TONI Episode 43 | Living With Alopecia: Abby and Tonee Reveal Their Personal Struggles
00:55.8
So, ito yung normal na hereditary dahil sa hormones.
00:59.8
Pag ang magulang mo, 40 years old, manipis na, magagaya.
01:03.8
Meron namang alopecia areata or alopecia totalis na autoimmune disease.
01:10.8
Ito yung sarili mong selyula, inaaway yung sariling katawan, pero ang tinatamaan yung hair follicles.
01:17.8
Yun ang pinagiinitan ng autoimmune disease.
01:20.8
Marami po kasing dahilan bakit nalalagas ang buhok ng isang tao.
01:24.8
Yung mga may pikos, pwedeng mahulog ang kanilang buhok.
01:28.8
Yung merong mga psoriasis, autoimmune diseases.
01:31.8
Yung may hypothyroid, pwede din sa stress.
01:34.8
Hindi ba napansin mo nung college tayo, pag may mahirap tayong exam, bakit parang ang daming nahulog?
01:39.8
Hormones, sa kababaihan, pag bagong panganap, yung first three months.
01:44.8
Ay, ako din. Nung kalbo ako dito, dok, nung bago akong panganap, kalbo talaga ako dito.
01:48.8
Kasi biglang bumaba yung estrogen.
01:50.8
Alopecia tawag doon?
01:51.8
Part of alopecia yun.
01:53.8
Makikita mo sa drain, bakit ang daming buhok?
01:58.8
Pero huwag kang mag-alala, babalik din yun.
02:01.8
O halimbawa, dati kang nagpi-peels, tapos hininto mo, mahuhulog din yung buhok.
02:07.8
Sa mga bata, di ba, misan may piso-piso, poknut ang tawag doon.
02:11.8
Punggal infection yun kasi baka may alagang aso, pusa.
02:16.8
So, kaya yung part na yun, yun lang yung gagamutin mo.
02:19.8
Kasi nagka-poknut na.
02:21.8
Pero gumagaling po ba ang alopecia?
02:23.8
Kasi parang yung sinabi niyo, gumagaling.
02:25.8
Yes, meron mga gamot. Meron tayong mga...
02:27.8
Siyempre iba sa stress, tapos meron mga pinapahid.
02:31.8
May home remedies tayo.
02:33.8
Ano yung home remedy?
02:35.8
Home remedy ang maganda.
02:37.8
Aloe vera ba yan?
02:39.8
Simpleng home remedy, pwedeng scalp massage.
02:43.8
Simpleng scalp massage lang yan.
02:45.8
Yung finger pads, minamassage natin yan.
02:49.8
Five minutes a day.
02:51.8
Gawin mo several months.
02:52.8
Gumaganda yung blood flow.
02:53.8
Tapos meron pa iba.
02:55.8
Meron pa ang konting pag-aaral.
02:59.8
Magcha-chop ka ng onion.
03:02.8
Nilalagay nila twice a day.
03:04.8
May konting pag-aaral.
03:05.8
May sulfur kasi yung onion juice.
03:09.8
Fish oil supplement.
03:10.8
Kumain maraming isda, may tulong din.
03:13.8
Sa mga lola natin.
03:15.8
Pero ang coconut oil, meron kasi siyang protein.
03:19.8
Napapakapal lang niya.
03:21.8
So, gumaganda din yung buhok natin.
03:23.8
May tulong din yan.
03:25.8
Pero sino po yung prone na magkaroon namang alopecia?
03:27.8
Pag-stress ka, tsaka pag namamana mo ito.
03:30.8
Sa lalaki, yung mataasang testosterone.
03:33.8
Sinabi ko yung mga macho at mataasang testosterone,
03:37.8
mas nakakalbus sila.
03:41.8
Pag mataasang testosterone,
03:42.8
nagpro-produce ng DHT.
03:44.8
DHT, siya yung nagpapanipis ng hair follicles
03:50.8
Kaya ang gamot sa males na may male baldness,
03:54.8
tulad ko yan, manipis.
