In this episode the TFAL crew has a conversation with Arthur Yu. Arthur Yu was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 2023. Arthur did all the things you needed to do like rounds of chemo and looking for bone marrow matches. Arthur explored the National Marrow Donor Program (formerly Be The Match) for possible matches. https://www.nmdp.org/ A match through NMDP wasn’t found, but a match through a distant relative in the Philippines was found. Instead of being joyful that a match had been found, a new battle came to a head when the relative in the Philippines was denied a visa to come to the States. This started the campaign for Arthur’s cousin to get their visa approved and how it came to the attention of TFAL.Â
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- Producer Mike & Arthur Yu
Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on ThisFilipinoAmericanLife.com, or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever your favorite podcasts are found.
Want to share your experience with cancer? Are you registered with the National Marrow Donor Program? Leave us a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.
So glad to hear this story of survival in 2025, especially that proper medical care didn’t drop the ball or worse. Everyone should expect such a successful cancer treatment, not just white folks and rich people.
Except, of course, that immigracism interfered with your survival. TFAL needs a Pulitzer for this one.