Let's Rock for Mac- Fighting Cancer

Mark Angelo or “Mac” as he is fondly called by his close friends, is loved by many people as he is one of the most selfless person you could ever meet. I have been a living witness of how altruistic he has always been to his family, friends and even to strangers. He dedicated most of his early years championing volunteer works in the community through different social and civic organizations. He was even awarded as an outstanding youth leader of Tuguegarao City (Philippines) in 2006. Because of his love for public service, he eventually decided to actively involve himself in the Philippine Local Government unit just so he could extend help to more people from all walks of life without expecting anything in return.

He is a supporting spouse to Lace and loving father of two very young kids; Leana, 7 and Worthy, 6. In 2016, Mac and his wife made a very difficult decision of moving to Australia so that his wife could pursue a higher degree of education, thus opening more opportunities for them to provide a better future for their children. Mac, being the breadwinner of the family decided to leave his early career in government service in order to accompany Lace to Australia but sadly, they have to leave their children back in the Philippines under the care of his wife's parents.

While his wife is studying, Mac has been happy working as a casual sales associate in a duty-free shop in the weekdays and as a cook for an aged care facility in the weekend to support their daily living expenses in Australia as well as to provide for their children's needs back home. As his friend and housemate, I have seen his dedication to both of his job and his commitment to provide well for his family as he endured the physical and mental fatigue because he had one goal and that is to bring his children in Australia so they could be all together. 

Everything was falling into place as planned until April of this year. He had himself checked by the GP due to cough and shortness of breath. After taking the prescribed medication, the cough persisted so the GP had him referred to a lung specialist who later found out via bronchoscopy that, he has been infected by a rare form of bacteria causing a cavitation in his right lung. He was given oral antibiotics for a span of four weeks but to no avail, thus he was then admitted to the Alfred Hospital (Melbourne) for further investigation. During his confinement, he had to undergo numerous diagnostic procedures such as CT Scans, gated heart scan, 2D Echo, ultrasound, bronchoscopy, biopsy, X-ray and everyday lab workups. Finally, after his third bronchoscopy and PET scan, Mac and his wife had to hear the most difficult and devastating news from the doctors that he has stage 2B Diffused Large B-Cell Lymphoma (non-Hodgkin's); a rare and very aggressive type of blood cancer.

His treatment plan includes six (6) cycles of chemotherapy every 2 weeks, long-term IV antibiotics for his lung infection and a surgery after his chemotherapy; he started the first cycle last July 16 & 17.

Because of the turn-out of events, Mac, as much as he wants to, will be unable to continue working therefore will put a strain on their finances. Their savings are running low and the family is stressed out with their capacity to pay for rent, utility bills, daily expenses and providing financial support for their kids on top of piling medical expenses for Mac.

Friends, let us lend this loving family a helping hand. May I invite you to take part to this cause that I am initiating by sincerely sharing whatever amount you can because I am sure that Mac would do the same. I can personally attest to the kind of person he is because I have known him since we were in high school. He is not just my best buddy; he is a brother to me. Thank you in advance!