporting lives, conquering cancer

The Asian Cancer Institute (ACI) of Asian h o spital and Medical Center recently celebrated its 8th anniversary with the theme “We h o pe and We h e al.”

According to Dr. Beaver Tamesis, Asian h o spital President and C e O the number of cancer cases have been increasing yearly. As such, it is important that Asian h o spital continues to do its job to offer the best cancer management and patient care services.

“At Asian h o spital, we offer holistic and integrative care to our cancer patients. We have the best treatments available and we will soon be offering more treatment options. We have to remind ourselves that we have a long battle ahead. United we stand, we will be able to fight this disease,” Dr. Tamesis said.

The Department of h e alth (DO h ) apparently agreed with Dr. Tamesis’ statement that Asian h o spital had the best treatments available for cancer. This is because the ACI has been officially accredited by the DO h as a Cancer Specialty Center in a General h o spital.

“This recognition further solidifies our commitment to providing exceptional comprehensive care to our patients,” said Dr. Corazon Ngelangel, ACI Director.

Liquid biopsy

I N h er remarks during the anniversary celebration program, Dr. Ngelangel, disclosed that the hospital now offers liquid biopsy in addition to tissue biopsy. Liquid biopsy is an innovative test that is done on a sample of blood, urine, or body fluid to look for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), reflecting the presence of the cancer, even in the absence of discernable gross tumor. Liquid biopsy can also detect molecular aberrations in the presence of and linked to cancer (e.g., e GF Rmu).

“We will have this July patient support partnerships with AstraZeneca and MSD for patients with lung cancer ( e GF R) and various cancers (PD-L1) respectively. We now have a team-based program for bone metastasis, led by Asian’s orthopedic oncologist Dr Samuel Grosman. The ACI is ready to meet the needs of all cancer patients,” she added.

Probably the highlight of the celebration was the testimonial of 13-year-old Fey Navarro. Fey was diagnosed with Non- h o dgkin: Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma in December 2022. She had been from one hospital to another that her neck nodes began to obstruct her swallowing and breathing, unable to move her neck.

“We failed to get a surgery sched - ule at the Philippine General h o spital so Mama decided to look for a pediatric hematologist oncologist at Asian h o spital and going through the picture roster of doctors, she decided to consult Dr. Michelle Rodriguez who, according to Mama, looked like an angel,” Fey related.

Detailed options

Whe N t he clinic of Dr. Rodriguez said she was available for a consult, Fey and her mother quickly went to the doctor’s clinic. Dr. Rodriguez provided the mother and daughter the details that they needed and the options that they could choose from. They decided that Fey would be confined for the work ups necessary for the biopsy surgery to push through. When the diagnosis was announced, Fey’s family admitted that they could not shoulder the cost of the treatments that were needed.

This was when Dr. Rodriguez referred the family to Asian Charities where they agreed to help the family with the treatment costs and with drugs from the DO h Childhood Cancer Medicine Access Program. She had just ended her chemotherapy sessions when the Asian Cancer Institute celebrated its anniversary.

“I would like to thank Dr. Michelle Rodriguez who never gave up on me even though we did not have anything. She is truly heaven sent to us because she was the one who referred us to Asian Charities. Without her remarkable abilities to sustain my health during the chemotherapy, I may still be in another institution, not knowing if I would, and could have survived,” she said.

Brave and inspiring

The ACI anniversary kick-off ceremony ended with remarks from

Dr. Jose M. Acuin, Asian h o spital’s Chief Medical Officer, who thanked the ACI team for always doing what is best for the patients.

“This has been a brave and inspiring morning and I would like to thank the patients and their families for showing us how to live well,” he said.

Meanwhile, the ACI will continue with the “ h a ir Donation Activity for Cancer Patients” even beyond the month of July. Donors must have at least 12 inches of hair in length in order to make donation. The hair should be clean and dry without any styling products like hair spray or mask.

Donors should place the pre-cut hair bundle inside a sealed plastic bag and should be labeled with complete name and contact details of the donor. The sealed plastic bag can then be brought to the Asian h o spital Upper Ground Floor, Tower 2.