The most wonderful, beautiful, loving, kind and calm woman in the world had her 100th chemotherapy treatment Friday, said Adam Radomski about his wife Yolanda Antonio.
"And that's something to celebrate because she's still here and she's the love of my life," said Radomski, 67, who came to Canada 27 years ago from Poland and moved to Prince George in 1994.
"She is my beautiful rose from the Philippines."
Antonio has remained steadfast in her goal of living life to the fullest going on outings and vacationing with Radomski and her family as much as she can.
"Through this experience I realized that every day is a gift," said Antonio, who came to Canada as a landed immigrant when she was 49 years old.
In March 2002, then 52 years old, Antonio was diagnosed with colon cancer that resulted in surgery and followed up with chemotherapy.
"That first chemo was like a hammer to the head," said Radomski about how it affected Antonio, who spent a lot of time feeling shaky and nauseated.
After three months of treatment, Antonio was cancer free and lived a full, happy life for six years.
In July 2008, Antonio had a persistent cough and after a chest x-ray and CT Scan a loonie size tumor was discovered in her lower right lung.
After surgery removed the tumor and a portion of her lung, the follow up was a year filled with chemo.
In March 2011, after a routine CT scan, doctors once again discovered the cancer had spread to lymphatic glands in her lungs.
"It was recommended that I take long-term chemotherapy treatment in the hope that it would bring a solution," said Antonio, now 64, who has stage 4 cancer. Although she's had chemotherapy before, Antonio is not including previous treatment to the milestone number. The 100 treatments have been consecutive, every other week for the last five years, she explained.
Antonio's condition is considered stable.
She spends about three hours at the Cancer Centre of the North receiving treatment every other Friday and then takes more treatment at home that is dispensed continually from Friday to Sunday.
"Monday is a shaky, rough day where Yolanda is feeling her lowest, then on Tuesday she starts to feel better and then she's back to normal by Wednesday," said Radomski. "She is back to dancing and singing and saying we should go out for coffee - it's like she never went through the chemo."
Antonio has a power port implanted in the right side of her chest to make IV therapy chemo treatments more manageable.
Antonio is sad to say she's seen many people die who have had the same disease she is surviving. She offers comfort to patients, and reassures the new ones when they tell her they are afraid.
She credits her survival to her beloved husband, children and grandchildren, her faith, the unending support she gets at her church and the wonderful care she receives from her doctors and those at the cancer clinic.
When Antonio had her birthday recently, her two-year-old granddaughter wanted to make a wish and blow out the candles right after Antonio did.
"So we had to do it again and when I asked her what her wish was she said "God, I wish no more chemo for grandma," so even at such a young age my grandchildren understand some of this," said Antonio.
