The Singaporean who suffered a cardiac arrest and lapsed into a coma in Tokyo just over a week ago is due to arrive in Singapore on Tuesday.
The team from EMA Global, the medical assistance company appointed for the evacuation, left Singapore for Tokyo, a spokesman told The Straits Times on Monday (May 1).
His 25-year-old daughter, Ms Eileen Cheong, had successfully raised $250,000 on fundraising platform Give.Asia to get her father home to Singapore.
She wrote in her campaign that her family had flown to Tokyo on April 19 to celebrate her mother’s cancer remission when her father had a heart attack.
He was resuscitated and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at Toho University Omori Medical Center on the same day and placed on mechanical support.
Japanese doctors told her family that they could not determine how long her father would stay in a coma.
The family owed the hospital about $120,000, and it would cost at least another $120,000 to bring Mr Cheong home by medical evacuation, according to Miss Cheong.
Ms Cheong wrote that her dad’s travel insurers MSIG informed her family that they were “unlikely to have a successful claim as his collapse was attributable to a pre-existing heart condition”.
The 25-year-old, who is a fresh graduate earning less than $3,000 a month, turned to crowdfunding on Give.Asia to get her father home.
In an update on Saturday evening, Ms Cheong said that all $250,000 had been raised.
Ms Cheong had said in a campaign update on April 30 that her father was in a stable condition. She thanked all contributors and donors and promised to post an update on the situation soon.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had told previously said that it was aware of the incident and that the Singapore Embassy in Tokyo was rendering the necessary consular assistance to the family.
My name is Chek Ming. I am 46 years old. I want to tell you my story and ask for your help. My life has been a struggle for the past few years but I am consoled as I have a 5-year old son. He is my greatest pride and joy, and also the reason I’m asking for help.
I am a Stage 4 cancer patient (metastatic clear cell ovarian carcinoma) who desperately needs to raise over $139,000 annually to get access to immunotherapy, which is not a subsidised cancer treatment and it is out of reach for subsidised patients like me.
I am also fast running out of time, having endured 2 years of debilitating chemotherapy, using various other cancer drugs, to no avail, having now reached fourth-line treatment stage using the last available drug. Those conventional cancer drugs have failed to stop the rapid spread of the disease from Stage 1c to Stage 4. I am now suffering from incremental and severe stabbing pains in my right chest and arm due to inflamed axillary lymph nodes surrounding the front of my heart and embedded in my chest.
It all happened when I was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of ovarian cancer called “Ovarian Clear Cell Carcinoma”, that occurs in only 5% of ovarian cancer sufferers. As such, hardly any research has been done on this type of cancer.
I underwent major surgery on 6th April 2015 to remove a huge 12.5 cm ovarian cyst, my womb, ovaries, Fallopian tubes, cervix, omentum, appendix and 29 lymph nodes when ultrasound scans and CA125 cancer marker blood tests indicated high possibility of ovarian cancer. The diagnosis of ovarian cancer was confirmed when the diseased ovarian cyst was sent to the lab for frozen section.
Subsequently, I started chemotherapy on 21st May 2015, receiving Carboplatin and Paclitaxel chemotherapy for 6 cycles every 3 weeks as my medical oncologist said that it is an aggressive cancer (clear cell type) and is likely to come back despite surgery. At that time, I was told that I had Stage 1c ovarian clear cell cancer – i.e. the cancerous ovarian cyst had been leaking cancerous fluid into the surrounding tissues.
Despite the side effects, I persevered through this chemotherapy in the hope that I can survive to raise my son. I will do anything for him. Being 3 years old at the time, he did not know much. But, he saw me lose my hair, vomit, lying in bed unwell for hours and could not play with him – he could not comprehend or understand the reasons.
I thought it was all over and I can go back to lead a normal life. Then, the unthinkable happened. On the 21st September 2015, my medical oncologist suggested that I undergo another CT scan for a routine check-up after my chemotherapy (immediately after I finished my chemotherapy that same month).
