Character actor Dindo Arroyo ignored cancer scare to make successful comeback

Dindo Arroyo (center) and family

Character actor Dindo Arroyo said that if there was one thing he learned from his recent stint in the top-rating series, “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano,” it was that “my supporters still love me and missed me.”

The actor who played the heartless and corrupt Director Acosta in the ABS-CBN action series said he received messages and phone calls from people here and abroad telling him they liked his performance.

“I was especially touched by a message from a special child asking me to visit him because I’m his idol—me, the mean guy. It’s amazing,” he told the Inquirer.

Dindo swore that his current health condition did not hinder him from playing a role that was physically challenging. The actor was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer two years ago and is in remission.

“In the beginning, people were concerned. I said, ‘Give me a chance. I’ll show you.’ After our rehearsal, everybody clapped including (costars) Coco Martin, Michael de Mesa, Julio Diaz, Lou Veloso, Rez (Cortez) and director Avel (Sunpongco)!” Dindo said the last time he got applauded at a rehearsal was on the set of the foreign movie, “Soldier Boyz” (1998) starring Michael Dudikoff.

In 2014, Dindo was operated on for a mass in his liver. He explained that this was the result of a ruptured gall bladder five years earlier. “The gall stones got imbedded in my liver and pancreas. The oncologist I spoke with said it was stage 4 cancer,” he said. “I took herbal medicine from a Chinese doctor in Ongpin, Manila, every five days for nine months. My sister, who’s a doctor in the United States, was originally against it, but when she saw me, she was impressed and told me to continue what I was taking.”

He added: “I’m getting better and stronger. I’m now working on gaining weight.”

Dindo said he reached his life’s lowest point not when he was told he had cancer, but when his wife, Sherryl Lyn, died of a heart attack in 2009, a day before their 14th wedding anniversary.

“I felt lost. It was difficult to both be a father and mother to our children,” he recounted. “I’m happy that I’m now slowly seeing some of my dreams fulfilled. My children are growing up as God-fearing people. They are diligent students and responsible sons and daughters.”

Dindo and Sherryl Lyn have six children—Briana Lauren, Stephanie Marie, Conrado Manuel, Charlene Nicole, Andrea Isabel and Dominic Chri-sus.

Reflecting on the lessons he learned from his cancer scare, Dindo said: “I quit show biz [temporarily] to live simply. Now I realized that whether or not you live a simple life, your health should still be your priority. If you’re not healthy, you will not be able to fulfill any of your dreams. All I was able to say was ‘Lord, help me.’”

When he was finally given the chance to act again, Dindo said he was “more relaxed. I didn’t worry about anything and just enjoyed work. I do it for my children and for God. I know that I was given a test. I will show everyone that I will be bigger than this.”