Susan Africa on her journey as cancer patient caregiver
Behind every illness is a moving story. Veteran actress Susan Africa is one of the thousands of Filipinos who are familiar with the burden that cancer brings to a family She had been a loving caregiver to her husband, the late Spanky Manikan, who himself was a highly regarded film and theater actor best known for his role in Himala, Maynila sa Kuko ng Liwanag,
Bona, among his other works. Susan recalled that it was February 2017 when Spanky came home from work one day with swollen face and hands. They immediately took him to a doctor for a blood exam. The test results were normal.
His doctor then asked Spanky to have a CT scan of the chest because he felt something in the area.
“I remember it very well. The doctor asked to see me right away. He said Spanky had superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS). There was no mention of the ‘C’ word but he had to be admitted for radiation treatment. I did my own research online and found out that SVCS is usually caused by cancer,” Susan related.
Apart from swelling of his face and hands, her husband seemed well. At most, he had the occasional smoker’s cough, which Spanky thought was nothing serious.
“Maybe if you know that you or a loved one is a heavy smoker, you should consult your doctor for recommendations on early cancer detection methods, just to be sure. The prospect of having cancer may be really scary, but you have to get proper treatment right away,” Susan said.
As caregiver, Susan and the rest of the family held Spanky’s hand throughout the physical, financial and emotional challenges of the cancer-patient journey.
“I think the keyword for a caregiver is love and ‘sacrifice.’ You have to think less about yourself and more about the patient, his comfort, his needs, what would make him happy. From the beginning, we had to be strong for him,” she said.
Susan added that if they had detected Spanky’s cancer in its earlier stages, it would have made a huge difference in his treatment journey and prognosis and they would have taken advantage of new developments in cancer care and treatment that are available today.
“Spanky first had radiation therapy. Then our doctor recommended having Spanky undergo clinical trial for immunotherapy which was then the new treatment option for lung cancer,” shared Susan.
She took Spanky to Makati Medical Center and Lung Cancer of the Philippines pathology departments for biomarker testing of his tumor cells. Spanky had non-small cell lung cancer and was tested positive for PD-L1 in 90 percent of the tumor cells, which meant he was eligible to undergo immunotherapy.
“He was successfully introduced into the randomized program. He had two sessions of immunotherapy and it was successful, in the sense that the first infusion was able to remove the excruciating pain in his right side,” said Susan.
Like all cancer treatments available in the country, the financial impact of immunotherapy posed a challenge, Susan had applied for financial assistance from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to get Spanky the treatment he needed.
Sadly, Spanky died early this year. He was 75.
Her journey as a caregiver developed a sense of purpose in Susan, which drove her to be a cancer patient advocate.
Just recently, the Hope from Within: Cancer Game Plan PH, a campaign that aims to put the patients at the heart of the fight against the dreaded disease, was launched.
Using powerful voices from leaders, advocates, policymakers, survivors, support groups and patients, it boosted awareness of proper cancer care, sparking conversations and actions on how to reduce the burden of cancer-related mortalities and other challenges.
“I think the government should prioritize the passing of the Cancer Bill proposed by the Cancer Coalition of the Philippines to be able to immensely help patients. I can see no other institution that can better help cancer patients than the government,” Susan added.
Visit www.hopefromwithin.org to know more about new cancer treatment options and where cancer patients can get support.