Note: Upon our request, Fr. Mena has sent the following email message to the Xavier Community. He has been wanting to write us a note, but his health did not permit him to do so until now.

Dear friends from Xavier,

      I wish to thank you first of all for all your prayers for my health. I feel
your prayers all over me. In fact, not a single hour of the day passes by without me remembering Xavier and all of you, friends and colleagues for some many years now. In the moments when I feel more miserable physically and when my morale is at its lowest point, the only thought that helps me go on fighting is the hope of seeing you again someday at Xavier.

      As most of you know, I had two serious health problems when I left Manila: a heart with a bad need of a bypass and a stomach ulcer that had turned cancerous. Both these problems could have easily been taken care of in Manila, for there are qualified doctors and hospitals adequately equipped to deal with them. But there was an additional very basic problem: the scarcity of my blood type (O negative), something basically needed in the process of dealing with my health troubles. The decision was then taken to come over to Spain where the O-type blood is not a problem.

      The bypass was performed soon enough, almost two months now, and it is now history. Now I am undergoing chemotherapy for the cancer, in a hospital whose oncological department is considered the best in Europe and one of the best in the world, run by the Opus Dei. The treatment includes 6 cycles of medication spaced every three weeks. The side effects can be quite annoying, but slowly the doctors are learning the articular reactions of my body to the medication and putting remedy to them so that my quality of life is improving. As for the cancer itself, an evaluation done after the first two cycles only reveals that the cancer has been reduced to fifty percent already. This unexpected news has boosted my morale and increased my hope.

      All in all, I feel quite optimistic about my health, and I beg you to continue praying for me. I am eagerly looking forward to the day I can see you again and rejoice with your presence and friendship.

In the Lord,

Santos G. Mena, S.J.

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