Kristel Fulgar reveals she had surgery due to rare tumor

Kristel Fulgar opened up about her health, revealing that she had to undergo surgery due to a rare tumor that was discovered in her leg.

In a YouTube vlog uploaded on Friday, March 22, the content creator said that the lump was found in her calf area in 2022. Referring to it as the "hardest challenge" she has faced in her life so far, she shared that her condition also "affected [her] mental health and triggered [her] anxiety."

"There were a lot of 'what ifs' and I cried every night to sleep," she said.

Kristel later in the vlog disclosed that she was diagnosed with schwannoma, which is a "rare type of tumor that forms in the nervous system." According to the National Cancer Institute, it grows from cells that "protect and support the nerve cells of the nervous system." While such tumors are often benign, the NCI said it could turn cancerous "in rare cases."

It took her a year to think about having it removed through surgery. What convinced her to do so was the fact that it was growing, and it already "had a chance of being malignant."

She had her surgery in Korea. Her lover and her friend took turns in taking care of her as she had no family there.

Kristel later decided to come back to the Philippines to continue her recovery. "My mom is in the Philippines and wants to take care of me until I fully recover," she shared.