A Boy's Dream to Ride in a Subaru

**artpogi** · September 23rd, 2004 11:05 AM

Very Nice

http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=361125

**iqaruzz** · September 23rd, 2004 11:43 AM

I LOVE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

**wreckless** · September 23rd, 2004 11:47 AM

awww...very touching
and cool.

**edzzz** · September 23rd, 2004 12:34 PM

pero babaw ng wish nya, kung ako yun, mga Ferrari

**ssaloon** · September 23rd, 2004 12:55 PM

ayus! great turnout!

**av8or5** · September 23rd, 2004 01:43 PM

thats one good thing about foreigners..they really love do things for charity....tayo mga pinoys..will we do that? hmmmmm?

**chieffy** · September 23rd, 2004 01:50 PM

Originally posted by av8or5
thats one good thing about foreigners..they really love do things for charity....tayo mga pinoys..will we do that? hmmmmm?

imho may tendency rin kasing tayong mga Pinoy na umabuso kaya tuloy di rin agad agad tayo nagbibigay unless mapupunta talaga yung tulong o donasyon sa dapat makatanggap...

**hagiber** · September 23rd, 2004 02:38 PM

Eto isang actual call for help na nasa Inquirer... will someone actually help ?

Young boy cries for help: I want to live
Updated 09:21pm (Mla time) Sept 01, 2004
By Jolene R. Bulambot
Inquirer News Service

Unlike most children his age, June Maurin Arceo should have been in Grade 6 now until he met an accident early this year that has brought a dramatic change in his life.

June, at 11, already knew what he wanted: to become a teacher. This goal, however, has been set aside to focus on a bigger battle: fighting for his life against cancer.

June enrolled at Talamban Elementary School in June, only to quit days before the classes started because the cancer has started to weaken his resistance, making him very vulnerable and fragile.

"I really wanted to finish my studies so I could become a teacher and help my family, I really want to live and I hope God would grant my wish," Arceo said.

Too weak to walk and now wheelchair-bound, June still managed a warm smile when visited by this writer in his home at Sitio Kalubihan, Talamban, Cebu City.

June has only one wish for his birthday on Sept. 12, that is, for him to be able to survive the surgery to remove a mass in his abdomen.

His father Joseph, 31, said June's condition started eight months ago, in the middle of January, when he fell and hurt his abdomen while playing basketball. It was supposed to be just ordinary accident most playful kids encountered, but it turned out to be very unfortunate for the young Arceo.

June started feeling pain in his abdomen. In March, a doctor found a tumor developing in his abdomen and it had already grown to about 20 centimeters.

In June, the boy's parents got the shock of their life when their eldest child was diagnosed to have a soft tissue sarcoma cancer already in the critical Stage 4.

Off guard

"It was so shocking; we were caught off guard. We never expected it. It couldn't be because our boy is so young. He still has so many dreams for himself and for the family to fulfill," the teary-eyed father said.

Dr. Lynda Mae Lipatan, Arceo's attending physician, explained that the fall did not cause the cancer but aggravated his condition. She said the cancerous mass was actually growing inside the abdomen and the fall jarred the pelvic area and sped up the growth of the mass.

Over the last three months, June has been in and out of the hospital. He had undergone bone marrow aspiration, bone marrow biopsy and several tests and chemotherapy.

He is the eldest of three children. His younger siblings are aged 10 and 4.

His father works as a technician at Norkis Trading Corp., earning P6,000 a month, while his mother Maurine works as a promo girl.

June's chemotherapy and other medical expenses rose to more than P100,000, draining the family's financial resources. "It is so hard for us to sustain his medical needs but we have no choice. We love him so much and we want him to survive and he is keeping up with the fight," his father said.

Still, hopes are high for the Arceos.

Lipatan said June was responding well to chemotherapy. After completing the 12 cycles, the patient will undergo a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) diagnostic test, a procedure to assess regression of the tumor.

"If the MRI result is okay, we could then schedule him for a surgery early next month to remove the mass that has practically covered almost the abdomen. After the surgery, he would be subjected to another phase of chemotherapy until he recovers," Lipatan said.

The physician said the cost of surgery might reach P200,000.

High chance

June's cancer is chemotherapy-sensitive and he has higher chances of survival if he gets the right treatment, Lipatan said.

According to recent studies, children with sarcoma have higher chances of survival compared to adults, she said. Sarcoma is a type of cancer arising in the body's supporting tissues and it is not known what causes it, she said.

In June's case, other relatives had suffered from this type of cancer.

Now frail and bald, Arceo is appealing to those with kind hearts to give him a chance to live. Those who want to help may reach Joseph Arceo through his mobile phone, 0916-754-1772 (not 0916-754-1172 as posted in an earlier version of this story).