“With a lot of courage, with a lot of faith and hope.”
With these words, Puerto Rican actor Carlos Merced expressed how he is dealing with the discovery of a small cancerous lump in his left lung, which was communicated to him in mid-March. It is characteristic of him that he allows himself to be overwhelmed by sadness, has no place in his way of accepting the diagnosis, which he deals with faithfully and without abandoning his sense of humour.
“The word cancer gives you goosebumps. Since I don’t have many left, I don’t have any problems,” he laughed via video call from Orlando, Fla., where he’s lived for 15 years, sharing his motor to stay motivated.
“It is the desire to live. Verily I have much to do. I’m finishing writing my book that I’ve been working on for so long,” he said of the publication, which he’s been working on for several years, intending to talk about his life. “I need to see my granddaughters grow up because I want them to develop and above all I am interested in guiding them in education and especially in the ways of the Lord because that is the best heritage we have children and grandchildren,” added Andrea’s father, referring to Giulia, four years old, and Luna, 11 months.
The diagnosis is added to the liver transplant he underwent in 2010 and kidney transplant in 2019. “Then liver cancer, where they cut out quite a big part of my liver. That was in 2020, and months later, in October (2021), the other liver cancer appeared more or less elsewhere, and they gave me a treatment called Y-90, which is radiation that hits the tumor directly and pulverizes it ‘ he described. The latest finding comes as part of the follow-up of his health condition.
“Three months ago something had come out that they couldn’t figure out whether it was something vessel or a tumor, but even in this case it showed that it was a tumor,” he said. “A group of doctors and radiologists met and concluded that it was a small cancer in the left lung. The worrying thing is that three months ago it measured 1.5 centimeters and now it’s 2.5 centimeters,” he described, stressing that he is breathing very well and has had no symptoms that interfere with his daily life.
“I am an expert in miracles. God has already performed four miracles in my life. So, in the form of humor, I’ll say I’m almost like The Nuclear Man, The Six Million Dollar Man, but pela’o,” he added, comparing himself to the character of the famous ’70s series. “I understand it’s a further process of everything I’ve been through,” said the 59-year-old comedian. “I feel the peace that only God gives, and it’s that peace that surpasses all understanding as the Word says .I feel empowered, calm and confident, really.”
Next Monday he has a doctor’s appointment as part of the aftercare. “I told the doctors, ‘No, we need to get our hands on this now because we can’t let it grow any further,’ so thank God we happen to have an appointment this Monday with whoever did the radiation on my liver , which does it in the lungs, too,” he said. “A longtime friend named Carlos Alemany is my oncologist, he referred me to a thoracic radiation oncologist, but he recommends radiation. He says, ‘That’s likely given that what it measures, maybe one to five radiations at most,” is his recommendation. But the other doctor who’s going to see me is the specialist for that, he’s the one who does it every day, so he’ll determine how much or which it will be.
The comedian, who excelled on location in theater and various television comedies in a day that spanned from the late 1980s to around 2005, confessed how his family assimilated him.
“My wife (Lesbia Feliciano) has always been very supportive and has taken it well. My daughter is a little desperate. The day he found out he burst into tears because of me and I told him, ‘No, you know very well that you have witnessed all my trials and you will see God as always with a miracle will bless’” revealed the artist, who has been a Spanish teacher for years and currently voices “Abuelo” on the PBS animated television series Alma’s Way.
Merced not only thanked for the statements of support from numerous fellow artists, but also for the affection expressed by followers on their social networks. “I can’t complain about the people of Puerto Rico. All my social networks last night, in the inbox, people who are my friends, on Facebook and not, or on Instagram, but many,” he shared with astonishment. “This is such a great show of love and solidarity that I will be eternally grateful for because this is God speaking through people.”