Our dear friend Chona Sano has been a very active member and facilitator of FCNA-MH since its inception. She is the historian and very dependable when asked to participate in all our various projects.
She is a Registered Nurse who works for Arlita Pang at ACP Healthcare Services when she is not working at her full time job.
My name is Chona Sano, a registered nurse and an FCNA Volunteer Facilitator.
My eldest sister was diagnosed of lung cancer that metastasized to the brain in 1988. She died at a young age of 34. Then, I wasnt yet a nurse and our family knew little about cancer. I remember reading about cancer from the Readers Digest and had no other resources to learn about the disease. Our family was devastated because she was diagnosed at a very late stage and we were told that her case was terminal.
Fortunately, we had the support we needed. My sister had joined the Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception (MIC) and had received her temporary vows shortly before she got sick. The MIC community provided us the spiritual, emotional, financial and medical support that we needed. She was taken cared of in their hospice and we were allowed to participate in her care as much as we could.. Two months after she was diagnosed, she went comatose until she died four months later. I had the gift of holding her hand when she finally passed away.
Looking back, we sincerely appreciated the support we received from the MIC sisters. Without them, we wouldnt have handled the situation that well. She was the first death in our immediate family and we had no experience taking care of a very sick person. We consider ourselves lucky for having the MIC community to lean on at that time. We are forever grateful to them.
Having been through this experience, I feel that I am a cancer survivor myself. Being part of the FCNA-MH is one of the best opportunities for me to give back what I have received.
