Masayang ibinahagi ng panganay na anak ni Anthony Taberna na si Zoey na cancer-free na siya ngayon matapos ang halos anim na buwang gamutan sa bansang Singapore.

Sa isang Facebook post nitong Lunes, Hulyo 4, ikinuwento ni Zoey ang mga pinagdaanan niya magmula noong na-diagnose siya ng leukemia noong Disyembre 2019 hanggang sa napagtagumpayan niya ang sakit.

"As some of you know, i was diagnosed with leukemia on december 2019. since then, i have been undergoing chemotherapy. everything was going on smoothly, and complications were very minimal," ani Zoey.

Saad pa niya, noong Disyembre 2021, nagkaroon ng pagbabago sa kalagayan niya,"My hair had grown a lot and i was getting back to feeling normal, as i could do a lot more things than i could when i was weaker. but my situation changed when december 2021 came. during this time, i would not feel well often and several parts of my body were hurt. when they brought me to the hospital, they did tests and said that i had problems with my blood sugar because it was way higher than it was supposed to be. some doctors said it was caused by my steroid medications, and by over consumption of sugar."

"But as they looked into it more, after getting the results of my bone marrow aspiration, we found out that my acute lymphoblastic leukemia had morphed into acute myeloid leukemia. and this meant that all of the cancer cells that was supposed to be long gone, came back in a way more dangerous and fatal form. i had a hard time understanding why this was happening because from the start, my doctors said that this situation was very rare," dagdag pa niya.

Kuwento rin ng 13-anyos, inirekomenda ng mga doktor niya na pumunta sa Singapore sa loob ng anim na buwan dahil mas makatutulong ito sa kaniya. Ngunit noong una ay ayaw niyang umalis dito sa Pilipinas dahil nandito ang kaniyang pamilya at mga kaibigan.

"I was supposed to repeat all my chemotherapy again in the philippines, but of course, my parents wanted the better option, so that we could be sure that i will be fully healed. my doctors recommended for us to go to singapore because medical care is really good there. so my parents did their best to find a way for us to get there, even during the pandemic. luckily, we were given permission to go. all of this happened in a span of just 3 weeks so i really still couldn't process everything in my mind.

"I didn't want to leave home, especially because my family and friends were there, and we had to be away for around 6 months. and when i heard that i was going to do intensive chemo again, i got so scared. especially because i already knew how it felt, because this already happened before. i knew how weak i was gonna be. i knew that i would have headaches 24/7 and would throw up all the time. i knew that i would have mouth sores and body pain. and i knew that i would lose my hair all over again. but all i wanted was for me to get better already so i agreed," aniya pa.

Sumailalim din siya sa bone marrow transplant. Kuwento niya, mabuti na lamang ay perfect match sila ng kaniyang kapatid na si Helga sa mga isinagawang tests kaya naman siya ang naging donor nito.

"But after a while, we found out that helga would also have to go through multiple procedures. like often blood extractions and different injections. i started feeling guilty because i'm the reason why she has to do it. if they would do those to me, i wouldn't care, even if it hurt, because i'm so used to it already. but it was my sister. she's never even been confined! i don't like her feeling pain. plus she didn't even have a say about going away from home.

"I felt like i deprived her from being with the people she wants to be with and going to places she wants to go to because she was stuck with me. so i'm more than grateful that she did this and sacrificed for me. everything that i went through here definitely wasn't easy, especially because of the side effects of my treatment."

Looking back, dahil sa suporta ng kaniyang mahal sa buhay at ng Diyos, naka-rekober siya. Inamin din niya na dumating sa punto na akala niya matatapos na ang kaniyang buhay sa edad na 13 taon.

"There were so many times that i thought that it was the end for me. that my life would end at 13 years old. i kept on thinking about my friends, my family, my loved ones, my church duties. what will happen when i'm gone? will people care? will they be sad? but because i grew up active in church, i always prayed while holding on to my faith, and i felt so much stronger.

"When i try to remember some of the difficult episodes that happened to me, the only thought in my mind is "wow. nagawa ko pala 'yon." it's really shocking for me because i'm the most paranoid, emotional and easily scared person i know. i am certain that if God wasn't there to give me the strength i needed, i wouldn't have done it. after those things happened, seeing other people be proud of me made me happy."

Kuwento pa ni Zoey, matapos ang 167 days ay nakabalik na sila ng Pilipinas at siya ay cancer-free na.

"The day i've been waiting for came! after 167 long days, we went back home to the philippines. and now i am totally cancer free! i would still have check ups and maintainance drug infusions from time to time, but that is nothing compared to what i've been through. i couldn't have done all of this without the help, support and love of everyone special to me and most of all, God," aniya.

Hindi rin daw niya nakalimutan na pasalamatan araw-araw ang Diyos sa kagalingan na ibinigay nito sa kaniya at panibagong pagkakataon na mabuhay.

Nagpasalamat din siya sa mga taong patuloy na nagdasal para sa kagalingan niya.

"I never forget to thank Him everyday for healing me and for giving me a chance to live a longer life. thank you also to everyone who prayed and showed their support for me all throughout everything. i guess it's safe to say that that's the end of my cancer journey. thank you so much. :> <33"