On Francis M’s 10th death anniversary, wife Pia recalls moment of his leukemia diagnosis

Image: Instagram/@piamagalona

To commemorate the 10th death anniversary of Francis Magalona today, March 6, which also coincides with Ash Wednesday, his wife Pia recalled the moment she was informed of his leukemia diagnosis.

The widow of the late “Master Rapper” shared her story on Instagram today. She recalled that on Aug. 8, 2008, Francis was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), which is a type of cancer in the blood and bone marrow.

“I remember distinctly that we were both lying in his hospital bed, watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics, when a doctor came by and asked to speak to me in the hallway,” Pia said. “She carefully broke the news, and my only reaction was ok… so what’s the method of treatment, and how long is he going to be confined?”

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Pia added that she still had a “smile on her face” since she was simply relieved that doctors found out why he was having daily fever and feeling lightheaded. But when the doctor told her the words “it’s cancer,” that was when she realized that it is indeed “bad news.”

“Next thing, we both went into the room to tell him about it,” she said. “After that, I called my children one at a time, from eldest to youngest. The most difficult was telling the three youngest who still lived at home at the time, whom I told face to face.”

For the last seven months of Francis’ life, it was “a whirlwind of confinements and discharges and treatments and test, after test, after test,” said Pia. “Faith is really all we ever had, and still have for those he left behind.”

The widow then expressed her gratitude to those who supported Francis and her family “financially and in spirit throughout the journey we called his Happy Battle, and even afterward.”

Francis died on March 6, 2009, after his battle with leukemia, survived by Pia and their eight children. JB

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