Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will undergo stem cell therapy on Monday with an alternative medicine doctor.

Arroyo, in a post on her Twitter account Saturday morning, said Monday's session will be her fourth intravenous treatment.

"This Monday I will have my fourth stem cell intravenous treatment with my alternative medicine doctor," she said.

Also she said, "It's cultured stem cell and much more modest in price than the one coming from sheep or one's own body."

But she did not elaborate on how much the treatment will cost.

Stem cell therapy is type of intervention strategy that introduces new adult stem cells into damaged tissue in order to treat disease or injury.

Earlier this week, Arroyo said she continues to search for alternative solutions to an anatomic problem that prompted her to be rushed to a government hospital last month.

Arroyo said she had seen at least two "alternative medicine practitioners," and has initiated communication with a "neurocervical spine purist."

She said she also had her thrice-weekly therapy at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City Thursday.

Arroyo underwent treatment last August for an anatomic problem that caused her to choke on her food.

Last Aug. 30, a dzBB report quoted Arroyo's spokesperson Elena Bautista-Horn as saying the former leader's condition has improved such that she is allowed to occasionally remove her titanium neck brace.

Horn said removing the brace can also allow the former leader to move her neck and keep her neck muscles from weakening.

But Horn was quoted in the report as saying Arroyo must still wear the brace in potentially risky situations, including when climbing stairs or going out of the house.

Arroyo had been told by doctors to wear the brace after she was brought to the St. Luke's Medical Center due to a pinched nerve in 2011.

Last Aug. 2, she was rushed to the VMMC after choking on a piece of melon and a piece of "bacon-like" meat.

VMMC head Dr. Nona Legaspi said they advised Arroyo to rest, after noting she looked dehydrated and "very weak" when she was brought there.

She said Arroyo had also been advised that pain can be cumulative, and the body should be allowed to heal.

Legaspi also said they have advised Arroyo to "force" herself to eat, lest they feed her intravenously.

In late July, Arroyo left the VMMC after a Pasay court allowed her to post a P1-million bail for the electoral sabotage charge against her.

She had spent eight months in hospital arrest since Nov. 15 last year, first at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Taguig City, then at the VMMC starting last December.

But Arroyo also faces re-arrest if the Sandiganbayan issues a warrant for her arrest for charges of plunder stemming from irregularities at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. — LBG, GMA News