DANIELA REGGIE CASTAñEDA DE LA PISA brought her winning act from Southeast Asia to Eastern Europe, regaling the crowd, her rivals and especially the judges with a flawless performance with the hoop and clubs of rhythmic gymnastics.
The Filipino fans endlessly cheered her when she gracefully clinched one gold and two bronze medals at the 30th SEA Games in December last year at the refurbished Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Almost exactly a year later on December 5, de la Pisa bagged two gold medals at the the Santa’s Cup in Budapest, Hungary.
De La Pisa has been conquering the rhythmic gymnastics world, but little does anyone know that she made one life-changing conquest as a young girl—she beat cancer.
“It was very hard for me and her dad,” her mom Darlene de la Pisa told the BusinessMirror. “I asked myself then ‘why my daughter?’ But I chose to be strong for her during those times.”
De La Pisa was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was only four years old and spent more time on a hospital bed rather that at home to get rid of the ailment.
“It was in February 2, 2008, when Dadai [de la Pisa’s nickname] underwent surgery to remove her right ovary. After three weeks, she had her chemotherapy for four cycles,” the elder de la Pisa said.
It was during those times of healing when de la Pisa was introduced to gymnastics by her mom. Her dad Randy also felt the need for their second of three children to interact with girls her age and shut the bitter experience from the Big C.
She was at grade school at the University of the Visayas when her mom, who practiced the sport as a teen, began honing the little girl to a future champion.
“Her doctor said that gymnastics helped her a lot. It’s been 12 years now when she had cancer and she’s free from it now,” Darlene De la Pisa said.
The Covid-19 pandemic didn’t stop de la Pisa from polishing her form and flew to Budapest in August along with national teammate Breanna Labadan to pursue training. Labadan also won one gold and a silver medal in the same Budapest event.
On Sunday, de la Pisa—a bemedaled gymnast in the Palarong Pambansa, Batang Pinoy and Philippine National Games, was back home with her family.
“I am very excited because we can get to be with her finally after several months of being away from her,” de la Pisa’s mom said.
“We are very proud of her and I just want her to keep her focus on what she is doing,” the elder de la Pisa said.