03:56.8
Pwede yung finasteride, dutasteride,
03:58.8
na binablock yung testosterone.
04:01.8
Ah, yun ang tanong. Nakakahawa po ba ang alopecia?
04:03.8
Hindi, hindi siya nakakahawa.
04:05.8
Maling akala yan.
04:07.8
Hindi po nakakahawa.
04:09.8
Kahit yung mga may dandruff.
04:10.8
Isa rin ang cost ng hair loss, dandruff.
04:13.8
Pag maraming dandruff, balakubak,
04:15.8
minsan fungal infection siya,
04:18.8
o pwede rin part of psoriasis or seborrheic dermatitis.
04:22.8
Hindi, hindi siya nakakahawa.
04:24.8
As early as what age pwede magka-alopecia ang isang tao?
04:30.8
ang cost ng alopecia areyata,
04:32.8
40 and younger, mga 20s.
04:35.8
And usually sa babae.
04:37.8
So ngayon naman po makakasama natin
04:40.8
ang singer-songwriter, founder, and advocate
04:43.8
of alopecia Philippines,
04:45.8
the beautiful Miss Abby Asistio.
04:48.8
Ang kwento niya is,
04:49.8
four years old, doon nagkaroon siya ng alopecia.
04:51.8
Actually, parang ikaw yung pinakaunang celebrity
04:55.8
na nag-umamin at naging public about your condition, diba?
04:59.8
Four years old, nag-start sakin patches,
05:02.8
so mga coin-sized na baldness.
05:05.8
Hanggang sa buong ulo ko na wala na.
05:08.8
So yun po, totalis.
05:09.8
Tapos no eyelashes, no eyebrows din.
05:11.8
Parang walang face.
05:14.8
hairless yung buong katawan.
05:16.8
So ang naging coping ko is hats,
05:20.8
yung mga sumbrero na dapat hanggan dito.
05:23.8
Kasi ayoko ipakita sa mga tao na wala rin akong kilay,
05:26.8
tsaka pilikmatas.
05:28.8
tas may tali pa yun.
05:29.8
Kasi, God forbid, lumipad or magulog yung sumbrero.
05:33.8
So yung self-esteem ko rin talaga as a kid,
05:37.8
O, kasi diba maapektohan yung pakikipagrelasyon mo sa ibang tao
05:40.8
kapag you're going through something physically.
05:43.8
So parang naging antisosyal ka ba noon?
05:46.8
In fairness, naging masayahin naman ako eventually,
05:49.8
but I think it was because my family was super supportive.
05:52.8
Na even if medyo cruel sa labas,
05:57.8
sila masayahin yung,
05:59.8
kumbaga, pakikitungo nila sa akin.
06:01.8
They didn't make me feel that I was not normal,
06:04.8
or that I was ugly.
06:05.8
Kasi yun yung ano ko before, nung bata ako.
06:07.8
May misconception ako na,
06:09.8
ah, hindi ako buong babae or bata na babae dahil wala akong buhok.
06:14.8
Lalo na pag sa grade school,
06:15.8
sasabihin, your hair is your crowning glory.
06:18.8
Iyak na ako noon kasi parang wala akong crowning glory.
06:22.8
Ganon yung pakiramdam ko ever since.
06:24.8
Paano may inaandal yun at a very young age na bully ka na?
06:28.8
Nung nag-start ako mag-hats,
06:29.8
yung bullying umabot sa point na minsan hinihila yung sombrero ko.
06:33.8
Tapos iyak na lang ako.
06:35.8
Yung parents ko talaga tsaka family yung naging safe space.
06:39.8
And we were active in church also.
06:41.8
So diba doon, sasabihin naman sa'yo,
06:43.8
ano yan, mas importante kung sino ka sa kalooban mo more than the external.
06:48.8
So unti-unti mas nasa-solidify yung self-worth.
06:53.8
Pero hindi ko maipagkakailana
06:56.8
because people don't understand what I was going through.
