Kris Aquino says she is ‘finally on the path to remission,’ shares health updates

MANILA, Philippines – Kris Aquino shared that she is on the “path to remission” in a health update posted on her Instagram on Thursday, August 10.

Photos of Kris undergoing medical treatments accompanied her post, and a list of people she is thankful for. She said that she chose to announce the update between the death anniversaries of parents, former president Corazon “Cory” Aquino and former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.

“I chose the midpoint between my mom’s 14th death anniversary and my dad’s upcoming 40th death anniversary to thank all of you who continue to pray for my recovery,” she wrote.

She shared that it has been 17 months since she was diagnosed with Churg-Strauss syndrome. Mayo Clinic describes this as “a disorder marked by blood vessel inflammation.”

In her post, the 52-year-old explained her painful treatment to “reach ‘remission’ over the next 10 to 12 months.”

“Dr. Malika Gupta gave me my second dose of a biological injectable (unfortunately not available in the Philippines) to help lower my very high IgE (Immunoglobulin E),” she said. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, IgE “are antibodies produced by the immune system.”

Kris stated she needs to have courage and a high pain tolerance to take the injections themselves; however, it is the effects of this treatment that are more distressing.

She likened the experience to the side effects felt after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, except three times worse. “Yes, parang 3x akong na Pfizer or Moderna (Yes, it’s like I took a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine three times),” she said of the feeling.

The Queen of All Media shared that she receives this treatment every other week on top of her weekly chemotherapy medication meant to help her reach remission for three of her autoimmune conditions.

She clarified that “autoimmune disorders have no cure, but life threatening damage on the patient’s organs can be prevented or managed if diagnosed early and/or given the proper treatment.”

Kris’ caption indicated that her “last blood panel showed improvement.” Although she explained that she still has “a long way to go,” she ended her update on a positive note.

“I am, against all odds (because of all my limitations with medicinal options), finally, on the correct path to remission and a better quality of life,” she wrote.

“Thank you to all,” she added. “Thank you, God.”

For the past few years, Kris has been providing updates on social media about her medical condition.  She first revealed in 2018 that she was diagnosed with chronic spontaneous urticaria. 

In late February 2022, she shared her intentions to seek medication abroad. This was followed by her diagnosis with erosive gastritis and gastric ulcer in March.

She went to the US in June 2022 to receive treatment for her autoimmune diseases and has been there since. – with reports from Luna Coscolluela/Rappler.com

Luna Coscoluella is a Rappler intern.