"I Want to Live On..." (August 30, 2009)
“I want to live on! I am too young to die at this age…”
Every time I recalled a female patient by the name of Chan Chuen Chun, I am reminded to live my life to the best I can. I do not want to leave this life with regrets.
I first met Chan and her family in Kuala Lumpur. When I saw Chan, I thought I was meeting a six-month pregnant woman. She suffered from breast cancer with liver metastasis. She was very frail and her face yellowish. Though she was wan and sallow, she still portrayed a very beautiful look. She dressed up properly and had her lip touched up with pinky lipstick.
She came to see us in Kuala Lumpur during a medical talk organized by the Long Life Magazine. She waited for her turn to consult our hospital’s oncologist. When it came to her turn, she walked into the room in tears with the help by her husband. When she came near to the oncologist, Prof. Xu, she held his hand and said to him: “Doctor, I do not want to die; my doctor had declared that I have only one more month to live but I do not want to believe what he had told me. I want to live on; I love my husband and our daughter. I do not want to leave them. I want to live on…”
I was in tears; I empathized with her and shared her sorrowful and painful feeling. I could imagine how hard she had tried to fight for her life. I was sure that she wished to do more for her family if she had the chance to do so. She wished to live longer to accomplish what she had planned for her daughter’s future and her family. Unfortunately, she was caught in the life’s hardest challenge. I could feel that she was trying her very best to live on.
Her medical record showed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 39; she had undergone surgery and radiotherapy. Nine months later, she had bloated belly; she went for medical check up and it was confirmed she had multiple liver metastases. Doctor could not operate on her due to her frailty. She and her family members were informed that she had hardly a month to live.
The news was a dead sentence. They were desperate and frantically seeking treatment to treat her. They cried, they prayed and they tried all they could to no avail. No doctors dared to perform treatment for her.
At their time of despair, a reporter referred her case to us. After going through the medical report, Prof. Xu was not optimistic either as he also held similar view as the local doctors.
When Prof. Xu was about to tell the family his professional opinion, Chan’s family members were in tears and pleaded Prof. Xu not to give up on Chan. Prof Xu was very touched by the love that Chan’s husband had shown for her; he did not give up on his wife and had tried his very best to help her.
Prof Xu’s heart went out to the family and he boldly agreed to take up the challenge to help Chan. He was touched by their determination in fighting the war against cancer till the end.
For any doctor, treating patients with terminal diseases is the most challenging task. Nobody can guarantee the outcome. What if the treatment fails? How will the family react to such an outcome?
Chan was admitted to our hospital in Guangzhou on 3rd June 2006. She was given non-invasive treatment such as cyrosurgery, vascular interventional therapy, immunotherapy and prescription of both western and Chinese medication. I visited Chan in Guangzhou on the third week of her treatment.
She was happy as her abdominal distension had subsided; her cancer was under control. She said to me: “I am very thankful to the doctors and nurses as they did not give up on me. I can feel that they are doing their very best to save my live. They treat me with parental love and they care for me.”
“Suffering from cancer changes my perspective on life; I give thanks for every new day that I have and I learn to prioritize my life.” Chan said.
Chan lived her life with dignity and pride for each day she had. To her, each additional day was a bonus and a blessing from God. She treasured and valued each new day.
Chan had an extension of ten months of her life. During those ten months, she managed to spend quality time with her family; she left her daughter with the most memorable moments; she left this world without regrets.
I miss her. She was one patient that showed me the value of life. Life is precious! Life is priceless! I begin to see it is impossible to win a race without venturing into it; it is impossible to win a battle unless we dare to go to war.
To the question of our life, we are the only answer. To the problems in our life, we are the only solution. Each of us is fearful of cancer and do not wish it to happen to us. If we are found to have cancer, we just have to accept the fact, face it and fight it. We either win or lose the battle. Probably we have to go through a difficult and challenging time before we overcome it; the disease may go into remission but it may strike again and the battle is eventually lost. Fighting for survival is a human’s instinct. Every cancer patient hopes for recovery.
Therefore in the event we are met with cancer, our top priority is to win the battle. There is no compromise under whatsoever circumstances. We must be determined to move towards the goal of defeating cancer.
In our fight some sacrifices have to be made before we reap the fruit. The fruit may be in term of a complete recovery or the slowing down of the progression of cancer or at the least, reduction in the sufferings.
Once we have made up our mind to fight on cancer, we have to prepare and equip ourselves for the battle. Tan was the real life example; she had made herself a HERO in fighting against cancer.
She had won herself ten additional months to live. To many people, 10 months may be too short, but to Chan, the additional 10 months of her life were the most precious and memorable moments that she could ever had. I salute her fighting spirit against cancer. I believe that she had rested in PEACE forever! I wish to tell her, “Thank you, Chuen Chun, you have enriched my life.”
