Bianca Umali. Image: Instagram/@bianxa
Bianca Umali has joined a campaign to raise awareness on breast cancer, the disease that made her late mom suffer from “unimaginable pain and so much fear.”
Through her Instagram page on Thursday, Oct. 5, Umali showed photos from a breast cancer awareness event that she attended, while remembering her mom who died when the actress was just 5 years old.
“I saw [my mom] very weak, unable to speak properly, losing all of her hair—slowly deteriorating. I remember not being allowed to be around her,” she recalled. “It felt as if I was constantly pushed away when all I wanted was to cling to my mother.”
Umali recounted feeling hurt and thinking that her mom did not love her, as she admitted she did not understand then what was happening around her.
“When my mom found out about her condition, she was already at stage 3 of breast cancer,” she continued. “I recall people saying it was too late. We were prepared to lose all of our possessions just to save her. The whole family was in pain.”
“For years I carried this pain. I was deeply hurt. It felt as if I was robbed of precious moments with my mom. She was in unimaginable pain and felt so much fear,” she added.
Umali further spoke about her realizations that her mom did what she had to do to protect 5-year-old Umali from risks, and to prevent her child from seeing her pain.
“I do not want another little girl or another woman to lose her mother to breast cancer or to go through the disease herself without any knowledge, awareness and hope,” she stated, adding that she has apparently been planning for the breast cancer awareness campaign since 2017.
Umali concluded her post by reaching out to those who have been battling the disease, reminding them that they are “not alone in this fight.”
“Mommy, this is how I honor you. This one is for you,” she added.
Fellow celebrities including her boyfriend, actor Ruru Madrid, Vicki Belo, Iza Calzado and Bea Alonzo commended Umali for being an inspiration through her advocacy.
Image: Instagram/@bianxa
Image: Instagram/@bianxa
Image: Instagram/@bianxa
Umali has been raised by her paternal grandmother after her dad died of heart attack when she was 10 years old.
In a “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda” interview in March, Umali dedicated a message to her late parents and said, “Alam ko na hindi akong perpektong anak all the time, but I try my best and I hope I make you proud.” /ra