The doctor told me it is now impossible to either operate or cure since the cancer has resurged aggressively to Stage 4 in such a short amount of time. My heart sank. I need more treatments but any treatment now is not curative. The doctor told me any treatment now is merely palliative.
I am a single parent and the sole-breadwinner. Oftentimes, I skip meals in order to save up enough money to feed my son proper meals, as he was born prematurely and underweight. I have met many kind people but the amount of help that I need is more than what my normal acquaintances can help.
I live in a small, barebones, 45-sqm, HDB flat (1 bedroom, 1 hall). I have sold off everything that I can sell, in order to survive month-to-month.
Unfortunately, I have no private health insurance and I am not covered under the CPF Dependent Protection Scheme. Hence, I am thankful to all the NUH Doctors, Nurses, Radiologists, Therapists, Counter Staff, Support Staff and Medical Social Workers for their kindness and support. As a subsidised patient, I am grateful to the Singapore Government and the National University Hospital of Singapore for MediShield Life, the NUH medical assistance fund (for Avastin) and the medical bill subsidy by Medifund, which does not cover all bills.
I hope that your donation would be able to help me to pay for my family’s medical bills; basic necessities; household bills; journeys to/from hospital (because I am unsteady on my feet nowadays due to neuropathy and blood pressure is low); some nutritious fresh foods; bank debts left behind in my name by an abusive estranged spouse (who left the country several years ago and no contact); and daily living expenses, during these dark days, and even more so when my condition deteriorates and require hospice care; coming funeral expenses; and to set aside sufficient cash reserve for my poor mother to sustain herself and enable her to care for my young son when I pass on, as they will be in urgent need in the many years to come. Thank you in advance for all donations.
The cost for immunotherapy treatment amounts to approximately $139,000 a year. The medicine is administered every 3 weeks.
The medicine costs between $6,500 and $8,000 per dose, depending on the type administered. There are usually pre-medications that need to be administered too, prior to each dose of the immunotherapy medicine but I do not know the cost for these pre-medications at this point in time.
My doctor tells me that the 5-year survival rate for this cancer is not good and I am unlikely to survive very long given that this is an aggressive, chemo-resistant cancer and it is now at Stage 4. Yet, I need to survive this fight for my life, for at least another few more years in order to stay with my son. He is just too young to lose his mom.
I am appealing out of desperation as I have exhausted all my social connections and charity appeals. I have sold off anything that is of value in my small flat.
Please help me. Any help, no matter how big or small, will make a big difference to me and my son.
Thank you all kindly.
Besides GIVE, we have received SGD74,257.50 from other sources.
Nak dijadikan cerita, aku tengah berkepit dengan doktor bedah di dalam bilik doktor, menanti pesakit datang. Selepas beberapa ketika, datang seorang perempuan kurus lingkungan umur 30’an dengan seorang lelaki, suami dia, masuk ke bilik.
Temah (nama samaran), datang ke hospital sebab asyik sesak nafas dan batuk tak berhenti-henti. Lambat juga dia datang ke hospital. Katanya sebelum ini dia hanya mengambil ubat batuk yang dibeli dari farmasi sahaja. Dia juga telah pergi ke bahagian general medicine, tetapi tiada perubahan. Oleh itu, dia dirujuk ke bahagian Surgery.
Doktor periksa akak ini, ambil sample sana sini dan suruh pergi ambil x-ray. Aku perhatikan kakak ini, seriously sangat kurus.
Sambil menunggu keputusan laporan dari lab pesume, Temah berceritalah tentang cuti sekolah nanti, inshaAllah mereka sekeluarga nak bercuti. Dia cerita tentang anak-anak dia. Suami dia yang nampak kebosanan, tiba-tiba keluarkan rokok dari poket dan meminta izin untuk keluar sekejap.
Sampai saja laporan lengkap dari semua jabatan, aku tengok fail pesakit itu. Tertulis, Small Lung Cell Cancer Stage IIIB.
“Ya Allah! Kanser dia dah advanced!”
