MAAN HONTIVEROS, President, Board of Trustees, Manila Symphony Orchestra
My siblings and a few of my closest friends here and in the USA were sworn to secrecy to spare my elderly father who was still grappling with the loss of my Mom due to breast cancer. They circled the wagons around me and supported me with their time, presence, care, and resources… My brother Paul took off from work and traveled to New York from Virginia to take care of me in the hospital. He quickly won the “best relative award” from the hospital’s nurses and orderlies because he totally took over caring for me. Diana housed me in her Manhattan apartment until I could return home with no noticeable signs of the surgery. Jason cooked gourmet meals for me and Jean, who herself was battling cancer, braved the New York winter taking taxis to Chinatown to buy food that she knew I couldn’t resist.
My mom had succumbed to breast cancer at the age of 59 after an excruciating five-year battle … I remembered what she told me before she passed away — because I was so much like her, she warned me about being “Wonder Woman,” always looking out for my family and friends and trying to answer their needs and helping them solve their problems. That’s because she was our family’s “Wonder Woman” — not just the immediate family’s but the entire clan’s. Taking on too much responsibilities for too many people. She declared that stress is what caused her cancer. And I got to thinking that (maybe) mom was right after all.
So I decided to de-stress and go back to St. Scholastica’s College to pursue a Bachelor of Music major in guitar performance degree. What the heck. I decided I would spend the next five years playing guitar! It was a great decision and I thoroughly enjoyed studying, listening and performing music with classmates young enough to be my kids! It was there that I got involved with the Manila Symphony Orchestra. I really believe that those five years of immersion in music helped me stay cancer-free.
#ICSat25
#SurvivorStories
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- “It takes a village to keep a cancer patient’s treatment going.”
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- MAAN HONTIVEROS, President, Board of Trustees, Manila Symphony Orchestra
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- MAAN HONTIVEROS, President, Board of Trustees, Manila Symphony Orchestra
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- MAAN HONTIVEROS, President, Board of Trustees, Manila Symphony Orchestra
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- “It takes a village to keep a cancer patient’s treatment going.”
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- Learn about breast cancer signs and symptoms: https://www.icanservefoundation.org/about-breast-cancer/
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- Download the breast cancer patient manual: https://www.icanservefoundation.org/patients-manual/
Photos by: TJ Davocol
Acknowledgment: Manila Symphony Orchestra
Icons of Hope is a social media campaign that features cancer survivors who share their own stories, learnings and the lives they now live. It is part of ICANSERVE Foundation’s 25th anniversary celebration in collaboration with Camera Club of the Philippines. With thanks to Owen Santos and Zonia Bandoy.