Cavite Public School Teacher Fights On Amid Cancer Battle
MARIVIC VILLACAMPA – A 57-year-old public school teacher at Bulihan Integrated National High School in Silang, Cavite, continues to teach with passion despite being diagnosed with stage 4 triple-positive breast cancer—an aggressive and incurable illness.
Her battle began in 2023 when she noticed something unusual. While on duty, she experienced persistently high blood pressure that wouldn’t go down. Along with that, physical changes in her breast area became noticeable, prompting her to seek medical help. After several medical appointments and chemotherapy sessions, she received devastating news the following year—her cancer had spread throughout her body and was considered incurable.
Doctors told her she might only live until December 2024. Despite this, Marivic firmly believed otherwise. She kept telling herself that it wouldn’t happen, holding on to her faith and trusting that God would not allow it, because she believes she is His child.
Even with her condition, Marivic remained dedicated to teaching. Her colleagues see her as more than just a co-worker; they describe her as a mother figure who is always warm, caring, and approachable. To them, she is an inspiration—especially to fellow women educators.
Her students feel the same. One of them, Kevin Flores, shared that there was a time he didn’t have money for food, and Marivic helped him out—even though she was already battling a serious illness. He expressed deep respect for her and described her as truly admirable.
Meanwhile, stage 4 triple-positive breast cancer is a serious form of the disease that has already spread to other parts of the body, like the bones, lungs, or liver. At this stage, it cannot be cured, but it can still be treated to slow its growth and ease the symptoms.
“Triple-positive” means the cancer has three traits that make it grow: it responds to estrogen, progesterone, and produces too much of a protein called HER2. The positive side is that these traits allow doctors to treat it using hormone-blocking medicines, targeted drugs, and chemotherapy.
Even though it’s a tough diagnosis, many people can still live longer and maintain a good quality of life with the right treatment and support.
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