Trembling voice still 'part of cancer' but worst over, Miriam says

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago was trembling and her voice was breaking when she defended on Tuesday the Senate resolution against the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement before her colleagues.

The senator admitted to reporters that it was still part of cancer but her doctor assured her that she has gone through the worst.

“It’s part of the cancer, sometimes people tremble, sometimes we get tired. These are symptomatic but according to my doctors, especially the one that they consider the highest authority for left lung cancer," Santiago told reporters.

"'Yan ang diagnosis niya, I have already gone over the hump,” she said when asked on her condition.

Santiago, who is seeking the presidency in next year's elections, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer  in 2014. She claimed that the cancer cells have been killed by her medication in 2015.

She missed some time from the Senate because of the ailment, but said she's better now.

“When I was at my worst, it was not working anymore, my medicine was changed because it was  programmed to resist me after a while.  When I was at my worst, it was changed so I got better and that’s when I decided I would go back,” she said.

But she lamented the cost of cancer medicine, saying it is too expensive even for her.

“‘Yun pala sa mga bagong gamot ngayon, buwan-buwan may lumalabas at lumalabas  na mga gamot sa cancer na hindi pa napanaginipan noon kaya lang ang mahal mahal nila. The pharmaceutical companies make a lot of money because they have to spend a lot for research and development but they’re developing their new medicines almost a revolutionary in rate that doctors cannot believe it themselves,” she said.

Santiago said she is back to her old schedule now.

“I always have three to four speaking invitations a week and all of these, of course, were denied but I started accepting the first ones this week so I’m back on my old schedule,” she said.

She added that with all the invitations, her advantage is she can virtually choose at what rate she should speak to the youth.

“Whether I would speak twice a week, three times a week, depende. In my case, I have this advantage but it also sucks my strength because I cannot talk without passion to the young people,” said Santiago. —NB/JST, GMA News