Miriam Cheered by Carter’s Cancer Cure

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Tuesday said that she was encouraged by reports that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter had been cured of brain cancer following cutting-edge treatment from experts of the disease.

“The positive development in the case of Mr. Carter’s cancer trumps the macabre wishes of my naysayers that I should die before I finish a six-year term as president. If Mr. Carter can do it, I, too, can beat cancer to serve the Filipino people,” Santiago said.

The senator was referring to Carter’s statement that his latest magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scan “did not reveal any signs of the original cancer spots nor any new ones.” Carter earlier said that his cancer, originally detected in his liver, had spread to his brain.

Santiago, for her part, has been diagnosed with lung cancer, stage four, in June 2014. Before filing her certificate of candidacy for president in October, she announced that her cancer has been diagnosed as “stable,” as she continues to undergo treatment.

“My cancer should no longer be a concern in the presidential campaign. I challenge my opponents and their allies to debate instead on issues of national concern. The cancer that demands our urgent attention is corruption and poverty,” the senator said.

At the Senate, Santiago has filed several measures to help cancer patients in the Philippines. These include the Senate Bill No. 2136, or the Childhood Cancer Survivors’ Quality of Life Act, which seeks to improve research and programs on childhood cancer survivorship.

She has also filed proposed Senate Resolution No. 1215, which calls for a Senate hearing to identify legislative measures that will ease the pain of cancer patients in the Philippines. Both measures remain pending at the Senate committee on health and demography.

Source: senate.gov.ph