Camille Prats on Moving On, and Being Prepared for Life’s Emergencies

Camille Prats on moving on, and being prepared for life’s emergencies

For a lot of her fans, Camille Prats will always be Sara, Ang Munting Prinsesa. She grew up in front of our TV screens and we witnessed her turn from a cute little girl, a vivacious teenager, to one of our versatile young actresses.

Success came quite early for Camille, and so did love, but unfortunately Camille also had to endure the pain of losing her husband at a young age.

Camille Prats married her then boyfriend Anthony Linsangan in  civil rites on January 5, 2008. After 2 years, a church wedding followed on March 5, 2010. They dreamt of having 3 to 4 kids. Their union blessed them with 1 baby boy Nathaniel Caesar.

On June of 2010 Anthony felt a lymph node on his left ear, he underwent CT Scan and was ruled out of cancer and took antibiotics. On September 2010, after experiencing pain, he again underwent CT Scan and a biopsy was performed and this time around he was diagnosed of Stage 4 Nasopharyngeal cancer.

He underwent 30 sessions of radiation and chemotherapy every week for 6 weeks. Anthony stopped working due to medication and and body malaise, and Camille had no choice but to lessen her showbiz commitments to take care of her husband. He was advised on PET Scan and his nasopharyngeal cancer metastasized to bone and liver cancer. He was too tired to move on , cannot eat anymore, had patches for pain reliever, and became so weak .

On June 2011 his blood pressure was dropping down. August of 2011, the hospital staff made Camille signed a waiver. On the same year September 2011 Anthony Linsangan just 30-years-old passed away .

Camille, shared the story in front of media guests at a recent gathering sponsored by AXA at Ascott Makati Hotel.

She said  Anthony was too young to die, and did not have an inkling that it was cancer then, when Anthony had colds, they self medicated themselves, when Anthony had a fever, he would took Paracetamol and antibiotics. They never had a proper check up to the doctor. She thought it may be due to the food he ate or because he lacked exercise and advised the audience  to consult their doctors instead of relying on self medications.

It was a good thing that Anthony’s family helped them with the financial needs within a year of medication, unlike a lot of Filipinos who face the same predicament unprepared.

AXA urges financial preparedness for critical illnesses, other medical emergencies

According to statistics from the Department of Health (DOH), non-communicable diseases (NCDs) or lifestyle diseases such as heart attack or heart failure, stroke, and cancer are the top 3 leading causes of death among Filipinos.

Digging deeper into the numbers, it is reported that more than 276 Filipinos die of heart disease on a daily basis. Moreover, 9 people are diagnosed with cancer every hour, and 142 Filipinos die from cancer every day. At least one Filipino suffers from stroke every 9 minutes; for those who survive, they have a 75% chance of becoming permanently disabled.

While there may be increasing public awareness to preventing these diseases through diet and exercise, little is done to raise awareness for Filipinos to prepare financially for the impact of having any of these lifestyle diseases.

The cost for heart by-pass surgery, chemotherapy, or brain surgery ranges from P500,000 to as much as P1,000,000, an amount that most regular health plans cannot cover. Moreover, it is estimated that medical costs are expected to double in the next 10 years — a rate much higher than economic inflation.

That is why AXA Philippines, one of the country’s largest and fastest growing life insurance companies, is helping Filipinos prepare for the threat of future major medical emergencies by launching three (3) new products that provide adequate coverage to Filipinos when they face a critical illness.

“We want to give customers what they need,” says Rien Hermans,   President and CEO of AXA Philippines. “With the health trends in the Philippines and in most countries today, the risk of developing a critical illness is now higher than ever. Therefore, people should be protecting themselves from the financial impact of being diagnosed with a critical illness.”

“Each of our three products are individually designed to address the needs, said Amor Balagtas, Chief Marketing Officer of AXA Philippines.

Health Exentials is a simple, all-in-one health and protection plan that gives the greatest value at an affordable price. For as low as P59/day, customers can get P5.5 million worth of comprehensive benefits, which include a critical conditions benefit, total & permanent disability benefit, daily hospitalization income benefit, a one-time surgical benefit, and a maturity cash benefit. Health Exentials premiums can be as low as only P1,140 a month or P39/day.

Health Max provides maximum lifetime coverage as it gives medical benefits until age 100. It also has the widest coverage of illnesses in the market today, covering 56 major medical conditions and 18 minor illnesses. Early stage cancer diagnosis and angioplasty, not normally covered by other health plans, are included in Health Max. It also has higher medical benefits of up to P10 million, as well as a special Advanced Health Fund that starts at age 70, which can be used for various medicines and treatments most common at that age.

SME ProteXion caters to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with at least 10 employees. It offers health and protection packages-in-one with various benefit options to choose from such as critical care coverage, daily hospitalization income, life insurance coverage and death and disablement coverage. This simple and straightforward product has flexible payment options to suit your business budget.

“What we are emphasizing is the importance of adequate financial preparedness,” says Hermans. “Critical illnesses have significant physical and financial impacts, and we want Filipinos to understand that there are products available that will enable them to financially secure their health-related needs, and they can do so while they are still at their prime.”

To learn more about AXA Philippines’ products and services, visit www.axa.com.ph or www.facebook.com/AXA.Philippines. You may also call their customer hotline (02) 5815-AXA (292) or (02) 3231-AXA (292).