By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

REAL estate broker Deanne Palmer survived Hodgekins Lymphoma in 2006. “There was a little bit of disbelief but somehow I knew I would be cured. I was a bit worried but with all the prayers from people, trust in my doctors and good care from my family, I tried not to be depressed,” she said.
People around her, she added, handled her situation so well, thus helping her maintain a cheerful disposition.
“I received overwhelming support — moral and financial — from a lot of people, even from those I didn’t know,” she recalled. “That experience made me become more aware of people around me. I discovered that people care a lot. Even strangers care.”
Retired Army officer Ernesto Torralba couldn’t believe it when the doctor broke the news to him that he had a breast cancer, which is more common among women than men.
Torralba, 64, had a surgery in 2003 but some of the tumors came back with no chances of being removed. “Some of them are inoperable,” he said.
After completing his chemotherapy in 2003, Torralba’s wife, Tomiko, was later diagnosed with a lung cancer. “I didn’t know how I developed lung cancer. I quit smoking 10 years ago,” she said.
Though still living on constant medications, the Torralbas maintain a normal life together. “We don’t think of it too much. We live our life day to day and always try to make life better,” Ernesto Torralba said.
“It’s been over three years since I was diagnosed with cancer, but since I don’t feel any pain, I forget that I am a sick person. I even look healthy and people don’t believe that I have this condition,” Tomiko said.
Her condition doesn’t scare her. If anything, she said, “this experience has strengthened my faith.”
She advises people who are in the same situation to “not let cancer bother you. That’s how the mind goes crazy. Don’t give up. Fight it.”
And fight, cancer victims do.
TakeCare yesterday hosted a pep rally for team captains to jump start enthusiasm for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life next month.
On May 25, Guam walkers will gather at the George Washington High School Track for a 12-hour relay from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. the next day. Relay For Life is a fundraising event that allows patients, caregivers, medical support staff, corporations, civic organizations, churches and community volunteers to join together to fight cancer.
“In addition to Relay For Life raising awareness about the progress against cancer, it also serves as a fundraiser,” said Phil Mafnas, event chairman. “Many of the participants will be individuals who have firsthand experience with cancer. Their involvement is proof that progress has been made in improving cancer survival rates and the quality of life following cancer treatment.”
Elaine Low, executive director of the American Cancer Society, said the funds to be generated from the event will be invested in educational programs, research, advocacy, and services to patients.