Pinoy in UAE needs bone marrow donor for leukemia
A Filipino based in the United Arab Emirates is suffering from leukemia and needs a bone marrow donor soonest.
Larry Castro, 34, is hoping to find such a donor for a transplant after leukemia returned for the third time, Khaleej Times reported Friday.
“If I had just one wish, it would be to turn back the hands of time. But at least I tried to live a good fight,” said Castro, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2011.
Citing doctors' findings, he said he had 75 percent cancer cells within the marrow and had to undergo five, one monthly doses of chemotherapy.
While he was last given a clean bill of health in September 2013, he relapsed and was readmitted to Dubai Hospital on November 23, 2014.
He now funds his own visa costs, and is unsure of what his hospital bill stands.
Castro, who moved to Dubai in 2009, said he was told he was suffering from Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), a cancer that starts inside the bone marrow.
He first experienced on/off fever, bleeding gums and sudden weight loss while working in a supermarket in Dubai Marina.
This shocked him as he had no family history of the disease. Initially, he stayed in the hospital for five months and would endure a four-hour session of chemotherapy each month.
Castro tried to return to work after undergoing his fifth dose of chemotherapy in February 2012, and underwent blood checks every two weeks.
But recently, his doctors voiced concerns his blood count was dropping and his body bore bruises.
"At the same time, I started to experience the old symptoms again. On/off fever, bleeding gums. I was devastated,” he said.
Castro has a half brother and a half sister in the Philippines.
“I would love so much to see them but tickets are too expensive. It would cost them about Dh3,000, so I will just wait until I am better again to see them,” he said. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News
Larry Castro, 34, is hoping to find such a donor for a transplant after leukemia returned for the third time, Khaleej Times reported Friday.
“If I had just one wish, it would be to turn back the hands of time. But at least I tried to live a good fight,” said Castro, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2011.
Citing doctors' findings, he said he had 75 percent cancer cells within the marrow and had to undergo five, one monthly doses of chemotherapy.
While he was last given a clean bill of health in September 2013, he relapsed and was readmitted to Dubai Hospital on November 23, 2014.
He now funds his own visa costs, and is unsure of what his hospital bill stands.
Castro, who moved to Dubai in 2009, said he was told he was suffering from Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), a cancer that starts inside the bone marrow.
He first experienced on/off fever, bleeding gums and sudden weight loss while working in a supermarket in Dubai Marina.
This shocked him as he had no family history of the disease. Initially, he stayed in the hospital for five months and would endure a four-hour session of chemotherapy each month.
Castro tried to return to work after undergoing his fifth dose of chemotherapy in February 2012, and underwent blood checks every two weeks.
But recently, his doctors voiced concerns his blood count was dropping and his body bore bruises.
"At the same time, I started to experience the old symptoms again. On/off fever, bleeding gums. I was devastated,” he said.
Castro has a half brother and a half sister in the Philippines.
“I would love so much to see them but tickets are too expensive. It would cost them about Dh3,000, so I will just wait until I am better again to see them,” he said. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News
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