Photo courtesy of AXA.
Despite her options dwindling, Jem Sanico shares how she took a chance in a Singaporean cancer therapy, and how AXA’s Global Health Access policy helped her get there
Jem Sanico was always in motion. At 31, she juggled law school, ran her own business, and nurtured a passion for art that filled her weekends with gallery visits and creative inspiration. Sharp, ambitious, and full of life, Jem embodied the kind of woman who made multitasking look effortless. However, in the middle of chasing her dreams, a cancer diagnosis struck just as Jem was hitting her stride.
What was supposed to be a season of achievement turned into routine hospital visits and treatments, and unpredictable test results. Yet even in her darkest moments, Jem chose to carry on. Her story centered on strength and how the right kind of protection can mean the difference between giving up and fighting back.
Put on hold
Cancer didn’t care that she was a law student with a growing business and a full calendar. It didn’t care about her art collection, her goals, or her bright future. It came fast, and it came hard, spreading to her stomach, pancreas, shoulder, and lungs. Suddenly, the budding lawyer’s world was no longer about project deadlines or dreams; it was about survival. Her doctors started her on an intensive outpatient treatment: six rounds of R-CHOP chemotherapy combined with eight sessions of immunotherapy, spaced out over 28 days.
At first, there was a glimmer of hope. Her treatment seemed to be working, and Jem dared to imagine a way forward. But progress plateaued at some point, her care team shifted gears, recommending a stem-cell transplant, but only if salvage chemotherapy could shrink the tumors enough.
What followed were two rounds of R-ICE chemo, each requiring a two-week hospital stay. For three days at a time, medication continuously coursed through her body, followed by weeks of recovery, and all the complications that came with it. Still, in between hospital visits, she held on to whatever normalcy she could. She attended art shows when she could manage, trying to stay connected to the parts of life that made her feel like herself.
It was during one of those fleeting stretches of optimism that she asked her doctor what percentage of tumor reduction was needed to move forward with the transplant. “At least 70 percent,” the doctor said. “What if it’s just 50 percent?” she asked. “We’ll do another round,” the doctor replied. Jem smiled and half-joked, “What if it’s zero percent?” It was not long after that a PET scan revealed that her tumors, emphasizing the one near her heart, had instead grown, making Jem’s cancer officially chemo-resistant and stem-cell transplant unfeasible.
With standard options exhausted, her doctor brought up a last resort: experimental treatments that weren’t available in the Philippines. They would require special permits, international procurement, and a lot of uncertainty. Jem asked the question no one wants to ask: “What happens if I stop everything?”
Her doctor was brutally honest: “You’ll have about three to six months to live.” Jem, ever the fighter, tried to keep it light, joking she could use that time to travel the world. But her doctor’s response was sobering: “It will be a painful last three months.” And that pain wasn’t theoretical—Jem had already experienced what it meant to hit rock bottom, undergoing emergency chemo after coughing up blood and struggling to breathe. She knew exactly what those last months could look like.
With every failed treatment, hope dwindled. There was a moment when it felt like the end was near. Her family began preparing for the worst, even started listing down their assets and Jem’s beloved art collection, either to fund one last attempt at treatment or to arrange for what would come next. But Jem wasn’t ready to say goodbye. She and her family endured and searched for another option, something that could give her a real chance. That’s when they found CAR T-cell therapy, an advanced treatment available in Singapore, but bearing the price of PHP 25 million.
A helping hand
Seeking treatment abroad meant paying for travel, hospital stays, specialist consultations, and the therapy itself, becoming a financial burden that could have made this life-saving option impossible. But Jem had one thing working in her favor: she had invested in comprehensive health insurance. Ironically, she had been the last one in her family to sign up for the AXA Global Health Access policy, never expecting she’d be the one to need it.
Fully covering the cost of her CAR T-cell therapy, as well as her regular check-ups and follow-up treatments, Jem’s policy continued to cover her remaining needs. And though her medical expenses would later amount to PHP 33.8 million, AXA took care of that as well, allowing her to focus on her recovery, her future, and reclaiming the life she thought she had lost.
“Knowing I had access to the best care without worrying about the cost made all the difference,” she shares. “It allowed me to focus on healing instead of the ‘what-ifs.’” With up to PHP 175 million in coverage, AXA’s Global Health Access gave Jem the freedom to seek international medical treatment without compromise.
“When life took an unexpected turn, having the power to choose my best path forward meant everything. With AXA’s Global Health Access, I didn’t just have financial security—I had the freedom to fight for my future. Because when you have the right protection, you know you can keep your life—and your choices—in your hands,” Jem ends.
Discover best-in-class health insurance with worldwide access to medical services for you and your family via AXA Global Health Access, and take charge of your health with confidence.
Story provided by AXA Life Insurance.
