TCSH Health Awareness Talk — Breast and Cervical Cancer, Family Planning, Mental Health
Breasts. Cancer. Depression. Hallucinations. Birth control. All these were squeamish topics on which the Health Awareness Talk on the 2nd of October 2009 was centered on.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the first portion on family planning, breast and cervical cancer because I was working on a presentation on AIDS (by some strange coincidence).
Breasts. Cancer. Depression. Hallucinations. Birth control. All these were squeamish topics on which the Health Awareness Talk on the 2nd of October 2009 was centered on. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the first portion on family planning, breast and cervical cancer because I was working on a presentation on AIDS (by some strange coincidence).
When I did arrive at the Beta Theatre, there was an intermission. I saw various brochures displayed, all monochrome and informative, and a few booklets as well.
The second portion on mental health was enlightening and very comprehensive. The speaker was Ms Santha Kumarie of the Malaysian Mental Health Association (MMHA).
Ms. Kumarie introduced a man, Pavin, who had been diagnosed with manic-depressive or bipolar disorder a few years ago. He had controlled the debilitating effects of his condition well with medication, but unfortunately the shaking remained as a side effect. Under her care, he gradually found a niche in society and was now working at the MMHA headquarters, doing social work. He spoke quite normally too, if a little incoherent.
Ms Kumarie proceeded to delve into the details of the most common mental disorders – schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
With that sombre, yet eye-opening talk at its end, the representative of the Selangor Association of Family Planning called upon a breast cancer survivor to share her experience with the audience.
Now I admit to not being able to catch her name properly, so let’s call her Shar. She looked nothing at all like a former breast cancer victim. Her eyes were very bright and inquisitive, and she had a clear voice that belied any past trauma.
She asked us to guess her age. 24! She was only 24, and she had been diagnosed when she was in college like us. The diagnosis nearly ruined her; it threw her into depression, away from her busy academic life as a student and head of student council. There was no will to live.
She had virtually non-existent moral support, save for her boyfriend at that time. Her friends either distanced themselves from her, or offered comments that did not seem to lift her out of her quagmire at all. However, her boyfriend offered one inspiring statement: “You must go for the chemotherapy, no matter how painful it may be, for I will walk every step of the way with you.”
Well, that did it. She went through about 8 cycles of chemo, each one excruciatingly painful. She threw up like 3 pregnant women, and nothing could enter her stomach except ice-cream. Her hair fell out and there was this terrible heat in her head. No surprise—chemo actually delivers a blast that kills all cells, not just the cancerous ones. At the end she underwent a mastectomy to remove the afflicted breasts, but thanks to plastic surgery, they were reconstructed.
“There are always two sides of every situation,” Shar concluded, bringing the whole thing to an end. I was quite awed by this lady, with her modelling and teaching careers, and multilingual too (she’s Indian, but also speaks Chinese, Cantonese and English). After some token presentations to the representatives, I headed out, feeling the weight of everything that had happened.
Science is serious, medicine in particular. That is why, if we head in the right direction, hopefully painful treatments will become a thing of the past.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the first portion on family planning, breast and cervical cancer because I was working on a presentation on AIDS (by some strange coincidence).
Breasts. Cancer. Depression. Hallucinations. Birth control. All these were squeamish topics on which the Health Awareness Talk on the 2nd of October 2009 was centered on. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the first portion on family planning, breast and cervical cancer because I was working on a presentation on AIDS (by some strange coincidence).
When I did arrive at the Beta Theatre, there was an intermission. I saw various brochures displayed, all monochrome and informative, and a few booklets as well.
The second portion on mental health was enlightening and very comprehensive. The speaker was Ms Santha Kumarie of the Malaysian Mental Health Association (MMHA).
Ms. Kumarie introduced a man, Pavin, who had been diagnosed with manic-depressive or bipolar disorder a few years ago. He had controlled the debilitating effects of his condition well with medication, but unfortunately the shaking remained as a side effect. Under her care, he gradually found a niche in society and was now working at the MMHA headquarters, doing social work. He spoke quite normally too, if a little incoherent.
Ms Kumarie proceeded to delve into the details of the most common mental disorders – schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
With that sombre, yet eye-opening talk at its end, the representative of the Selangor Association of Family Planning called upon a breast cancer survivor to share her experience with the audience.
Now I admit to not being able to catch her name properly, so let’s call her Shar. She looked nothing at all like a former breast cancer victim. Her eyes were very bright and inquisitive, and she had a clear voice that belied any past trauma.
She asked us to guess her age. 24! She was only 24, and she had been diagnosed when she was in college like us. The diagnosis nearly ruined her; it threw her into depression, away from her busy academic life as a student and head of student council. There was no will to live.
She had virtually non-existent moral support, save for her boyfriend at that time. Her friends either distanced themselves from her, or offered comments that did not seem to lift her out of her quagmire at all. However, her boyfriend offered one inspiring statement: “You must go for the chemotherapy, no matter how painful it may be, for I will walk every step of the way with you.”
Well, that did it. She went through about 8 cycles of chemo, each one excruciatingly painful. She threw up like 3 pregnant women, and nothing could enter her stomach except ice-cream. Her hair fell out and there was this terrible heat in her head. No surprise—chemo actually delivers a blast that kills all cells, not just the cancerous ones. At the end she underwent a mastectomy to remove the afflicted breasts, but thanks to plastic surgery, they were reconstructed.
“There are always two sides of every situation,” Shar concluded, bringing the whole thing to an end. I was quite awed by this lady, with her modelling and teaching careers, and multilingual too (she’s Indian, but also speaks Chinese, Cantonese and English). After some token presentations to the representatives, I headed out, feeling the weight of everything that had happened.
Science is serious, medicine in particular. That is why, if we head in the right direction, hopefully painful treatments will become a thing of the past.
By YOULIN KOH Photos by DOROTHY LIM
1 comments:
Great article Youlin! :)