Miles Ocampo recalls journey to body acceptance after undergoing thyroid surgery
Miles Ocampo open up about how she learned to accept changes in her body after getting treatment for thyroid cancer.
In an interview with The Philippine STAR, the actress-host shared how she dealt with the struggles that came with Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma, which she was diagnosed with in 2022. She described that time as "depressing" as she recalled how much her weight gain affected her after the operation.
“With my case, ang problema ko talaga my weight, especially after my operation. Tapos ito pa pong trabaho natin, kailangan payat tayo,” she shared, admitting that it became one of her insecurities in life.
“Depressing talaga siya,” she confessed. “Wala na ko masuot na damit, kahit anong anggulo, wala talaga.”
“Nai-insecure na 'ko kung paano ako magbihis kasi kailangan ko talagang itago lahat. Lalo na nung after operation and after my radiation, talagang lobo talaga ako,” she added.
The Eat Bulaga! host said that she started gaining more weight when they were filming the MMFF 2023 entry, Family of Two starring Sharon Cuneta and Alden Richards. She played the latter's love interest in the movie.
“Sabi ko, “Ha? Ipa-partner niyo ko kay Alden? Baka mamaya sabihin nila para akong nanay ni Alden,” she recalled saying.
Over time, Miles got tired of stressing so much about her weight and learned to accept the changes in her body.
“Dumating ako sa point na napapagod ako, lagi ko na lang pinoproblema ‘yung weight ko, ‘[Parang] ito na lang ba ‘yung concern ko palagi?’” she said, adding that she needed to accept it as it was due to her maintenance medicine—something she had no control of.
“Hanggang sa natutunan ko pong tanggapin. Ito ‘yung isang bagay na hindi ko naman ma-control, kahit anong gawin kong pagda-diet, hindi ko siya ma-control,” she said.
She added, “Natutunan ko na lang mahalin. As long as tama naman po ‘yung ginagawa ko, wala akong tinatapakang tao, I’m good.”
Miles recalled how her health struggles helped change her mindset, and how it made her more conscious and aware of what her body needs.
“Sa ilang months na ‘yun, ang dami [kong] pinagdaanan. Nagka-cancer ako, inoperahan ako. Parang dati kasi kapag masama pakiramdam ko, ‘Okay lang yan, normal naman ‘yan’ pero parang ngayon, medyo mas conscious na 'ko lalo na po may mga maintenance akong tine-take for life, and meron po akong regular na blood test na ginagawa,” she said.
She also revealed that she did not know she had cancer until after her operation. “Doon lang nag sink in sa ‘kin na, “Ah grabe pala ‘to, kaya pala ganun ka-urgent.”
“Right now talaga, importante na alagaan ‘yung sarili. Pakiramdaman po talaga, kapag nararamdaman ko na medyo ‘di tama ‘yung hinga ko, nagsasabi naman po ako,” she said.
She also advised everyone to listen to their bodies.
“Importante talaga na kapag may naramdaman kang iba, may naramdaman ka nang mali, ipa-check mo na talaga ‘yung sarili mo. Kasi ikaw at ikaw lang ‘yung nakakaalam kung anong nararamdaman ng katawan mo,” the local star said.
The actress first opened up about her illness in an Instagram post in April 2023 as she stressed the importance of prioritizing one's self.
According to Mayo Clinic, Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma is a common type of thyroid cancer that affects people of any age. Unlike the others, it tends to grow slowly and usually affects one lobe of the thyroid gland.
Miles revealed that she's finally cancer-free in January.