UPDATE: Living on Prayer Beloved mother and new grandmother Jenny has been battling cancer courageously since early last year. She has fought through two major surgeries, and two torturous cycles of chemotherapy, she is still with us, but so is her cancer. Despite all the pain and suffering she continues to have to endure, she has remained loving, and positive and has been a very present and hands on grandma to her baby grandson Liam. As the previous chemo drugs have proven mostly ineffective, she now has to shift to yet another chemo protocol, more expensive and with likely worse side effect than what she experienced previously. For this chemo cycle, she will bee to be confined for every one of a minimum of 12 sessions. Unfortunately, while we have yet to exhaust all medical options, we have nearly exhausted our resources to afford continued treatment, and this new treatment will likely be the most expensive of them all. Please help us help our mama, she still has a fighting chance if we can get her treated. She is a true light in this world, truly beautiful inside and out, she is quick to smile, quick to laugh, is one of the titas of BTS, and most still has so much love to give.

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This is our mama, and Liam’s “mamala” Jenny Rockwell, she has stage 3C mucinous ovarian cancer. Everyone knows what cancer is, but if you haven’t heard of mucinous ovarian cancer before, it’s because it’s not your garden variety cancer, it’s actually quite rare, affecting fewer than 1% of all cancer patients. As such, her battle with cancer has so far been full of uncertainty.

Mama is a very proud mother of us three adult kids whom she raised alone in our younger years from the time Sophia, the youngest of us, was an infant till she was 5. Then mama worked steadily to provide for us all the way through college. Despite being a very young mother and only a high school graduate, through sheer grit and determination, mama managed to send all three of us to good Universities all while not compromising her being a physically present, hands-on mother.

Mama was always taking short courses and applying for jobs out of her comfort zone for better pay just so she could keep up with our growing needs, and everywhere she worked, she’d strive successfully to excel so that she could move on to even better jobs.

Just last year, mama became the ecstatically happy, absolutely doting first-time “mamala” to her first grandson, Liam. The word is a combination of mama and the Filipino word for granny: “lola”. We decided to call her that because she’s young for a lola, and a young at heart diehard fan of BTS. She spends several hours every week taking care of him, and literally travels over 500 kilometers a week to do so.

She patiently shares her knowledge and wisdom with his parents, and spends hours looking at his photos and videos while they are apart. But if things continue as they are, mama will not be around long enough for Liam to have lasting memories of his mamala who has loved him with her entire being, and who has not stopped showering him with her love from the time he was born; at which time she was literally right outside the delivery room.

Now nearly a year, two surgeries and one cycle of chemo therapy sessions after she was first diagnosed, mama is still fighting for her life. Despite all the interventions so far, she cannot be declared cancer free, as her tumor marker tests consistently and strongly indicate the continued presence of cancer cells. She will thus need at the very least, one more cycle of chemo therapy, with more aggressive drugs than her first round. However, having battled the disease for nearly a year, has taken its toll financially on the whole family.

Her doctors who have shown themselves to be competent and full of empathy remain optimistic. This is because mama is actually back to work after taking nearly a year off, she has never lost her appetite, and remains in high spirits despite the very serious situation she is in. Their next course of action will be to experiment with different chemo therapy regimens to determine if any of them work against the cancer.

There is a lot of uncertainty in this situation, the cost of the treatments that will be tried varies greatly. Previously, she benefited from having her bills partially covered by HMO insurance, but as HMOs expire yearly, there is no certainty that they will continue to cover her continued healthcare, as upon renewal, her cancer will be deemed a pre-existing condition.

Family has also helped greatly in shouldering the cost of treatment. But with more chemotherapy cycles in the future, the prospect of having to endure extended treatment with diminished income with which to cover the high cost of treatment, on top of living expenses, while likely requiring dedicated care, is simply overwhelming.

This is why, we the kids of Jenny Rockwell, and her grandson would like to raise money for our beloved mother, who has been the pillar and light of our family, and who continues to set a shining example of how to live and love.

Whatever amount you give will be greatly appreciated, and will go towards a worthy cause. Aside from our family, mama is loved by the people whose lives she touches. Through the many jobs she has taken to boost her income through the years, she has always performed admirably and earned lasting love and respect from colleagues and subordinates alike, many of whom still seek her out for advice or just her warmth, years after they have parted ways as colleagues.

Please help us help her continue her journey as a powerful force for good, and as a bright light in the world.