Doktor cuba sampaikan berita yang dia menghidap kanser tersebut. Kakak itu terdiam seketika dan kemudian terus menangis di depan kami. Aku terkedu pada masa itu, tak tahu nak buat apa. Doktor cuba tenangkan dia tetapi dia tidak berhenti menangis.
“Apa salah saya sampai kena macam ni?”
Sebak hati ini melihat dia menangis. Ikutkan hati, aku pun mahu menangis sama.
“Saya solat 5 waktu seperti muslim yang lain, tak pernah lawan cakap mak ayah dan suami. Kenapa saya yang kena? Anak-anak saya nanti macam mana?”
Bunyi dia macam terus hilang harapan walaupun belum mula treatment lagi. Doktor hanya mendengar saja luahan hati dia sampailah dia habis meraung dalam bilik itu. Suami dia? Masih merokok di parking lot hospital gamaknya.
Bila dia dah balik dengan mata bengkak, doktor terus pusing pada aku dan kata, dia kasihan dengan orang baik seperti itu.
“Dia tak buat salah tetapi dia terkena tempias penyakit atas perbuatan orang lain. Memang makin berat ujian kita sebenarnya, Allah semakin sayang pada kita. Tetapi tak semua orang perasan perkara itu. Ada orang bila dapat tahu berita buruk, memang tak boleh fikir positif dan waras pada masa itu. Biasalah manusia,” katanya.
“Suami dia smoker. Kalau dia duduk rumah terperap tak terdedah dengan udara luar yang tercemar, macam mana pun, suami dia masih dedahkan dia dengan asap rokok dalam rumah,” sambung doktor sementara menunggu pesakit yagn seterusnya.
Aku terdiam.
“Suami dia light smoker. Merokok untuk mengisi masa lapang sahaja. Itu yang buat saya rasa bertambah kasihan dengan akak tadi.
“Sebab light smoker ini bukan ketagih dengan rokok pun. Mereka cuma nyalakan puntung rokok itu
sebagai habit. Habit sebenarnya senang nak dibuang. Disebabkan dia tak buang habit itu, dia tingkatkan risiko dan isterinya terkena kanser,” jelas doktor.
Seriously!?
“Yes, habit. Habit menyalakan puntung rokok. Bila tengah stress, nyalakan rokok. Bila tengah tunggu bas, nyalakan rokok. Bila tengah tunggu lunch, nyalakan rokok. It’s a habit. Habit that might kill someone,” katanya.
Aku menjadi marah bila dengar tentang facts habit ini. Kalau addicted aku boleh tolerate lagi sebab aku tahu memang susah nak berhenti dari ambil nikotin. Tetapi habit, habit kills people that you love.
Guys, aku dulu pun smoking. Heavy smoker pula tu. Tetapi aku sudah berhenti. Kalau heavy smoker boleh berhenti, why not you guys? Ah, kau nak cakap nanti bila tak merokok, kawan-kawan ejek sebab tak nampak cool? Weh, seriously lembiklah kalau kau rasa inferior kawan-kawan ejek. Lantaklah kawan nak ejek ke apa.
Nak kata sebab susah nak stop? Ingat sikit, aku heavy smoker pun survive stop merokok okay.
Heavy smoker lagilah siap ada withdrawal syndrome bagai. Seksa! Tetapi aku survive.
Dalam Al Quran pun dah kata, jangan memudaratkan diri.
“Dan janganlah kamu membunuh diri kamu sendiri (dan membunuh orang lain). Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Pengasih terhadap kamu” – Surah An-Nisaa, ayat 29.
Sila rajinkanlah buka Al Quran dan baca surah Al-Baqarah ayat 195 pun menerangkan tentang jangan membinasakan diri. Aku bukanlah ahli ulama nak mengharamkan rokok, tetapi aku pesan dari segi agama janganlah kau nak memudaratkan diri. Mungkin kau tak kena, tetapi orang lain boleh kena.
Kepada Kak Temah, please be strong. Dear smoker on habit, please stop smoking and chew a gum instead. – Said the Surgeon incharge.
Jangan ada yang komen kata sakit, penyakit, ajal maut itu semua takdir Allah. Mahu ada yang kena terajang dengan aku.
