POPULAR social media cardiologist Doctor Willie Ong, a known health advocate who ran in the recent 2022 elections as a vice presidential candidate has confirmed to his millions of followers that he is undergoing treatment for cancer.
Popularly known as “Doc Willie,” he made a name for himself on social media by giving advice and explaining medical situations.
According to Ong, doctors found a 16 x 13 x 12 centimeter sarcoma in his abdomen.
He said that the said cancer hid itself behind his heart, and was in front of his spine.
“Ang bukol na ito, malaking malaki daw. Isa sa pinakamalaki na nakita nila ,” Ong said in his video on YouTube.
The said video was recorded from his hospital room on Aug. 29.
The release of the video was delayed “because of doc willie’s serious and complicated journey through chemotherapy.”
Ong said that in April 2023, he felt a sudden discomfort as he carried out certain medical missions due to fatigue.
He explained that he had difficulty breathing and swallowing.
At that time, Ong said he dismissed these as part of aging.
But in October that year, Ong said he experienced back pain that radiated to the upper part of his spine.
Then came his problems sleeping flat on his back.
Come August, his back pains became more severe.
“Worst pain of my life. 10 out of 10. Iiyak ka. Buong gabi walang tulog,” Ong said.
He was then taken to the hospital and was diagnosed with sarcoma, which he described as “very rare, aggressive, very big.”
However, Ong expressed his positive outlook on the matter.
“Malungkot ako? Hindi. Suwerte nga ako may asawa ako nagbabantay. Suwerte ako may [mga] anak ako… binabantayan ako. I’m so blessed,” he said.
“Is this negative or positive? Negative, may bukol. Pero positive, naging close sa akin ‘yung dalawang anak ko, na dati may barrier kami. Pamilya ko naging close,” Ong added.
Ong has 9.7 million YouTube subscribers and 17 million Facebook followers.
He served as the running mate of presidential candidate and former Manila Mayor Isko Moreno under the Aksyon Demokratiko party.
