Former national athletics team member Marife Suanque has been diagnosed with cervical cancer and an appeal for assistance has been sounded by one of her former teammates in the national training pool.

Suanque, 39, donned the national colors in the 1989 3rd ASEAN Schools Athletic Championships in Baguio City and the 3rd Asian Junior Athletics Championship in Beijing, China, was one of the country’s budding sprinters during her heyday.

Her former teammate, Tessie Cario, said that Suanque was diagnosed with cancer June last year and had an operation in July 5 this year. She is also undergoing chemotherapy sessions at Perpetual Succour Hospital in Cebu.

During her high school days at the Bacolod City National High School, Suanque was known for breaking the national Palaro record in 200m and 400m during the 1990 Palarong Pambansa in Pampanga.

After graduating from BCNHS, Suanque joined the athletics varsity team of the University of St. La Salle and won honors for the Stingers at national competitions.

She is now teaching Physical Education at BCNHS, but has to go on an official leave. Cario said her latest CT scan showed that another tumor has grown in her left pelvic bone.

Suanque, who is separated from her husband, is trying to raise her five kids by herself. The family lives in a boarding house near the BCNHS.

Appealing for help on behalf of Suanque, Cario said that her friend does not have any source of income to support her medical expenses.

“She only depends on whatever assistance she receives from her sister who works as a nurse in London, who sends pension money for their mother,” Cario said, adding that some of their friends and colleagues are also chipping in some amount for Suanque.*NAB

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