Cancer-stricken street musician’s strength lies in sape playing
KUCHING: The clock showed 8.30pm as a street musician strummed a selection of melodious numbers on a sape (traditional musical instrument) at the Kuching Waterfront, a tourist haunt in the ‘golden triangle’ of the city.
During his performance, Desmond Junek’s infectious smile also lightens the mood as passing visitors stop awhile to appreciate the melodious strains of the sape, besides taking pictures and selfies as well as extend donations to the man.
Unknown to many, the 37year-old’s smile belies the hidden affliction he endures.
Desmond, 37, is a stage one brain cancer patient – a bitter reality he readily admits to being a bit difficult to accept.
Sharing his experience with Bernama, the Bidayuh native said he was diagnosed with stage one brain cancer in July 2017, after being referred to a hospital following a four-day headache.
On his reaction upon receiving the devastating news, the youngest of five siblings (a brother and sister have since passed on, the latter due to breast cancer) said he was desperate, dispirited, kept to himself for almost a month and even contemplated suicide.
“The news made me speechless, lose self-confidence and the world seemed dark. For a month, I did not play the sape, an activity that was my source of income since 2007,” said the native of Kampung Panchor in Serian.
Wanting to shake off the negative feelings engulfing him, Desmond was determined to draw on the encouragement and support of family and friends, and even watched a television programme about a fourth-stage cancer patient who was still able to stay active.
“I also thought, as playing the sape has become second nature, I cannot stop just like that... need to continue. In fact, when I’m plucking at the sape strings appreciating the traditional music, it seems as if my pain also diminishes,” said Desmond who started playing the instrument since he was 26.
Sape is a stringed musical instrument synonymous with the Orang Ulu community of the island of Borneo, but now with the passage of time, the traditional musical instrument is also played by various races.
Desmond said he preferred the original sape music to the modern and contemporary, but each excerpt was performed according to his own motion.
Recalling the time when he was diagnosed with brain cancer, he said he endured sudden and “very severe headaches”, followed by seizures and even his speech was disrupted. The painkillers that he took did not effectively reduce the pain.
“When my health worsened, I received treatment at the Sarawak General Hospital. Initially, the source of my pain was undetectable but when I informed the hospital authorities that my second sister had died of breast cancer, I underwent further examination before I was diagnosed with first-stage brain cancer,” added Desmond.
Despite being strong in spirit, he needs to abide by his physical condition and since being diagnosed with brain cancer, busking activities will depend on the state of his health. He has undergone three chemotherapy treatments so far.
“Now, in a week he can play three or four times, sometimes only once or twice. The duration of the performance cannot be long, about 60 minutes, sometimes only 30 minutes,” he said, making the Kuching Waterfront and Lepau Restaurant in Jalan Ban Hock here as locations for his busking activities.
In fact, the ‘Sape Movement Gathering’ in Miri not only brought together about 30 sape players, it also collected donations for Desmond last October.
To cancer patients out there, Desmond has these words of advice:
“Do not burden yourself thinking about the disease, instead remember the people we love to strengthen the spirit to ‘fight back’ the pain.” - Bernama