Timmy Cruz, an actress and singer, has chosen October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month to share her experience with cancer survival and announce her return to the entertainment industry following a seven-year “self-care” break.
The 1980s pop icon behind the OPM songs Boy, Tingin, and Joke Lang withdrew from the public eye in 2016 to battle cancer. It all began when she suddenly felt the need to get checked out by a doctor after filming a hospital scene for her 2016 television series Once Again with Jean Garcia, Aljur Abrenica, and Janine Gutierrez. Cancer was discovered after the usual examination.
“That health issue would seriously hinder my progress. For a while, it was blocking my route. During a recent private press conference, Timmy revealed, “I was in a teleserye, and they had to remove me from there; they had to end my role.
Her diagnosis temporarily rocked the world she had been living in. “I asked the doctor, what is it,” she recalled. It’s cancer, the doctor stated. No matter how powerful you are, everything crumbles when you hear that, in my opinion.
Because of her careful annual exams, the malignancy was “very small,” measuring only a peppercorn.
“The cancer was actually relatively mild when the news was delivered to me because I was still alive. When I turned 40, I gave myself the present of a yearly physical. At the age of 56, I was diagnosed with cancer. I was therefore accustomed to getting checkups, she continued.
But even if it was a “small mass,” Timmy could feel it.
“As I was strolling outside my home in Tagaytay in the heat, I suddenly felt something that seemed like parang kidlat. I’m napaupo. I believed I was experiencing some sort of heart attack. I let a few days go by after that since I had to return to Manila for the teleserye, she recounted.
“But after three or four days, when I started working out again, I felt it again… I saw the doctor once more, got a biopsy, and that is what they discovered.
She sought a second, third, and fourth opinion before deciding to have her breasts surgically removed. She emphasized the significance of individual agency in making such choices.
“I went with the most traditional program available. (I’m saying this) so that women would understand that it is entirely up to you what you do with yourself. Ikaw pa rin ang magde-decide, she added, “even if the physicians offer you a plan.
“I made the decision to have one of my breasts removed, even though the malignancy was extremely little. Being a woman and doing that is pretty impressive. That particular moment was very dramatic. To myself, I had to speak. I had to bid one of my breasts go. Just so you know, I have an implant, so everything is fine.
“I also don’t want to put anything fake in my body. Ayoko talaga ng anything na hindi totoo but sa akin binigay ng all the people I know in the whole globe. But when that happened, I was shocked because I had been kelangan tanggapin since sayo binigay.
Timmy came to the conclusion that cancer does not discriminate against anyone during her struggle. Even health buffs like her can be impacted by it. She had an accepting and determined stance in dealing with the diagnosis. “Pinanganak ka para malagpasan mo at mapagtagumpayan mo ‘to,” she would remind herself. Galingan mo to, then! I would harm myself in that way. I would pay attention to my reactions.
She thought back to her own response when recovering from surgery in the hospital. “They contacted me early in the morning, my family, my friends, who were all anxious and crying and everything, to tell me I was going inside for the surgery.
“I was lying on the bed, just thinking. I was also gazing outside because the scenery was lovely and the stars were bright. These were my thoughts, and if you don’t mind, Lord, I’m OK with that. But as always, “wag mo akong kukunin. ‘Wag mo ako kukunin (laughs)”
She was informed that several medical professionals were singing her popular song Boy while she was having surgery.
“According to the doctors I spoke to, Timmy Cruz was undergoing surgery, and they were informed by the nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals that they should be on the lookout for the Boy. So I was being operated on as I was being kinakantahan. I am a tugo so ‘di ko alam.
“Ang huling naisip ko is sabi sa akin ni Lord, just smile and I’ll take care of it,” she continued. The anesthesiologist said that I was grinning when they put the oxygen mask on me during the anesthetic.
She smiled as she left the operating room, thankful to be alive.
Her recovery was also characterized by her conviction in the strength and power of the human spirit.
“Di ko masyado sineryoso yung nangyari sa akin, ganun naging trip ko. Despite the fact that laro was not a napakahirap, I continued to inisip. However, I wanted to win this game. I think you can heal yourself by using your inner self and thoughts. I therefore did it,” she said.
I merely informed God that I was right there by His side. I was just thinking, “Basta bantayan Mo ako, alagaan Mo ako,” and I was handling everything in that way. I merely said that I am Your child and that I know You will look after me.
Timmy’s trauma is long behind her at this point, seven years later. Even though it was finished in a matter of months, the prolonged break from the entertainment industry became crucial for her self-care.
“I made the decision that it would be best if I took a sabbatical so that I could look after myself. I wasn’t required to undergo any kind of chemotherapy. Timmy, who also put a lot of effort into other things like running the family business and producing songs, said, “It was just my choice to dig completely into self-care.
But around five months ago, she decided it was time. Her doctors gave her the “go-ahead” to announce the news that she was returning to the field she loves just prior to the press conference after she underwent a medical examination and obtained a clear bill of health.
Artists Circle of Rams David is now in charge of managing Timmy. All I Want is You, a Christmas song that she released as part of her comeback, is now playable on a number of streaming services like Spotify, iTunes, and Apple Music.
Timmy focused on self-care when asked what lessons anybody, whether they are dealing with health issues or not, can learn from her story.
“For me, the current course is winning. What is the most that we could possibly ibigay? As such, there is no natira for the atin if sobra-sobra is present. Nauubos rin, she uttered.
“Look for yourself. Respect yourself. Go to the mirror and take your clothes off. Do you think you are a mahal? Know what I done to myself, mahal ba kita? Aalagaan kita ko naman kung mahal. That being the case, inaalagaan ko sarili ko.
“That has to do with what you’re eating, exercising, sleeping, what you’re hearing, seeing, the people you’re with, and the problems you’re attempting in vain to solve. Things like that, you know.”
Timmy has expressed a wish to help individuals who are struggling with mental health issues by sharing her experience of serenity, joy, and hope. “There is hope, and God is truly there,” she closed her speech with a message on faith. God is always merciful.