06:59.8
It was easy for them to judge, to laugh at me, to call me names.
07:04.8
Yung word na kalbo, sobrang ano sa akin noon, traumatic before.
07:08.8
Ayokong kahit sa family namin, bawal sabihin yung word na kalbo
07:12.8
kasi, ay, si Abby, maaano siya.
07:15.8
So it took a while for me to be comfortable with it
07:19.8
and to be able to talk about it.
07:21.8
But when you got older,
07:23.8
did you try to find ways na para ma-heal?
07:26.8
Pumunta kayo sa iba't-ibang doktor?
07:28.8
Yeah, yung parents ko, lalo na nung bata pa ako,
07:31.8
ginala pa ako sa Amerika,
07:33.8
umabot na sa hanggang albularyo, organic,
07:37.8
pwedeng chemical-based tinrina.
07:39.8
Pero, ano eh, hindi talaga siya nag-work.
07:42.8
Hanggang sa, I think it was tiring to hope for it to come back.
07:47.8
So sabi ko kay Lama, okay lang, magwiwig na lang ako.
07:49.8
So, mula grade school hanggang, well, high school,
07:53.8
ako nag-start magwigs.
07:54.8
Hanggang sa naging, sa early twenties ko,
07:57.8
wig na ako ever since.
07:58.8
Tinatry ko na hindi ipahalata sa mga tao that I have alopecia.
08:03.8
Pero, tawag pansin din pala siya.
08:05.8
Kasi lalo na if you can't find the right wig,
08:07.8
isa yun sa pinaka naging conscious din ako na
08:11.8
when I'm talking to people,
08:12.8
tinitignan ba nila na tabingin yung buhok ko?
08:14.8
O pag mahangin ako, hindi ako pwede lumabas.
08:17.8
Baka lumipad yung hair.
08:18.8
So, as much as I thought it would make me feel normal
08:22.8
and act normal, naging baliktad pa yung effect.
08:25.8
Kasi mas na-conscious ako,
08:26.8
Nanako, baka mamaya mas halata pala nila.
08:29.8
Pero ang galing kasi, kahit na she had a condition,
08:32.8
she was able to pursue her passion in singing.
08:35.8
Actually, that led to me coming out bald.
08:38.8
Kasi, I shot a music video.
08:40.8
Tapos, noong time na yun, yung director,
08:42.8
sabi niya, it's not working.
08:43.8
Kasi outdoors tayo, pero yung buhok mo hindi gumagalaw.
08:47.8
Tinutry ko na nga, iproject na, okay lang ako,
08:50.8
kahit mayroon akong alopecia.
08:52.8
Pero they talked to me,
08:54.8
sabi nila, ba't hindi ka nalang magkalbo?
08:56.8
It was so easy for them to say that in a marketing standpoint.
08:59.8
Pero for me, ang daming negativity,
09:02.8
nakakibat nung pagkakaroon ko ng alopecia.
09:05.8
So, I was really heartbroken then.
09:07.8
But, that led me also to finding out more about alopecia
09:11.8
in different parts of the world.
09:13.8
Meron palang awareness campaigns,
09:15.8
may mga foundation.
09:16.8
Dahil, ikaw na yung nagtayo ng foundation dito sa Philippines
09:20.8
Paano nag-start yun?
09:21.8
Tuwing September is Alopecia Awareness Month.
09:23.8
Nung nalaman ko yun, I was challenged na,
09:26.8
bakit sa ibang bansa, sobra silang confident
09:29.8
and hindi sila natatakot to inform people about alopecia?
09:33.8
Dito sa Pilipinas, what could I do to start that?
09:36.8
So, ang ginawa ko, sumulat ako ng kanta,
09:38.8
ang title, Beautiful.
09:40.8
Tapos, kinanta ko siya first time ever sa live audience,
09:43.8
na tinanggal ko yung wigs ko, tsaka bandana.
09:47.8
So, super liberating nung experience.
