Chemotherapy #2

by: krh



Thank God it was a breeze!

This time chemo wasn't so hard. Katseye had her 2nd chemo on October 22, 2009 from 10AM to 10:40PM.


Sticky Friends, Katseye, Andree

Sticky friends came over to keep Katseye "entertained" - and she was "entertained". Although in a very sensitive health situation, Katseye and friends made it a circus. Of course the same old stories were told, and pictures were taken.


"Kats pa try ng wig"


Katseye and Andree

It was a weirdly fun moment. But what made it really nice was that Katseye never had negative reactions from chemo (not like the 1st one).

And although Katseye completely lost her hair, she is still looking fab.

Katseye

Chemotherapy #1

by: krh


Katseye Chemo #1 - smiling and fighting

Katseye had her first chemotherapy on September 25, 2009 and it wasn't easy. She had a lot of hurdles as she went through chemo from 10AM of September 25, 2009 to 5AM the following day, September 26, 2009. A painful and life threatening 19 hours of chemotherapy was handled by Katseye still with a smile.

Katseye is Katseye - strong and can't be defeated.



1 chemo down, 7 more chemos to go!
One step closer to saying "Goodbye" to cancer.

Charity Poker Tournament

Let us all have fun and raise fund for Katseye Reantazo - cancer patient.

A Charity Poker Tournament is set on October 25, 2009 (Sunday), 2PM, at Big Ace Liberty Club, Liberty Park, Shaw Blvd, Mandluyong City.

Tournament Mechanics:
P500 first buy in = 3000 chips
P500 rebuy = 3000 chips
P1000 double rebuy = 6000 chips
P500 add on = 6000 chips
• Players are allowed to rebuy or double rebuy until level 6 of the tournament.
• At level 6 players can add on an extra 6000 in chips for P500
• Levels are 15 minutes in length
• Blinds start at 25-50 and progressively increase every 15 minute level
• 20 players = top 5 players get paid out
• 30+ players = top 10 players get paid out

For seat reservation please call 09087568710

Dinner - A Big Success

Katseye and Andree

On Oct 16, 2009 (Friday), 6:00PM at Strumm’s Jupiter Makati a fundraising dinner for katseye happened. Katseye’s friends, relatives, and friends of friends got together. An overwhelming number of guests arrived to support Katseye on her battle against cancer. The fund raised from this event will sustain Katseye’s 2nd chemotherapy scheduled on Oct. 23, 2009.


Katseye’s Speech
I was diagnosed to have Stage 3 Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma last month but
as early as March of this year I have been in pain. My left leg was
very painful that no medicine can relieve it. In April, my leg
started to swell and I also noticed an enlarged lymph node in my neck
- pero di ko pinansin.

Slowly, as weeks and months passed, I noticed a lot of changes -- changes
that were very alarming: I had difficulty walking even a short
distance due to the pain and swollen leg, I would be out of breath
when I talk or walk - there even came a point where my lips would
turn blue.

This is the time I decided to go to a Cardiologist and diagnosed me to
have Deep Venous Thrombosis. I was prescribed with blood thinners but
after 2 months of treatment there weren't any significant improvement
in my condition and above all - I was still in pain. The doctor told
me 'Di na kita kaya pagalingin, irerefer na kita sa iba" - he referred
me to a Vascular Specialist at the Heart Center.

The night before my check up I noticed a big lump in my left armpit,
so the following day I showed the doctor the lumps in my neck and
armpit, she also checked my leg. I also gave her my medical history
and she finally said "We have to rule out lymphoma"

Then it all happened so fast. I had my biopsy on the first week of
September, after 4 days they confirmed I have cancer -- so the next
step is to know what kind of cancer - is it lung cancer, breast cancer
or lymphoma. The following week I went to the NKI to get a 2nd
opinion and while waiting nagpa-CT scan ako. They found out na stage
3 na yung cancer and the NKI confirmed that I have lymphoma and the
kind is called Diffuse Large B cell -- a very aggressive type. The
only treatment is chemotherapy.

