It was a story of hope, perseverance, and faith.
But Selina Dagdag-Alas, the better half of basketball starter Kevin Alas, did it. She managed to fight off cancer.
Selinas' Instagram was the first to reveal many milestones, from her sportscaster career, her marriage to Alas, and her heartbreaking cancer diagnosis and how she bravely overcame it.
Selina and Kevin's church wedding was the talk of the town in 2021. It was a match made in heaven that the public journeyed with the couple as they announced their pregnancy months
But reports of miscarriage followed suit.
In 2022, Selina went to her doctor for a regular checkup but discovered that her eight-week pregnancy had not progressed. Then, months after going through a dilation and curettage procedure, it was revealed that there were signs of cancer.
Selina battled a rare form of cancer called gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN), a type of gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) that is always malignant. According to Johns Hopkins University, GTD is the term given to a group of rare tumors that develop during the early stages of pregnancy, just as the woman's body prepares to nourish the embryo or the baby.
From the day she was diagnosed with the deadly disease, Selina stuck to her faith all the way, especially while going through the process of chemotherapy.
"Looking back, I honestly don't know how I got through it—si God lang talaga. But, as I mentioned, I remember feeling weak and nauseous for the most part," she said. "But through every single day, I truly felt the Lord with me."
Fast forward to the present, and Selina now lives her life cancer-free, thanks in part to her neighbor, "Ate Gema."
"Si Ate Gem, she would send me all of these supplements and organic products to help my body fight as I went through strong medication. She would send me a couple of these products, as I mentioned. Pero, of course, I knew, being a cancer patient then, that I needed to run everything I was ingesting by my doctor."
Ate Gema researched a "green juice," which she advocated for Selina to drink.
The Beneficial ‘Green Juice’ of JC
"So I started taking this green juice as often as possible, and thankfully, I felt it made a difference in my body."
The green juice turned out to be JC's Organic Barley Juice. Barley, which is considered one of the 21st century’s superfoods, is packed with nutrients like protein, eight essential amino acids, highly alkalizing minerals, and a whole range of vitamins.
Selina said she added the juice on top of the supplements she received and experienced wonders from it.
"I added this green juice, and I saw the effects. There was evidence and proof in my blood works. You know, eventually, after going through my cycles and supplementing with this green juice, by the grace of God, my HCG levels after about seven cycles went down to 1.20, so that is considered normal. In some hospitals, that's the lowest level already," she said.
Selina believes that constant barley juice drinking helped manage her cancer.
"Praise God, we did the re-test the following day, and all of a sudden, my lungs were clear. So my cancer was staged to 1." she revealed.
"It was almost miraculous, so nakita ko talaga yung difference, even yung liver enzymes ko, which shot up, I told you guys, 5 times the normal level, nag normalize rin siya eventually and my red blood cells , white blood cells, and hemoglobin, it also went up. Nag normalize. As such, I was able to carry through with my treatment and I was able to finish it. Until I was officially in remission."
Selina posted the development on Instagram, and the videos received positive feedback as they carried messages of hope.
"So for those of you going through a severe trial or terrible suffering right now, I know I may not have the answer to your whys, but I know you are in the hands of an infinitely loving Father who ordained this at the beginning of time for your good and His glory. There is immense love behind every pain, every suffering, every tear. With God, I have learned there are no plan Bs. This is His plan A, and He has it all under control. You can rest and trust in Him," she said.
Images courtesy of Selina Alas.