Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Francis Orcio

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17521669023211752166899560.jpeg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Despite being diagnosed with stage 4 triple positive breast cancer, Marivic Villacampa continues to embrace her calling as an educator. Francis Orcio, ABS-CBN News"/>Despite being diagnosed with stage 4 triple positive breast cancer, Marivic Villacampa continues to embrace her calling as an educator. Francis Orcio, ABS-CBN News</div><div> </div>MANILA — “As long as you are alive, there is always hope.”This is the daily mantra that Marivic Villacampa clings to with unwavering faith, a 57-year-old teacher at Bulihan Integrated National High School in Silang, Cavite.Despite being diagnosed with stage 4 triple positive breast cancer, an advanced and aggressive form of the disease, Villacampa continues to embrace her calling as an educator.Teaching has been her life for more than a decade, and not even cancer, which struck her unexpectedly in 2023, could keep her away from her classroom.She vividly recalls how it all started.&quot;Naramdaman ko to noong 2023. So, noong nag-duty ako, napansin ko tumataas ang BP ko, tapos, hindi bumababa. Tapos, nakita rin nila iyong physical na changes doon sa part kung saan affected iyong breast ko,” Villacampa shared.The discovery led to a painful journey of chemotherapy and countless medical appointments.Still, she chose to stay by her students’ side. Her reason is rooted not just in her responsibility as the family’s breadwinner, with a son who is a person with disability and a husband suffering from a heart ailment, but in her deep belief that teaching is her mission in life.The heaviest blow came when doctors told her the cancer was incurable. She was given until December 2024 to live.&quot;Noong sinasabi sa akin, stage 4 na iyon, incurable. Kasi nga, infected na iyong buong katawan. To the point na sinabihan nga din ako ng oncologist noon na merely to survive December, pinakamatagal na iyon. Pero at the back of my mind talaga, sinabi ko, hindi yan mangyayari. Kasi hindi papayag ang Panginoon dahil anak ako ng Diyos,” Villacampa said.Her battle has not gone unnoticed. Fellow teachers stand witness to her courage, drawing inspiration from her strength.&quot;Si Ma&#x27;am Villacampa po is parang mother na talaga siya sa mga estudyante namin. And we, as her co-teachers, siya ay very accommodating. Tsaka, she serves as an inspiration to us women,” said Michelle Santos, her colleague.Students also feel the warmth of Villacampa’s second-mother love.&quot;When that time po na wala po akong pambaon po, she&#x27;s providing po kahit meron na po siyang malalang sakit that time po. And, ang laki po ng respect ko sa kanya, sobrang admirable po ni Ma&#x27;am Vi,” shared Kevin Flores, one of her students.Villacampa believes that her faith and the love from her students and friends who rally behind her medical journey fuel her will to keep going.&quot;Isang estudyante nagsabi sa akin, hindi ka pa pwedeng mamatay, marami pa kaming kakalabitin mo. So, nagkakaroon ako doon ng, ay, may purpose pa rin talaga ako,” she recounted.Though she accepts that the day may come when she will have to leave this world, she holds on to hope, that she might still heal, and that in the end, her life will impart more than academic lessons.For her, the most important lesson she wishes to leave behind is that no matter how strong the storm, one can always rise above it with faith and hope.

Amid incurable cancer, Cavite teacher becomes beacon of hope for students

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Amid incurable cancer, Cavite teacher becomes beacon of hope for students

Francis Orcio,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 11, 2025 01:02 AM PHT

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Cavite

cancer

breast cancer

teacher

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