She walked onto the massive catwalk in a blue Martin Bautista dress, and she took our breaths away, drew a tear or two from many eyes. She walked with crutches, but with a spring in her step, she was walking on clouds, lifted even higher by the applause, as the audience rose to their feet.

Her name is Jelian Biscara, 17, who is battling osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. She has just, according to her medical records at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), “completed eight cycles of definitive chemotherapy and surgery.” Due to lung metastasis, she also underwent six cycles of palliative oral chemotherapy. A serial chest CT scan has been recommended to monitor her lung condition, the next of which is due in November. 

But Jelian is brave. You could see it on her face, as she took to the stage at the I Want to Share (IWTS) charity gala held at the grand ballroom of Shangri-la The Fort on Friday, Sept. 15, as one of 25 cancer warriors, girls and boys, all tweens and teenagers, who walked the ramp wearing collections made in their honor by masterful designers Martin Bautista, Rajo Laurel, Andrea Tetangco, Mark Bumgarner, and Avel Bacudio.

It was the first ever benefit ball organized by the IWTS Foundation, which has for 10 years, since it was established in 2013, been devoted to helping juvenile cancer patients fight the fight, not only by funding their medicines and MRI tests, but also by securing second opinions from specialists around the world and arranging transportation and accommodation for them and their families, should they need to move from anywhere across the country, to hospitals in Manila or elsewhere, but particularly to the pediatric hematology-oncology department of PGH. 

On average, IWTS helps 600 young cancer patients complete their chemotherapy sessions every year. There are many other side projects, aimed at making the cancer warriors enjoy the ordinary pleasures of being young, such as the “Shine! Dreams Do Come True” program in 2015, in which they experienced the magic of prom night, with no less than some of the most popular celebrities of the time as their prom dates. There was also the “I Want to Share My Hair” campaign, held at the height of the pandemic, which allowed the children to reclaim the hair they had lost as a result of their cancer treatments.

At the very heart of IWTS is businesswoman Sheila Romero, who has herself battled cancer. Together with IWTS board directors Pinky Antonio, Talia Asuncion, Suzette Ayson, Robby Carmona, Dey Dimaandal, Dominic Roque, Steven Tan, and Rep. Sam Versoza, she has never wavered from the fight against cancer, determined to increase the cancer survival rate in the Philippines to at least 60 percent, from the current 30 percent average. 

This is the underlying reason Sheila and the IWTS board of directors decided to throw a gala this year in celebration of what she described in her opening remarks as “the foundation’s remarkable 10-year journey, one filled with compassion, resilience, and profound hope.” Also, some of the funds raised at the gala are earmarked for the establishment of two specialized rooms and a nurturing nurses’ station at the Bone Marrow Transplant Center at the Philippine General Hospital.

The IWTS set out to raise ₱12 million from the charity ball, which auctioned off—with Tim Yap  in charge—masterworks from Andres Barrioquinto, Daniel de la Cruz, Demi Padua, Dino Gabito, and Ramon Orlina, as well as a few pieces of jewelry and a Maserati. In the end, it raised over ₱19 million, thanks to the generosity of the guests, over 500 of them, who showed up, as well as its many partners and donors, Maserati included, Rulls, Vivo, Silicon Valleys, SM Supermalls, The Lind Boracay, and Moss Interior Event & Design. 
Aside from the fashion show, as well as the generous display of support for the cause at the auction, there were particularly beautiful moments during the gala. 

One was when Korina Sanchez-Roxas opened the ceremony, sharing her own intimate encounter with cancer, her brother Ramon, a star basketball player at Ateneo, having succumbed to leukemia at the age of 19. In her speech, she said poignantly, “We are all given pain, so we will have purpose.”

Another beautiful highlight was when Sheila asked everyone to raise a candle in the darkened ballroom to remind them of the power they had in their hands to relieve suffering, to make the world a better place. 
In those moments, the world was such a beautiful place indeed.