Helping cancer patients in need
B. YOGESWARI was a production officer for over 18 years in Singapore before her life was disrupted by cancer.
Yogeswari, 41, was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in May 2019 and her once active life was turned upside down.
“I had to move in with some of my relatives and depend on my 56-year-old aunt for financial support.
“My aunt, who works as a bus driver, is now the sole breadwinner of six people in this house as the rest of us are either too old or too sick to work,” she said when met at her house here.
Despite being forced to endure six excruciating chemotherapy cycles over the past year to survive, Yogeswari’s spirits remain high and she is hopeful that she will one day return to the workforce.
“A lot of people are afraid of the word ‘cancer’ as they think it is a death sentence, but that is not necessarily true.
“Many have survived the disease and managed to return to their previous life. I remain hopeful that I will be one of those people,” she said.
Yogeswari is among the dozens of people who received aid from the Tunku Laksamana Johor Cancer Foundation (TLJCF).
“My aunt was the one who found out about the foundation and helped me apply to become one of its aid recipients.
“The foundation has assisted me by providing me with free medication known as Zometa, which helps avoid bone breakage due to cancer,” she said, adding that one dose of the medicine could cost between RM700 and RM1,000.
Another patient receiving aid
from the TLJCF is Teo Tek Wang, 72, who was diagnosed with stage four larynx cancer in 2009, just three years after his only child, a son, died in an accident.
A few months after being diagnosed with the disease, Teo had his larynx or voice box removed to get rid of the cancer cells.
“I was unable to speak to anyone for almost a year after my voice box was taken out and had to write everything down to communicate with others.
“After a year, I received an electrolarynx device from the National Cancer Council Malaysia (Makna), which allowed me to talk again,” he said.
Teo added that after using the device for almost 10 years, it broke
down and could no longer help him produce clearer speech.
“Thankfully, just a few months after applying for assistance from the TLJCF, I was given a new device and I can now have a voice again,” he said.
Teo, who is fondly known as Uncle Teo by those close to him, is also a frequent visitor at Sultanah Aminah Hospital and Sultan Ismail Hospital, not only as a patient but also as a cheerleader of sorts.
“Newly diagnosed larynx cancer patients, when informed that they will need to lose their voice box, will usually go through a tough time accepting the fate that has just hit them.
“Sometimes hospital staff will call me to go there to show patients
that losing one’s voice box is not the end of the world and that there is a device that could help them,” he said.
Teo added that he also helps teach patients how to use the device.
Meanwhile, Rosmawati Md Ali Hanafiah, 56, who also received aid from the TLJCF, said she was grateful for the contribution as it lightened her burden.
“I started to feel a sharp pain around my arms in 2017 just a few months after my husband died, but I chose not to think too much about it.
“Later on, however, the pain became too much for me to endure and when I got it checked, I found out that I was suffering from stage four breast cancer,” she said.
Rosmawati added that she had to move into her sister’s house in Pasir Gudang as there was no one to take care of her at her own house in Pengerang.
“I’m unable to work and have to depend on my siblings for financial support, which was why I was so grateful to receive the donation from the TLJCF,” she said.
Rosmawati also received a one-year supply of milk powder recommended by the dieticians from Sultanah Aminah Hospital for cancer patients.
“It would not be possible for me to buy the milk on my own as it is priced at about RM90 for each can,” she said.
The TLJCF is dedicated to helping cancer patients in need of financial aid.
The foundation, which was inspired by the late Tunku Laksamana Johor Tunku Abdul Jalil Sultan Ibrahim’s dedication to help lighten the burden of those with the illness, was established in June 2015 under the supervision of the Johor state government.
I’m unable to work and have to depend on my siblings for financial support, which is why I was so grateful to receive the donation from the TLJCF.
Rosmawati Md Ali Hanafiah