MAy, 2019 | Th e HealtH
WOmen
Cancer didn’t get
the best of her
32-year old ovarian cancer survivor Jennifer Teh
yin Li shares her tale on how she beat cancer and
ways she coped with chemotherapy
“i
was diagnosed with cancer
at 28. The symptoms –
abdominal pains, first
arrived end of December.
it was a mild kind of pain
so i didn’t think much of
it. Th en it became worst, sharp pain till
i couldn’t even stand up to walk. i was
residing in Singapore during that period
of time so i told my partner to send me to
the clinic. Unfortunately, it was on Christ-
mas day so all the clinics were closed. We
managed to get to a hospital where i was
x-rayed and placed on drips.”
Jennifer Teh, better known as Jenn,
also explained that no one in her family
has a history of battling cancer.
Jennifer and her partner, ng Hau Yang.
Cyst the size of a basketball
Jenn was then informed that her scans
revealed a basketball-sized mass weigh-
ing 4.8kg in one of her ovaries. She was
diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer.
She was told to proceed with surgery the
very next day.
“i told the doctor in Singapore that i
did not want to proceed with the surgery
and instead wanted to make a call to my
parents. if i proceeded with the surgery
there, i would not have my parents by
my side. My mother told me to go back to
Malaysia and get a second opinion.”
in Malaysia, the doctors confi rmed that
it is a mass and set her surgery date.
“it was originally just supposed to be
three to four hours procedure but it ended
up lasting eight hours,” Jenn tells.
“When i woke up post-surgery, the pain
rushed through me – it was a 24cm inci-
sion. Th ey basically removed a cyst which
was attached to my ovary and it was as big
as a basketball.”
“Th e doctor told me that they would
have to remove the aff ected ovary. Th is
of course made me teared up. i thought
how when the ovary was still healthy and
intact, i didn’t have the thoughts of get-
ting married and having a baby. But now
when they tell me they want to remove it,
there’s a twinge of sadness. however they
did keep the other ovary intact, telling me
it is still possible for me to have kids in
the future.”
Riding the chemo wave
Three weeks after her surgery, Jenn
started on four cycles of chemotherapy,
with each cycle lasting 10 days. Prior to
chemo, she had to do a lung test because
the chemo drugs would aff ect her lungs.
Th e chemotherapy treatment regimen
Jenn feels the need to share her experience as a way to inspire
others battling cancer to not give up.
required her to be on three types of drugs,
via iV for 24 hours each time.
“Chemo causes constipation. Th e very
action of emptying out my bowels would
be so diffi cult and painful because of my
wound. So whenever the doctors would
tell me to head to the washroom, it was
a dilemma because of the pain. however
at times, the doctors did provide me
with laxatives and i upped my banana
and papaya intake for a smoother bowel
movement.”
“it was not only that. i suff ered from
joint pains, hair fall, tingling sensations
on my fi ngers, and tinnitus. Sometimes
i would unconsciously lose control of my
movement – a few plates were broken,”
Jenn laments.
Outpour of love
I was diagnosed with cancer
at 28. The symptoms –
abdominal pains, fi rst arrived
end of December. It was a
mild kind of pain so I didn’t
think much of it. Then it
became worst, sharp pain
till I couldn’t even stand
up to walk. I was residing
in Singapore during that
period of time so I told my
partner to send me to the
clinic. Unfortunately, it was on
Christmas day so all the clinics
were closed. We managed to
get to a hospital where I was
x-rayed and placed on drips.”
Jenn’s partner, Ng hau Yang is a diving
instructor. Th ey had just been together for
six months when she was diagnosed. She
tried to convince him that they ought to
go separate ways because she was appre-
hensive of him seeing her bald and bloated.
“instead, he shaved his head bald,” she
smiles.
“Caregivers play such a crucial role. her
mom stayed beside her every night. Th e
nurses said the reason why she recovered
so well was because her mom was always
there beside her, ensuring all her medica-
tions were taken on time,” says hau Yang
supportively.
Spreading love and
creating hope
Jenn now live cancer-free following the
success of her treatment. She started a
Facebook page “Jenn’s life After Cancer
#spreadlovecreatehope” to document
her journey with ovarian cancer and was
determined to be a listening ear to others
in the same boat. — Th e Health
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