When I found out I have cancer I was very hurt because I was still
young, but most of all I was hurt for my baby girl at the thought of
her losing me. I really, really, really want to be there when she
grows up. I dont want to miss all the milestones in her life, She is
the main reason why I can not lose this battle.

So this is where I thank you all for coming to show your love and
support. I am also grateful to those who came even if you dont know
me. You didnt just save me, but you also saved Andree's mom.



Katseye's Sisters


I would like to specifically thank my sisters: Theresa, Karla, Berna,
Vjet, Chubby and Ate Day for putting all this together. You have
showed me how unconditional love can be. I would not have survived all
these without you. For this I will be forever grateful for your
unending support. No words can fully express how much thankful I am
and how much this means to me. You are the testament of God's love
for me. I love you all so much.

Sticky Friends

by: krh

I’m sure many of us will agree that friends we make from high school stick till the day we get Alzheimer’s.

In 1992 to 1996 at St. Paul College QC, some 10 to 12 high school girls met up and formed a friendship that sticks. And thank God Alzheimer’s hasn’t gotten the girls yet.

Now on their 30s, the girls are still together: having coffee when they can; eating pan de coco while in their favorite salon; drinking beer like they used to; organizing parties or events for their kids (for their kids nga kaya o para mag chikahan sila?); and even having Christmas parties on February just to be together. And like always, still laughing over the same old stories of their not so past past.

This friendship is tight. Tried and tested through time. They went through all problems together. Problems that evolved from boyfriend or crush rivalry, to cigarette lighter theft, to sunduan dilemmas, allowance shortage, and to much serious ones of financial problems, relationship or marital issues… blablablabla. They are just always together no matter what. Too tight that no secret can be kept from each other. The slightest change in action, signals all the girls that something is wrong.

Katseye is part of this group. Recently a problem arose and Katseye tried to keep it from her friends. But for some reason, Katseye’s friends felt the problem and would call, text, and message her asking if there was indeed a problem. There was no way the girls would allow Katseye to carry the burden on her own. She had to share it. Katseye couldn’t keep it (she should have known better, makulit ang barkada niya). She had to tell the girls.

An emergency bonding meeting was called for on a Thursday evening. The girls had dinner at Ristra’s and had a drink or two at some bar. And then the story began.

Over beer Katseye blurted it out. It’s CANCER. Although not yet confirmed that time, Katseye’s doctor was pretty convinced that it is CANCER

Tears rolled down as Katseye explained how CANCER got her. The girls gave out their own set of tears. But they kept it very showbiz like – very composed, wiping a tear or two while talking. No one really had a “hagulhol” moment, nakakahiya kasi sa mga waiters. But never the less, the girls tried to keep a strong disposition to keep Katseye strong.

It was a slap on the face. The girls felt vulnerable as CANCER was perceived to be an old man’s illness and not of a 30 year old. Nakaka-stress!!!

Although faced with painful news, some old high school stories came rushing in giving the girls reason to laugh again.

With heavy hearts, tired bodies, and tipsy heads, the girls vowed to be there with Katseye in fighting CANCER.

Nothing destroyed the girls then and nothing can destroy them now, especially not CANCER.

Prayers, love, and science all put into one posion is the weapon the girls choose to bring in this war. This is just an illness. If the girls flood cancer with their “poison”, CANCER will and has to give up sooner or later.

This friendship is tight. The girls are still along way to meet up with Alzheimer’s, and CANCER just needs to back out.

DINNER FOR A CAUSE (fundraising event for Katseye - cancer patient)

Support Katseye as she battles with cancer.

Katseye needs all your support to win this war.

Dine with Katseye, her family, and friends on October 16, 2009, 6PM-9PM at STRUMS Jupiter st. Makati City.

Buffet Dinner ticket is sold at P1,500.

Be there!

Monsters are Getting My Mommy

by: krh

Since the time Katseye was diagnosed with cancer, Katseye felt the stress. Stress on the possibility of death, stress on the financial burden ahead, and stress on what this will bring to her daughter, Andree.

