Chemotherapy: A Grandma’s Wisdom

 

CK is a sixty-seven-year-old grandma. She underwent an operation for her cancer of the rectum. A segment of her colon with the anal verge, measuring 26 cm, was removed. It was a Stage 3C cancer.

 

After the surgery, CK was asked to undergo further treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She refused. The following are excerpts of our conversation:

 

Chris: Then after the operation, what did the doctor want you to do?

Daughter: She was asked to do chemo and radio.

 

C: Oh, they asked you to do radiotherapy too?

D: Yes.

 

C: Do you want to do these?

CK (patient): No, I don’t want to do.

 

C: Why?

CK: I have many friends, one of them died. She was only fifty years old. She had breast cancer and had chemo. Her hairs dropped. She died.

 

C: Did she complete her chemo treatment before she died?

CK: Complete or not, I don’t know.

D: No, she did not complete the treatment.

 

C: But your experience is only with one friend.

CK: No, many friends. Some of them survived for just a few years. After all, I am already old. I also need to die. No, no, I don’t want to do the chemo. Why should I go through all those sufferings? Anyway, I have already spent so much money. Now, I have to spend more money. Eventually I will die anyway. And the money is wasted.

 

C: How much did you spend on the operation?

CK: More than ten thousand ringgit.

D: It was about fifteen thousand plus ringgit and this was for the operation only, not counting the cost of the oncologist yet.

 

C: Paying RM15,000 is already lucky, others pay more.

CK: After this, where to find more money?

 

C: Did you ask how much would chemotherapy cost?

D: They say it is going to be expensive.

 

C: Did you ask if chemo can cure?

D: They say can kill the cancer cells.

 

C: Kill only the cells and not kill you? Did you ask if chemo can really cure or not?

D: No, they dared not answer that.

 

C: But did you ask?

D: No, I did not ask.

 

C: Because you did not ask, you get no answer. Ask and see what they say.

CK: You cannot gamble with people’s life you know. If I don’t do chemo, I can still live for a few more years.

 

C: Are you sure?

CK: Yeeeees.

 

C: Ok, ok, now you come to me and if you don’t benefit from it, don’t blame me!

CK: (Laughing) You are supposed to kiu lang (save people). They told me radiation would only take a while. I said: Doctor, no, no, I don’t want to do it.

 

C: You did not want to do?

CK: No, no. If I do, I may even die sooner.

 

C: You know this?

CK: I have many friends. One of my friends died after four cycles of chemo.  Another friend was sixty-one years old. She too died a year after the treatment.

 

C: She had chemo too?

CK: Yes, she had chemo.

D: One of my in-laws also died. She had ovarian cancer. She did surgery and radiation. She died within two months.

CK: I know of these people already! The doctor said I have to do chemo to prevent the cancer from spreading. I forgot to ask him how long after the spreading before I die. Anyway, to die or not to die, eventually I still have to die. I have already spent more than ten thousand ringgit. Now, after more of the money is finished, my life is also finished. I am just going to waste money. What happens after the money is gone? I am also gone. What then? I would rather save the money for my children. At least they would have something left for them.  Am I not right, doctor? I can close my eyes happily.

 

Comments

 

If you are wealthy, a million dollars could be just like a peanut. A man came to us and said he spent S$20,000 per month for his chemo drugs, etc. After months and months of the treatment, there seems to be no light at the end of a tunnel He had unilaterally decided to stop all this toxic treatment and switch to the herbs instead. I knew of a person who spent RM1.6 million trying to find a cure for his wife. He failed and the wife died. But he was proud that he had spent that amount of money. For those who can afford it, life is priceless and money is not a problem. But for the poor, like this grandma, every single dollar counts and is precious. I also know of many patients who have to sell their gold ornaments, houses, lands, etc. in order to pay for their medical expenses. In the end, they fail to find the cure and die. That is the reality when one faces with cancer.