How Wil Dasovich beat the Big C

Looking at him now, you won’t think that the influencer (with more than two million followers) has, in two years, been diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer and beaten it. 

“Technically, I am in remission,” Wil Dasovich told Funfare, “which is to say that I just have to stay healthy and, hopefully, everything remains gone.”

In an exclusive interview, Wil added, “I feel 100 percent okay; I feel just as great right now as I did before I was diagnosed. All I have to do in terms of maintaining my health is eat healthy, get enough sleep and avoid stress. That’s all.”

We’re getting ahead of the story.

Funfare talked to Wil in Seoul where he was with the Philippine team covering the junket in Seoul for Disney Pictures’ Terminator: Dark Fate (that marks the return of the power tandem of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton, but more on them in another story). Wil was accompanied by his manager, newlywed Jacko de Leon, and while waiting for the start of the preview, Funfare sat down with Wil in one corner for this interview.

Two years ago, recalled Wil (part-Filipino/part-American), he noticed fresh blood in his stool. He consulted two doctors and one of them said it must be amoebiasis. Wil said he felt no other symptom, except for occasional stomach cramps. Must it be hemorrhoids? No, it was colon cancer Stage 3.

“That was confirmed by the third doctor that I consulted in the States (California). It was very scary. No one thought it was what it was. You didn’t know if it had already gone out or if it was still there.”

The oncologist ruled out diet as a cause. He told Wil that he was young (25 at that time) and that most people diagnosed with “that type of cancer” were those in their late 50s or older.

“In our family history,” continued Wil, “it was my dad who was diagnosed with colon cancer and that was three years before I was diagnosed. The doctors did genetic testing and they found out that my dad and I have different genetic traits and that made my case even more unusual...my case was not connected to that of my dad...so family history was also ruled out.”

Wil underwent eight rounds of chemotherapy, once every three weeks also in the States.

Through it all, he did lose his appetite, but not his hair, and became thinner.

“Some people have the misconception that I looked skinny because I lost weight but I did not. The truth is that I lost muscles, especially in my mid-section. That was because I couldn’t exercise as I used to gain muscle mass. Actually, I was gaining weight.”

There are no do’s and don’t’s.

“I eat anything. My diet is very generic, consisting of mostly fruits and vegetables. I tried to be vegan.  What I do differently now is I practice intermittent dieting. It’s something that has been proven to be really healthy not only for cancer patients but for everybody. On top of that, I take multi-vitamins, fish oil and Vitamin D, and Aspirin because it makes your blood thinner so it’s harder for cancer cells to thrive and come back. I exercise every day — I run, I bike, I swim, I lift weights. All done at home. And I do yoga. It helps you maintain a healthy mind and limit stress.” (You know, a sound mind in a sound body.)

The hardest to deal with was when the chemo affected his sense of touch (neuropathy).

“It’s the first time I’m talking about this,” he confessed. “I lost all feelings, I felt numb. I felt super sad. It was emotionally wrenching, especially where my girlfriend (cosplayer Alodia Gosiengfiao) was concerned. I couldn’t even feel that I’m holding her hand. It also affected my job because I couldn’t type on my computer. You pinch my finger and I wouldn’t feel it. Some people live with it all their lives but I was determined to beat it. It took me one year to get my feeling back.”

He thanked Alodia for being with him all the time, all the way.

“She’s very supportive,” said Wil.

Of course, there was his family to lean on. His mom hails from Mindoro and his father is from California. (Wil began his journey in showbiz more than five years ago as Pinoy Big Brother/PBB housemate touted as “The Blogger from Pampanga,” and then he turned into a widely-followed influencer and an in-demand commercial model and endorser.)

Although he grew up a Catholic, Wil said, “I didn’t want to bring in anything personal, especially religion, because not everyone has the same religion. I wanted people to relate to my experience no matter what their religion or their lifestyle is.”

Told by his oncologist that he was in remission, Wil said that his first reaction was positive.

“It was kind of weird. I looked at it as a challenge to overcome and I thought I could utilize this challenge to inspire people, not only those in a similar condition but everybody. My mindset was I had to do everything in my power to beat cancer, and did everything I could to beat it, so that I could sleep at night with the feeling that at least I tried my best.”

Positivity, that’s the point.

Said Jacko de Leon (who has been managing…more as a consultant…for four years), “Wil is different from the rest because he just doesn’t post and post anything; he tells stories, mostly positive ones that impart good values and that give hope and inspiration to his followers.”

Three things that Wil learned from his recovery: 1). Listen to your body; 2). Listen to your doctor; and 3). Find a reason and a purpose to keep you going.

And what is his purpose?

“Provide hope that, be positive and being diagnosed with cancer is not the end. The experience made me realize that life is unpredictable, that anything can happen.”

By coincidence, before PAL469 took off at Incheon airport for the flight back to Manila, me seated beside Wil, I received a copy of a poem from my friend Joseph Chua who only mentioned that it was written by a terminally-ill young girl at a New York hospital. Here it is:

Slow Dance

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round?

Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down, don’t dance so fast.

Time is short, the music won’t last.

Do you run through each day on the fly?

When you ask, “How are you?”

Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed

With the next hundred chores running in your head?

You’d better slow down, don’t run so fast.

Time is short, the music won’t last.

Ever told your child, we’ll do tomorrow?

And in your haste not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die

‘Cause you never had time to call and say, “Hi.”

You’d better slow down, don’t dance so fast.

Time is short, the music won’t last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere.

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day

It is like an unopened gift…thrown away.

Life is not a race, do take it slower.

Hear the music before the song is over.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)