MANILA, Philippines?Talent manager Deo Endrinal told Inquirer Entertainment on Monday that his ward, Kris Aquino, was prepared to put show biz on hold, to spend more time with her mom, former President Corazon Aquino, who had been diagnosed with colon cancer.

Endrinal explained that Kris had only two ABS-CBN programs running, ?Boy & Kris? and ?Wheel of Fortune.? He added, ?Her new soap isn?t scheduled till the third quarter. She wants to spend as much time with her mom as possible.?

Brave front

Kris had cut short her Holy Week vacation in Bangkok, to accompany her mom to the hospital, Endrinal recounted. ?Most of the medical examinations were done during the Holy Week.?

Co-host and friend Boy Abunda said Kris was trying to put up a brave front. ?True, she has only two shows, but it?s still a full schedule?she gives two days to ?Boy & Kris,? two days to ?Wheel of Fortune.? She also has commercials and her children to take care of.?

On top of all this, Abunda noted, Kris was supposed to find out this week if she?s pregnant again. And though she was ?quietly suffering,? he said, Kris had taped episodes of ?Boy & Kris? on Holy Monday and Tuesday.

In the dressing room, Abunda related, Kris burst into tears. ?It was very difficult because, as hosts, we had to keep the energy level high. But she is taking her cue from her mother. Kris said her mom still remained the family?s anchor, the bedrock.?

Abunda said Kris, who was assigned as the family spokesperson along with brother Senator Noynoy, had written the official statement she read on television on Monday.

After two TV interviews, Kris accompanied her mom to the hospital for a series of ?medical procedures,? also on Monday.

Chemo this week

Abunda also said Kris told him that her mom had ?never been sickly,? prior to the cancer diagnosis. Plus, he said, ?She has no bad habits and eats healthy food. Her last surgery was the C-section she had when Kris was born [in 1971].?

According to reports, the 75-year-old former president is scheduled to undergo a round of chemotherapy treatments this week.