This is the third article of a four-part series highlighting the need to set up cancer treatment centre in northern Sarawak
Hee personally feels that financial support from members of the public can help ease the burden of the patients and their families in this region of Sarawak, allowing them to stay closer to home.
MIRI (July 25): When one first received a cancer diagnosis, they would often feel overwhelmed with a wide range of emotions that come all at once.
It is during such a time when emotional support is much needed, and being surrounded by family, relatives and close friends while undergoing cancer treatment can provide a certain amount of comfort to the patient.
Northern Region liaison officer for Sarawak Children’s Cancer Society (SCCS), Jocelyn Hee, speaks from her 14 years of experience in providing emotional comfort to paediatric patients and their families in their journey of battling cancer.
She personally feels that financial support from members of the public can help ease the burden of the patients and their families in this region of Sarawak, allowing them to stay closer to home.
Ideally, this should be augmented by further assistance from the government.
“I have encountered cases from Niah, Limbang, Lawas and the remote areas within the vicinity, where families have to travel far from their home to Miri Hospital upon suspecting cancer.
“When further checks are needed, they are generally referred to the oncologists at Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) in Kuching.
“To them, travelling from their faraway home to Miri is already financially challenging and time consuming. Having to travel to and stay in another city for further check-ups is indeed a greater burden.
“In most cases, one parent will take up the responsibility as the caregiver, and the other will stay behind to earn a living while taking care of other siblings, if any.”
A place of hope
Hee said for cases where the patients would require financial support for medical care, they would usually be referred to the SCCS.
“The doctors at government hospitals would immediately contact SCCS whenever they come across any paediatric cancer case that is in need of financial support.
“SCCS’ principle is to ensure that every case is being handled to the best of our ability, providing care and relief to children in the hope that they can win the fight against cancer.
“From my experience, it may be hard for some child patients and the family to cope with the situation where they have to be away from home for a long period of time (three months or more), depending on the treatment procedure,” said Hee.
‘It isn’t just about the treatment’
The feeling of loneliness, stress, fear, worry and anger, she pointed out, could be overwhelming for most adults, and even more so for the young, Hee acknowledged.
“Children and caregivers who are surrounded and supported by their siblings, immediate family members and close friends, tend to stay more positive. Love and care from your loved ones are not something that can be easily replaced through counselling sessions.”
Besides volunteering for SCCS, Hee constantly reaches out to her friends who have been diagnosed with cancer.
She then recounted the emotional stress that struck a friend of hers, even before the treatment began.
“My friend had to leave for Kuching alone to undergo treatment, as her spouse had no choice but to stay back to work, take care of the house and also their young children. The idea of seeking treatment outside of Sarawak was already too overwhelming for her, let alone having to bear the travelling and accommodation expenses,” she said, adding that her friend had passed away.
Hee said it was very challenging for a patient to seek and undergo cancer treatment alone, without any caretaker. Those who could not afford to have someone with them along the way, might just give up halfway because of the inability to cope with the pain, stress, and anxiety – a concoction of feelings that would usually lead to depression, she added.
“From my past experience in helping children and friends suffering from cancer, it is beneficial for cancer patients if they could just gain access to the necessary resources and treatment here in the northern region.
“The close proximity itself can provide some relief to them, as they can have their support system be physically and closely present to encourage them.
“Costs for transportation and accommodation can also be taken out of the equation.”
Hee believed that the reality that cancer patients must face was not only about the treatment, but also about their emotional well-being.
“Everyone has a part to play in helping either children or adults fight cancer; that being together with their loved ones gives cancer patients more strength to fight cancer,” she said.
>The final article of the series will elaborate on the setting up of a comprehensive cancer centre in Sarawak, which was proposed in 2016, and what has progressed since. Watch out for it next Monday.
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