Katseye often vomits. She is not sure if this is because of cancer or simply because of stress. Her vomiting caught Andree’s attention and led the little girl asking “Mommy why vomit?”. Katseye replied, “Mommy is sick baby”.

Of course Andree never thought it to be terminal. She was just thinking mommy has flu or had a lot to eat for lunch.

But this misconception must be clarified, as Katseye decided. Andree needs to know the real deal to prepare her for the changes in the next couple of months.

Katseye had a heart to heart talk with her little girl and told her that mommy is: very sick; will need to go to the hospital often; and will also lose her hair (because of chemo). The losing of hair bothered Andree, who wouldn’t?

Since that conversation, Andree showed emotional changes. When Katseye would vomit, Andree would cry and shout “No mommy don’t vomit”, as if trying to stop cancer. She also has nightmares every night. When Katseye asked what the nightmares were about, Andree replied “Mommy monsters are getting you”. Andree is right, the monsters are getting her mommy. The monstrous cancer is getting Katseye.

With all the fears Andree showed in the first few days, she immediately bounced back and gave her mommy the strength Katseye needs. When Andree caught her mommy in tears, Andree asked, “Mommy are you crying?”. Katseye lied and said “No!”. Then Andree said not believing the lie, “Mom don’t cry ha, you have to be strong for me.”

Save Andree’s Mom

by: krh

Four years. Is this enough time for a little girl to spend with her mother? Not at all.

Andree, a four year old girl, is unknowingly faced with this threat. Andree might actually lose her mother, Katrisha Ann Garcia-Reantazo (only 30 years old), to cancer.

Just last September 10, 2009, Katrisha or “Katseye” as friends and family call her was confirmed to have Lymphoma - any of various malignant tumors that arise in the lymph nodes or in other lymphoid tissue.. What started out as a leg pain on March 2009 was never thought to be the first installment to a much bigger and terminal condition - that is cancer.

Katseye is already showing aggressive signs of this condition: she finds herself breathless after a short 5-minute walk; her left leg is stiff, painful, and filled with blood clots; her lymph nodes on her jaw, armpit, and abdomen are swollen and evident. And these are just some manifestations seen from the exterior. What more is happening inside Katseye’s unsuspecting body?

Today, 6 months from the first symptom, Katseye is said to be on the latter stages of Lymphoma – stage 3. Quite fast and quite hard to process. Chemotherapy, as soon as today, is the way to go as her doctors suggest. This is her path for longer life. And we, her family, friends, acquaintances, and perhaps whoever has the heart, are her only hope.

Katseye’s family CANNOT shoulder the expenses of what cancer will bring, especially now that she had to stop working. Her husband is just earning enough from his data-entry job to sustain the family’s daily needs. Katseye’s father is suffering from brain tumor. Her step mother, on the other hand, has colon cancer stage 4. And her brother just had a kidney transplant.

If it were only upto Katseye (minus her family, friends, and minus Andree), she is willing to face death. But what about the little girl she will leave behind. “Pano na si Andree?”, as Katseye sobbingly asked. “kelangan niya pa ko”, she added.

Andree needs more time with her mother. Andree needs her mother’s comforting embrace when she feels her first heartache. Andree needs her mom to clap for her in every achievement she receives. Andree needs her mom to say a word or two when she makes mistakes. Andree needs her mom.

We, the friends and family of Katseye appeal to your humble heart to save Katseye and to keep Andree with a mother. Any type of support you give will be greatly appreciated. Let’s save Katseye. Let’s save Andree’s mom.





Immediate Medical Need
Date and Time
Hospital
Specialist
Treatment
Cost
Sept. 24, 2009

Lourdes Hospital, Mandaluyong City
Dr. Laura Pedraza
Chemo Therapy
P150,000


Contact Details:
Contact Person: Theresa Vialu
Mobile: 09209059688
Email: theresa_vialu@yahoo.com

Bank Details:
Katrisha Ann G. Reantazo
BDO Savings Account No. 5630155165