Osteocarcinoma Survivor: Getting over Bone Cancer and Feeling Grateful
Tie Ing Mei / Female /45 years old / Osteocarcinoma (2nd stage, 2003) / Johor Bahru
On the first day of 2003, I discovered a lump on the 6th left rib which was quite painful occasionally. I didn’t pay much attention to it initially until the pain increased in intensity.
I Was Told of Having Osteocarcinoma
So I went to JB hospital for a medical check-up. The doctor said I was fine and the lesion arose probably because I had been carrying my son too much. But the pain persisted, so I had to go for another check-up in a clinic in Singapore, where the doctor immediately referred me to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for a thorough examination. The hospital gave me an X-ray and CT scan, and the doctor told me I had 2nd stage osteocarcinoma. I had to undergo a surgery. I was absolutely cold and petrified, but didn’t cry. I didn’t know how to react because I never dreamt of the lump as cancer in my wildest dream.
Giving Full Compliance to the Therapy
My surgery was scheduled for October 2003. While waiting for the surgery, I went to look for books on cancer therapy in some book shops, I found a book entitled ‘Chinese Medicine that Breaks through the Bottleneck of Cancer Therapy” written by a Japanese doctor Prof. Abe Hiroyuki. The book recommended a Chinese herb called Tian Xian Liquid (TXL) which could boost immunity and suppress cancer cells directly. Apparently it could augment western therapy and reduce the side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Believing that it could help me, I began looking for it and succeeded after some effort. But I vacillated because it was very expensive. My husband managed to convince me that it was a good idea to get my body treated and nourished before going for surgery, so I bought a box of TXL (280 ml packaging) to try.
The day of surgery arrived before I could even finish the box of TXL. It was a major operation, because the doctor had to remove the 5th and 7th ribs together with the 6th. I couldn’t remember how long I slept, but when I woke up, I felt great discomfort, with a lot of tubes coming out of my body. I could hardly breathe. The doctor sealed the operation wound with some gypsum after taking out the 3 ribs and that had affected my arm and body movement quite a bit. I recovered very fast though, and was discharged 7 days later.
Getting Over Bone Cancer and Feeling Grateful
“All the people who care for me had appeared in my darkest days and warmed my heart. I feel that God really loves me and I’m the happiest person on earth!”
The agony of Being Away from My Family
I had my first chemotherapy on December 21st 2003. I had 6 chemotherapy sessions all in all at a 21-day interval. The first chemotherapy was very strong, giving me a lot of side effects. I felt extremely uncomfortable and fidgety, had hair dropping, sore throat, poor appetite, vomiting and a fever. I had to be admitted because of high fever at Chinese New year 2004. The post-chemotherapy high fever had restrained me to the hospital bed on Chinese New Year eve and the first day. My ward mates were visited by their relatives with Chinese New Year tangerines and goodies galore and that had made me want to celebrate Chinese New Year at home, but the doctor would not allow it. I have never been able to forget the feeling of forlornness due to incapacitation. I insisted on taking TXL together with western therapy. It had helped me a lot. Whenever I went back for a check-up, my white blood cell count was found to have normalized, so I was able to complete the chemotherapy smoothly.
The chemotherapy was followed by radiotherapy. I had undergone 30 radiotherapy sessions by July 2004, still taking TXL all this while. Fearing that the cancer cells might spread to my lungs, the doctor ordered for a semi-annual CT scan for 5 years. After that I could reduce the frequency to once a year. This year, 7 years down the road, the doctor has declared that I am free from cancer and it exempted from CT Scans.
Deeply Touched by the Loving Acts of Others around Me
I learn to truly cherish good health after the ordeal. Experiencing a lot of love and care when I was down with osteocarcinoma, I have to come to value my friends and relatives more. I can still remember my mother-in-law, who lives in Sarawak, came to JB to take care of me on hearing the bad news. And my husband, who had supported me all that time, going in and out of the hospital without a single complaint. My parents and sisters had pulled their resources together to buy me TXL. My father-in-law sent his son some money to buy TXL too. I had to rest at home for 2 years, but my boss did not sack me. In fact, he had raised some money from the top management team for me so that I could buy TXL. All the people who care for me had appeared in my darkest days and warmed my heart. I feel that God really loves me and I’m the happiest person on earth!
I am a devout Christian and I have always known that God will take good care of me and mobilise the people around me to help. They had not only donated money but also true dedication and camaraderie! I am forever grateful. Their great love and dedication still touch me deeply after 7 years. I feel God’s great love and I think I am the most blissful person!