09:50.8
Kasi, along with the removal of the wigs,
09:53.8
parang it removed all the insecurities and fears that I had
09:57.8
because of my condition.
09:59.8
Tapos, yun na, dire-diretsyo na.
10:01.8
Hindi na ako nahiya na magkwento about alopecia.
10:04.8
Nag-message na sa akin yung mga ibang in-hiding,
10:07.8
kasi kinakahiyaan nila yung pagkakaroon nila ng condition,
10:11.8
ang parati nilang sasabihin.
10:13.8
Akala ko po, nag-iisa ko.
10:15.8
Paano po ba ako makakasama sa group?
10:17.8
Hanggang sa nabuo na yung alopecia Pilipinas.
10:19.8
Sobrang inspiring yan, na-invite siya sa Facebook ni Mark Zuckerberg.
10:23.8
To talk about her condition.
10:26.8
Share mo sa amin ano nangyari kay Mark Zuckerberg sa Facebook.
10:30.8
Actually, one of the best experiences of my life
10:33.8
kasi I was just doing my thing.
10:35.8
I would post about alopecia awareness.
10:37.8
Siyempre, i-hashtag ko alopecia awareness.
10:40.8
Hindi ko alam mo, maabot na pala siya sa iba't ibang bahagi ng mundo.
10:44.8
So, nagkaroon na lang movement.
10:46.8
Even sa states, may stern outcoming sign.
10:48.8
Alopecia awareness, ginagamit na nila.
10:51.8
And that all happened because I just decided to accept myself.
10:56.8
Accepting oneself, embracing oneself, owning your flaws,
11:01.8
and turning your pain into power.
11:04.8
Ay, maganda yung sabi mo, Toni,
11:05.8
kasi parang lahat tayo may painful experiences.
11:08.8
Pero you make your pain matter.
11:11.8
Parang there's a reason why you have that.
11:13.8
How are you gonna use that for something positive?
11:15.8
Yes, thank you very much, Abby.
11:17.8
Pero alam nyo ngayon naman,
11:18.8
sasamahan tayo ng katukayo ko, dahil Toni din ang pangalan niya,
11:22.8
si Toni Sunga, med student, diagnosed with alopecia.
11:27.8
Hello, hello, hello.
11:28.8
Actually, nung sinabi niyang med student siya,
11:30.8
naisip ko, hindi kaya yun ang naging cause?
11:33.8
Kasi recently lang siya, 25 years old.
11:37.8
Yes, August po, na-diagnose na alopecia totalis.
11:44.8
Doon ko po napansin na parang nag-OA na yung hairfall ko.
11:48.8
Kasi normal naman po na maglagas ng hair, diba?
11:51.8
Pero yun sa akin, parang clump-clump na siya.
11:54.8
Tapos every morning, pag magigising ako, yung floor ko,
11:56.8
as in, kala mo aso ako na nag-shed ng fur?
12:00.8
Sabi ko po kay mommy, parang ipa-check up niya na ako.
12:03.8
So, binayob si po ako.
12:04.8
Tapos, after a few days, lumabas yung result.
12:07.8
Alopecia totalis nga po.
12:11.8
Nabuhay siya ng 25 years of her life.
12:13.8
Normal, walang problema, lahat.
12:15.8
At pagdating niya ng 25,
12:16.8
bigla siya nagkaroon ng hair condition na alopecia.
12:19.8
Paano mo yun tinek emotionally?
12:21.8
Kasi diba, ang hirap nun.
12:22.8
Pero mo 25 years of your life, normal.
12:26.8
Well, syempre nung first few weeks,
12:29.8
lagi po akong nagbe-breakdown.
12:30.8
Kasi parang, hala, ano ba to?
12:32.8
Hindi ako sanay kasi.
12:33.8
Ang ganda-ganda na hair ko before,
12:35.8
tapos biglang, wala na.
12:39.8
Actually, until now,
12:41.8
parang din-dedma ko na lang po siya.
