TRIUMF (Toni Remains In U and Me Foundation)
2020 UPDATE
In loving memory of our dear Toni, who passed away last August 1, 2019, our family built TRIUMF (Toni Remains in U & Me Foundation) as her legacy to provide care & assistance to young leukemia patients of Legazpi City, and hopefully in the future, the world.
2019
Help Toni Fight Leukemia
My cousin, Toni Estevez, is currently in the fight of and for her life. Roughly two weeks ago, she was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myelogenous Leukemia), a type of blood and bone marrow cancer.
https://www.facebook.com/ 254104014617003/videos/ 2122447537733/
For several years now, she has been experiencing episodes of dizziness and vertigo, but she just dismissed the symptoms. Until recently, when she finally decided to seek medical attention. Blood was drawn, and tests came back abnormal (low hemoglobin, low white blood cell count, low platelets). Further work up (eg bone marrow biopsy) confirmed our worst nightmare - Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (subtype M1).
In order to prognosticate the patient, and give the correct treatment, it is important to determine the stage/classification. Leukemia experts divided AML into subtypes, M0 through M7, based on the type of cell from which the leukemia develops and how mature the cells are. The subtype M1 means that the leukemia has minimal maturation. It is not the worst type, but it is certainly not the best one either.
She is currently undergoing chemotherapy, a 3+7 procedure and will be needing a bone marrow transplant that will cost around $300,000 alone. She lives in Legazpi City, a small province in the Philippines, where healthcare is out-of-pocket and health insurance is basically unheard of. It is for this reason that we, her cousins, have set up this page for her and decided that we cannot do this alone, and we need your help.
She is a talented and an amazing 29-year old chef and professor who has so much ahead of her. She works thrice as hard for her family- her husband, Santi and five-year old son, Lucas. She tries to be positive, but we know that most times, she is scared - just as much as we are.
She is in isolation since her white blood cell count is low. So while we’re waiting for the chance to see her, we decided to set up this page, and would really appreciate all the help that she can get. If you're reading this, thank you for the time, and please offer your prayers and intentions for her. No gift is too small and every penny will be greatly appreciated and will go directly towards her treatment. Thank you for all your support.
We will be updating this page.
Thank you so much. And may God bless you a hundredfold.
