Whoever said health is wealth most likely didn’t realize how true and painful his words are.

We take health for granted, yet when we are threatened by a life threatening disease, we are taken aback as though health were a birth right. Why me? we ask.

And the cost of getting back on track is a massive pain. With cancer, the cost is too often unaffordable, with no guarantees.

In the Philippines, it doesn’t pay to invest in an HMO. There are simply too many restrictions, too many condtiions.

In my case, Medicard does not cover cancer, among other "pre–existing diseases, as a "dread disease." Beyond an initial R20,000, it will not pay now for a simple procedure like a blood test.

Is this standard with local HMOs, we wonder.

Alas, I am considered "uninsurable" because I am diabetic and now I have this cancer.

But that’s okay because as a senior citizen, I get a 20 percent discount for my medical expenses. In St. Luke’s, they automatically deduct 20 percent from the total hospital bill and you don’t even have to show a card for it.

A friend was lamenting just recently how she had invested a "fortune" in her HMO, believing that in the time of need, she would be fully covered. Through the years she never missed a payment.

Then the "time of need" came and so did the painful truth. Imagine her horror to learn that her HMO would pay only a third of her hospital bill, a drop in the bucket considering what she had paid up in insurance premiums.

If only she had kept her money and invested it in the money market!, she said… "I would have had no problems paying the hospital and my doctors with money to spare."

Meanwhile, being left to fend for myself, I am extremely grateful to friends and relatives who came to my rescue, donating to my hospital kitty — otherwise, I might be nearly destitute (well, allow me to exaggerate).

I am now undergoing chemotherapy which doesn’t come cheap and so I wonder what do cancer patients do who can’t afford the chemo?

I owe much to my high school classmates from St. Theresa’s College Manila who raised money among themselves for my surgery and took turns doing hospital watch… Tessie Estayo Rodrigo, Espie Bunag Gatbonton, Malou Evaristo Cruz, Lina de Dios Torralba, Lita Caluag Cruz, Prosy Linao Valero, et al.

My gratitude overflows to Nedy Tantoco and Anton Huang, to Tessie Sy Cosom whose husband Louie had succumbed also to cancer, to mega publicists Susan Joven and Edd Fuentes, my endocrinologist Dr. Thelma Crisostomo who is a dear friend… for other dear friends like the "balaes" Mellie Ablaza and Letty Syquia, Lovely Romulo, Deedee Siytangco who has just lost her beloved "hubby" Sonny to pancreatic cancer, celebrity hairdresser Ricky Reyes, Boysie Villavicencio, Rikki Jimenez, Baby de Jesus, restaurateur Lynn Sunico, Bob Zozobrado, Raquel Hizon, Joy Buensalido, Sheree Gotuaco, Charito Planas, et al. Forgive me if I missed your name.

When I checked out of the hospital, weak and helpless, Ira and Jacqui Maniquis took me into their home to nurse me back to health with the help of their kids – Brian, Patrick and Dessie.

What would I have done without friends?

It is when you are down, literally, that one discovers who your friends are, such as — Vera Isberto who made "bantay" patiently in the hospital, Annie Ringor who brought food to chase my whims (I was so heavily medicated that my tastebuds were gone – like a drug addict, said my son Alex – and my appetite faded in seconds), Rachy Cuna who brought Fiorgelato sugar free ice cream, et al.

I am so amused because when once I expressed a wish for the cooling beverage C2 Lite, everybody brought boxes of it, specially Roseane Villegas of Robinson’s.

But I am not amused by the sanctimonous messages texted by the well meaning but unwise. Goodness, when a person is down and ailing, it is not the time to remind him/her that "God does not give you trials that you cannot endure."

Shove it, dears — cancer victims have no choice but to "endure."

Yup, the deluge of inspirational verses can be nauseating. Whatever happened to a simple, jolly heehaw? As I lay in bed watching the slow drip of chemo, I certainly would enjoy even a green joke,

Sometimes I feel like I’m being given the grand send–off, what with the religious statues, rosaries, holy water, novenas, religious books, even mass cards!

Yes, I do occasionally "wallow in self pity" as Thelma San Juan wrote in Metro magazine. It isn’t always because I have been stricken with the "dread disease" but because of folks who overwhelm me with "godly" advise. I’ll take the prayers, thank you, but everything else — well, that’s between my Maker and me. And I’ll love you still.