Bandages are not for sex appeal, my lung cancer is real, says Santiago

“Iron Lady of Asia” Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago (Photo courtesy of @SenMiriam on Twitter)

MANILA – “You think I would report to office like this? You think these are necessary accessories for beauty or sex appeal?” Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago said referring to the bandages on her fingers and toes.

The senator made the statement as a response to some disbelievers of her condition.

She explained that the bandages are for the bleeding, which is common among lung cancer patients and added that she also became very brittle, because of the disease.

“A person who is suffering from lung cancer is prone to bleeding and becomes very brittle. I used to have very high pain tolerance, that’s why I was in politics I could tolerate any kind of pain. The whole of politics is one pain in the neck,” she joked.

Santiago earlier announced that she has lung cancer and has recently gone on leave for two months to attend to her medical needs.

“Some people doubt that I have cancer at all. You mean it’s a figment of my imagination? I wish,” she said.

During the press conference, Santiago also relayed how the doctors took blood samples from her using a one-foot needle.

The procedure, which she said did not scare her, was done to check if she had a cancer of the blood.

Santiago recalled how her blood sample was taken using a one-foot long needle for a test to check if she had cancer of the blood.

“Normally people are terrified but I turned to my doctor and asked if that [was his] best shot because I hardly felt anything,” she said.

“But when you get cancer all your immunities are taken away from you and you become as vulnerable as any other person,” she added.