The SUN HK : Groups express alarm at growing number of cancer patients among Filipino DHs

By Vir B. Lumicao

Jenny Mendadero flew home today to continue her treatment for ovarian cancer in Iloilo

A growing number of Filipina domestic helpers are getting sick, with cancer apparently the common illness of those who have sought help recently from the Consulate and Filipino community groups.

Marites Palma, founder of Social Justice for Migrant Workers, estimates that since January this year, her group has extended help and raised funds for more than 20 fellow helpers who suffered from various stages and forms of cancer.

“We’ve helped more than 20 cancer patients, including those who are undergoing treatment, those who had gone home and passed on, as well as those who are already back home but are still putting up a fight against the disease,” Palma said.

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But this may only be the tip of the iceberg, as many other patients may have reached out to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration or other support groups like the Mission for Migrant Workers, or have opted to just go home to be with their families.

Even The SUN has been informed of several other cancer-stricken patients who have chosen to seek treatment by themselves, or with help from their employers whose sponsorship is vital in allowing them to get heavily subsidized care in Hong Kong.

One of them is a prominent leader of one of the oldest Filipino community groups in Hong Kong. The patient has been battling rectal cancer for the past several months but has decided to continue working as a driver to pay for his treatments that are not fully covered by the public health care system.

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Among those who approached Social Justice was Elma dela Cruz, who flew home to the Philippines five days ago after completing her treatment for a brain tumor. She was previously diagnosed with breast cancer, which has metastasized to her brain.

This morning, Nov 4, another cancer-stricken Filipina helper flew out of Hong Kong for the last time to continue treatment of her ovarian cancer in her home province of Iloilo.

Mendadero says she cannot afford getting treated in HK because she was just on extended visa

Jenny S. Mandadero, 51, told The SUN that she has decided to go home because she couldn’t afford to stay long in Hong Kong for the treatment. She had stopped working on Oct 14 and her extended visa expires today.

Mandadero was traveling to Manila with four other ailing Filipina domestic workers who are also going home for good. A staff at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration said, however, that not all of the five are cancer patients.

Still confined at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital is Rowena, 49, a four-year overstayer who was admitted on Oct 3 due to bleeding from Stage 2 cervical cancer.

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Twice last month she was scheduled for discharge, but a recurring fever made her doctors decide to keep her at the hospital, while they looked for the source of her apparent infection.

An article about her in The SUN brought an outpouring of donation so that a total of $9,500 was turned over to her recently by Social Justice, which acted as fund keeper.

Also at Eastern Hospital is Luningning Y., who suffers from stage 4 abdominal cancer. Her plight was recently brought to the attention of the Consulate by Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, Mission’s general manager. Tellez said the patient would need a place to stay when the hospital discharges her.

Welfare officer Dina Daquigan gave the assurance that OWWA would be coordinating with the hospital regarding the patient’s medical condition and discharge.

In the meantime, Luningning has asked kind-hearted donors to bring her soft bread or anything that her stomach could take in while she battles the debilitating effects of chemotherapy.

Many of the cancer patients are being treated at Eastern Hospital

Sometimes, cancer patients themselves volunteer information about their health condition on social media group pages. Such was the case of Airene Hogan, who told fellow migrants on the Facebook page of the Domestic Workers Corner in January about her deteriorating health due to overwork and lack of food and sleep.

She was fired by her employer in June after she talked freely about her health concerns, but another employer took her on board. Then in August, she posted on the DWC page that she had colon cancer.

She decided to go home to Davao City on Sept 28, where doctors confirmed she had colorectal cancer advancing to Stage 4. DWC managed to raise more than $3,000 to help cover the cost of her treatment.

As early as three years ago, WelOf Virsie Tamayao expressed alarm about Filipina oldtimers being vulnerable to cancer. She said then that cancer cases reported to her office outnumbered those of other illnesses afflicting OFWs who had been working in Hong Kong for more than 10 years.

However, OWWA does not disclose the number of cancer cases referred to them, so it cannot be ascertained if there has been a significant uptick in the figures this year.

But data from the Hong Kong Health Department does show a steady increase in the number of cancer cases in the city year after year.

From just about 16,000 cases reported in 1989, the number has risen to 35,000 in 2019, the year when the latest tally was made. But with early detection and good medical care, the number of deaths has been kept below 15,000 each year.

Overall, lung cancer has afflicted the most number of people in 2019. But breast cancer remains the most prevalent among women, accounting for 27.1% of all cases.