Her Passing

Before we even have the time to absorb the news about my Uncle having cancer, we have received news that my Auntie, who has just finished her chemotherapy for breast cancer, passed away this morning.

I contacted my cousin to find out the truth, deep down hoping this was all just false alarm. Maybe some gossip that is misunderstood and not properly relayed. But then, all my hopes fly out the windows when my cousin confirmed it. She said it was all so sudden. Her Mama just had difficulty breathing, and then she passed. My cousin said her Mama did not seem to suffer much. She just lay there, and went to eternal peace.

I am hesitant to tell my Mama about her. Auntie came to my Mama after the former had had her mastectomy to ask who Mama's doctor was. She had known Mama had breast cancer and had finished her chemotherapy. So she went to the same doctor that treated my Mama. They had the same treatment (at least, I think they did). But she had to travel hundreds of kilometers from Agusan to Davao City to have her chemo.

One time she traveled alone, and she felt nauseous in the bus. She panicked. She didn’t know anybody in the bus. It was a blessing that one of her former students was also a passenger. After that, she didn’t dare go to Davao all by herself.

She finished all her six sessions of chemo despite some delays. Her doctor prescribed tamoxifen. The last time I saw her, she was up and about, talking about her plans of traveling and other stuff. And that was almost five months ago. So I was utterly stunned when my sister told me this morning that Auntie has passed away. Of course, I was afraid, too. She had the same disease as my Mama, she had the same doctor, the same treatment, and now she’s gone.

I’m really going to miss her. She was very accommodating, very thoughtful, always smiling. Every time I got stranded in San Francisco, Agusan, it was with her that I would stay. With her gone now, there’s this big empty space she is leaving behind. I could say maybe this is best for her. But there will always be emptiness. I can just imagine how her children might be feeling.

So to her family, my prayers of peace and healing.

And to Auntie, rest in God’s eternal bliss.