Cancer Story - KK
I am a stage 4 rectal cancer patient. I was diagnosed on Christmas Day last year. I heard the news and thought “why me?”. When I received joyous Christmas greetings from family and friends, it felt ironic. Usually, Christmas is my favorite holiday, but, that moment was the worst time of my life.
My world collapsed, my mind was blank and I could not think of anything at all. I was even unable to say the word “cancer”. I totally isolated myself from the outside world.
Before getting Maggie's Centre's support:
I had to face both physical & psychological challenges.
I had a wound and stoma after my operation which was extremely painful during the nurse’s daily cleanings. My entire body was connected with nasogastric tubes, I wore an oxygen mask and was surrounded by many medical devices. I couldn’t sleep well and it was hard just to move my body.
My painful wound affected my confidence to step out of my bed and practice walking. As I was unable to accept the reality of my stoma, I refused to learn how to take care of it. As a young cancer patient, I got the aggressive “3 days 2 nights” chemo treatment at hospital. This kind of intensive treatment left me exhausted.
Psychologically, I felt extremely worried and fearful for my future and all the uncertainties, such as “how will this treatment affect my body?” and “what’s the cost of treatment?”
Even though my family and friends stayed with me, I still felt extremely depressed and lonely, because no one understood my true feelings.
After getting Maggie's Centre's support:
I am grateful that my friend mentioned Maggie’s Centre to me. I decided to visit the Centre with my parents. Although the Centre had temporarily suspended face-to-face activities, the oncology nurse let us in and provided some useful booklets and nutrition milk.
During the coronavirus outbreak, it was hard to get cancer care support. It was great to get professional advice from the Centre instead of browsing the internet or other sources, because I was extremely tired and had no more energy to digest any information.
Information & Practical Support:
I feel so grateful for all the information & practical support I received from the Centre. For example, I was given tips on how to communicate with my doctors and nurses. The nurses at the Centre told me what to expect after my chemo treatment and shared the common side effects experienced by those with similar cases. It gave me a very clear overall picture of my treatment.
Emotional & Psychological Support:
I am grateful for the team at the Centre, including oncology nurses, clinical psychologists, registered social workers, dietitians and therapists. They helped me to get through all my challenges and eased my concerns.
I feel relieved that I have the support of a professional team and I can call them even during the coronavirus outbreak.
Living with cancer – a brand new meaning of life
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” This quote from A Tale of Two Cities, expresses my feeling about my cancer journey. I feel that I have pressed a “Restart” button on my life. I am grateful for every breath when I wake up everyday. I believe in the power of now and love. Therefore, I am sharing my cancer journey on Facebook and Instagram with the purpose of spreading love and encouragement to everyone, especially cancer patients. I would like to let them know that they are not alone on this journey and my message will accompany them all the time. Hope that I could inspire others to see a new meaning of life.
I have returned to my passion of singing and filming and I encourage cancer patients by sharing videos of my songs. In the future, I will create some microfilms about cancer and hope. Although we are cancer patients, we still have rights to chase our own dreams and do what we want to do.
How can the audience spread love and care like I do? Donate and support Maggie’s Centre
It has been a year since I was diagnosed, I would like to say “thank you very much” to every single one of you for reading my story and supporting Maggie’s Centre.
My role model Mother Teresa once said, “Do small things with great love”. Now, I want to invite every one of you to take an action of love together. Let’s live in the moment and spread your love and care to the families affected by cancer, especially in difficult times.
Once again, thank you for your support. It means so much to all of us!