Photo from Instagram/@kaye_abad
The actress shared her diagnosis and treatment journey in a birthday vlog, saying faith, family and medical care carried her through a year of uncertainty.
MANILA — Actress Kaye Abad has said she is cancer-free after undergoing treatment for breast cancer, using a birthday vlog to look back on the diagnosis, treatment and uncertainty she had kept largely out of public view.
Abad released the video on May 17 through the YouTube channel she shares with her husband, Paul Jake Castillo. She said she chose to speak about the illness after viewers noticed changes in her appearance and daily habits, including a strict no-sugar diet, darker skin, melasma, brain fog and stronger reactions to stress.
“I didn’t pretend I wasn’t sick. I just pretended to be well,” Abad said in the video.
Her medical concerns began in September 2024 with severe abdominal pain that sometimes lasted for hours. A full stomach ultrasound showed multiple gallstones, and Abad later underwent successful surgery. Her gastroenterologist then advised her to get a mammogram because of her age.
Abad said she delayed the mammogram until after the Christmas holidays. In January 2025, additional tests showed a cyst in her ovary and led doctors to order more scans. One doctor, she recalled, told her the matter had become urgent and should be addressed as soon as possible.
The vlog showed portions of Abad’s medical journey, including consultations, family discussions and preparations for treatment in Singapore. In one emotional scene, Abad packed for the trip while worrying about leaving her two young sons in the care of relatives.
She said one of the hardest parts was not knowing at the outset what treatments she would need, how difficult the process would become or whether she would survive.
After about a year of treatment, Abad said her doctor told her she could call herself a survivor and cancer-free.
Abad has been a familiar figure in Philippine television since the 1990s, with early credits that included “AngTV,” “Gimik” and “Tabing Ilog.” She and Castillo have two sons.
