Jenine Desiderio, who lost her mother to cancer when she was six, said her family was disappointed when she decided to become an actress/singer rather than a doctor.

“I took up a pre-med course at UST (University of Santo Tomas), but dropped out two years later when ‘Miss Saigon’ came along. I thought of becoming a doctor because my mom died of cervical cancer. I wanted to help fight it, to help those suffering from it. Had it not been for ‘Miss Saigon,’ I would have been a doctor,” said Desiderio during the launch of the advocacy campaign “X Means Love.”

The campaign, initiated by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, aims to encourage preventive measures against cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among Filipino women.

Desiderio said everyone expected her to be the first doctor in the family. “Everything had been planned. An aunt in New York City promised to help me find work there after I graduated. They were all disappointed when I joined ‘Miss Saigon.’ At that time, the show was still unheard of. I was a member of the pioneering cast. It didn’t help that I had to wear a bikini… My family is very conservative.”

Desiderio was among the Filipinos who played the lead role of Kim in the hit musical that premiered in London, United Kingdom in 1989. Other “Kims” were Monique Wilson, Jamie Rivera and Lea Salonga, who won both the Laurence Olivier and Tony awards for her performance.