OLIVE LAMASAN, director, producer
My first bout with breast cancer was in 2008. The second one was in 2022. In both instances, I opted for mastectomy… (In my cancer journey, I discovered) that I could love myself, that I could prioritize needs, and that I am not indispensable. So, let go. Be free, and live and enjoy the life God has blessed you with!”
I am very grateful to God for holding my hand and guiding me through moments of shock, fear, anger, regret, and then through moments of finding forgiveness, acceptance, love, healing, and in discovering and finding myself. Of course there’s my beloved family and friends, whose love, presence and prayers gave me invaluable strength and will to survive.
Director Marilou Diaz-Abaya was my guardian angel. She was my mentor in Directing and she also served as my mentor in fighting cancer. She brought me to doctors and experts and was with me through the entire process while she, herself, was going through her own journey of battling breast cancer. My other guardian angel was Kara Alikpala. I barely knew her. We were just supposed to work on a documentary that did not push through. I just got a text from her, then we met and she introduced me to ICanServe — a world that made me feel that I am not alone; a world that me realize that I am more than the illness; a world that gave my cancer a purpose.
#ICSat25
#UnitedByUnique
#SurvivorStories
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- OLIVE LAMASAN, director, producer
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- “I am more than the illness.”
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- OLIVE LAMASAN, director, producer
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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/…/PATIENT-MANUAL… https://icanservefoundation.org
Photos by: Dan Rivera
Acknowledgment: Sine Pop
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 ICANSEVE Foundation’s 25th anniversary celebration in collaboration with Camera Club of the Philippines. With thanks to Owen Santos and Zonia Bandoy.