12:45.8
wait, asan ba yung wig ko?
12:46.8
Asan yung ano ko? Kailangan ko?
12:47.8
Parang ngayon kapag may dumadating na misina,
12:50.8
Wala na akong kahit ano.
12:52.8
Parang nakakapagod din po kasi.
12:54.8
Parang ako sa sarili ko,
12:55.8
napapagod na ako na parang,
12:56.8
kailangan ko na naman itago o ganun-ganun.
13:00.8
So, parang ina-accept ko na lang,
13:03.8
Wala na rin naman po ako magagawa.
13:04.8
Ano yung nag-push sa'yo na,
13:06.8
kasi share ko itong journey ko sa TikTok?
13:08.8
At since ako lang po yung may odopisyon sa'min,
13:10.8
parang feeling ko,
13:11.8
hindi naman nila gets nung family ko,
13:14.8
So, sinashare ko lang po yung experiences ko
13:17.8
kasi baka makarelate po sila.
13:19.8
So, yung hair mo, as in totally,
13:21.8
wala na yan talaga?
13:23.8
Pero ngayon, meron na siyang malilit na growth.
13:25.8
Kasi nag-gamot po ako,
13:28.8
mas bukod sa gamot,
13:29.8
nag-injection po ako,
13:31.8
steroid injection.
13:32.8
Pati recently po,
13:34.8
nag-try ako nung low-light laser therapy po,
13:38.8
Wala pa po ako sa stage na parang tanggap ko,
13:40.8
if ever, maging bald ako forever.
13:43.8
So, dapat habulin natin pa sa ngayon?
13:47.8
sabi ko, parang baka po may chance pa.
13:50.8
Malakas ang fighting spirit.
13:55.8
Kasi yung sa case ni Toni,
13:58.8
sobrang fresh, sobrang bago.
14:01.8
So, nandun siya sa trial and error stage.
14:04.8
Ano ang mag-awork, ano yung hindi mag-awork.
14:06.8
Kasi dinaana ni Abby yun eh.
14:08.8
Yung trial and error,
14:09.8
ano yung mag-awork sakin,
14:10.8
ano yung hindi mag-awork sakin.
14:11.8
Ang galing nga na, ang dami niya ng info na,
14:13.8
kasi nung bata ako,
14:14.8
walang namang masyadong alam.
14:15.8
Tapos ngayon, nandun na ako sa point na,
14:17.8
hindi na ako masyadong nagre-research about it.
14:19.8
Kasi, tanggap ko na siya.
14:21.8
Pero, we all have that desire,
14:24.8
that desire syempre na,
14:25.8
bumalik yung hair natin.
14:28.8
Anong pwede mong i-advise kay Toni?
14:30.8
Kasi you've been living with Alopecia
14:32.8
for many years of your life.
14:34.8
E siyang bago pa lang.
14:38.8
Well, we're here as Alopecia Philippines
14:41.8
to support you in your journey
14:43.8
and to see you through.
14:44.8
Pero, yung mga bagay na,
14:46.8
alam mo na ikaw lang makakapagbigay ng peace
14:50.8
Like what you said, Toni,
14:51.8
na lahat ng mga ways,
14:53.8
if you wanna exhaust it, do it.
14:55.8
One of the main things na important is
14:57.8
at least you have the support of your mom
14:59.8
and your whole family through this.
15:04.8
Tsaka, ano talaga,
15:05.8
ang ganda na nakakaharap ka ngayon sa mga tao
15:08.8
and you're talking about it
15:09.8
and you're smiling,
15:10.8
even if it's a difficult situation.
15:12.8
It says so much about your strength
15:14.8
and your courage.
15:15.8
So, I know that even through this,
15:18.8
kahit hinahanap mo pa yung acceptance,
15:20.8
nakaka-inspire ka na rin ng ibang tao.
15:22.8
But, to have that mindset to say that
15:24.8
I will not let it affect me
15:26.8
or take away my power,
15:28.8
parang napakalaking bagay.
