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[av_heading heading=’Syjuco seeks chemo for blood condition ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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MANILA – Former Iloilo congressman and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority director general Augusto Syjuco Jr. is suffering from a blood condition that needs chemotherapy.
In an urgent motion, he sought the Sandiganbayan’s permission to take an 11-day trip to Singapore for medical treatment.
Facing a string of graft charges, Syjuco told the Sandiganbayan he has “advanced myelodysplastic syndrome.”
According to the US-based Mayo Clinic, “myelodysplastic syndromes are a group of disorders caused by poorly formed blood cells or ones that don’t work properly. They result from something amiss in the spongy material inside the bones where blood cells are made (bone marrow). Treatment usually focuses on reducing or preventing complications of the disease. In some cases, treatment might involve chemotherapy or a bone marrow transplant.”
In his urgent motion for leave to travel abroad, Syjuco said he was advised by his doctor to undergo medical treatment at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore from Jan. 22 to Feb. 2, 2018.
Attached to Syjuco’s motion was a medical certificate from Dr. Patrick Tan stating that the symptoms of Syjuco’s condition was revealed following a bone marrow study last month.
“The condition…has a high chance to progress to acute leukemia,” Tan stated. “My client will need at least eight courses of chemotherapy to see significant progress in his condition. He needs to be treated every three to four weeks.”
Tan said a “patient with advanced myelodysplasia has poor immunity (thus) in between his treatments he should live in a clean environment.”
The patient’s food must be well-cooked “to prevent any serious infection,” the doctor added.
Syjuco asked the Sandiganbayan that he be accompanied by his wife Judy, also a former Iloilo 2nd District congresswoman, every 22nd day of the month until July 2018 in Singapore.
They are both not “flight risks”, he stressed.
Syjuco’s wife also has a graft case at the Sandiganbayan./PN
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