Every time I recalled a female patient by the name of Chan Chuen Chun, I am reminded to live my life to the best I can. I do not want to leave this life with regrets.
I first met Chan and her family in Kuala Lumpur. When I saw Chan, I thought I was meeting a six-month pregnant woman. She suffered from breast cancer with liver metastasis. She was very frail and her face yellowish. Though she was wan and sallow, she still portrayed a very beautiful look. She dressed up properly and had her lip touched up with pinky lipstick.
She came to see us in Kuala Lumpur during a medical talk organized by the Long Life Magazine. She waited for her turn to consult our hospital’s oncologist. When it came to her turn, she walked into the room in tears with the help by her husband. When she came near to the oncologist, Prof. Xu, she held his hand and said to him: “Doctor, I do not want to die; my doctor had declared that I have only one more month to live but I do not want to believe what he had told me. I want to live on; I love my husband and our daughter. I do not want to leave them. I want to live on…”
I was in tears; I empathized with her and shared her sorrowful and painful feeling. I could imagine how hard she had tried to fight for her life. I was sure that she wished to do more for her family if she had the chance to do so. She wished to live longer to accomplish what she had planned for her daughter’s future and her family. Unfortunately, she was caught in the life’s hardest challenge. I could feel that she was trying her very best to live on.
Her medical record showed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 39; she had undergone surgery and radiotherapy. Nine months later, she had bloated belly; she went for medical check up and it was confirmed she had multiple liver metastases. Doctor could not operate on her due to her frailty. She and her family members were informed that she had hardly a month to live.
The news was a dead sentence. They were desperate and frantically seeking treatment to treat her. They cried, they prayed and they tried all they could to no avail. No doctors dared to perform treatment for her.
At their time of despair, a reporter referred her case to us. After going through the medical report, Prof. Xu was not optimistic either as he also held similar view as the local doctors.
When Prof. Xu was about to tell the family his professional opinion, Chan’s family members were in tears and pleaded Prof. Xu not to give up on Chan. Prof Xu was very touched by the love that Chan’s husband had shown for her; he did not give up on his wife and had tried his very best to help her.
Prof Xu’s heart went out to the family and he boldly agreed to take up the challenge to help Chan. He was touched by their determination in fighting the war against cancer till the end.
For any doctor, treating patients with terminal diseases is the most challenging task. Nobody can guarantee the outcome. What if the treatment fails? How will the family react to such an outcome?
Chan was admitted to our hospital in Guangzhou on 3rd June 2006. She was given non-invasive treatment such as cyrosurgery, vascular interventional therapy, immunotherapy and prescription of both western and Chinese medication. I visited Chan in Guangzhou on the third week of her treatment.
She was happy as her abdominal distension had subsided; her cancer was under control. She said to me: “I am very thankful to the doctors and nurses as they did not give up on me. I can feel that they are doing their very best to save my live. They treat me with parental love and they care for me.”
“Suffering from cancer changes my perspective on life; I give thanks for every new day that I have and I learn to prioritize my life.” Chan said.
Chan lived her life with dignity and pride for each day she had. To her, each additional day was a bonus and a blessing from God. She treasured and valued each new day.
Chan had an extension of ten months of her life. During those ten months, she managed to spend quality time with her family; she left her daughter with the most memorable moments; she left this world without regrets.
I miss her. She was one patient that showed me the value of life. Life is precious! Life is priceless! I begin to see it is impossible to win a race without venturing into it; it is impossible to win a battle unless we dare to go to war.
To the question of our life, we are the only answer. To the problems in our life, we are the only solution. Each of us is fearful of cancer and do not wish it to happen to us. If we are found to have cancer, we just have to accept the fact, face it and fight it. We either win or lose the battle. Probably we have to go through a difficult and challenging time before we overcome it; the disease may go into remission but it may strike again and the battle is eventually lost. Fighting for survival is a human’s instinct. Every cancer patient hopes for recovery.
Therefore in the event we are met with cancer, our top priority is to win the battle. There is no compromise under whatsoever circumstances. We must be determined to move towards the goal of defeating cancer.
In our fight some sacrifices have to be made before we reap the fruit. The fruit may be in term of a complete recovery or the slowing down of the progression of cancer or at the least, reduction in the sufferings.
Once we have made up our mind to fight on cancer, we have to prepare and equip ourselves for the battle. Tan was the real life example; she had made herself a HERO in fighting against cancer.
She had won herself ten additional months to live. To many people, 10 months may be too short, but to Chan, the additional 10 months of her life were the most precious and memorable moments that she could ever had. I salute her fighting spirit against cancer. I believe that she had rested in PEACE forever! I wish to tell her, “Thank you, Chuen Chun, you have enriched my life.”
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