SEPTEMBER, 2019 | The HEALTH
WOMEN
25
O
The survivor
turned protector
nly recently for National Day,
17-year-old artist with autism,
Wan Jamila Wan Shaiful Bahri
fi lled so many Malaysians with
pride and amazement with
her Putrajaya signage. Prime
Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had
personally picked Wan Jamila’s design for
National Day. Th e Health met up with proud
mother, Noorhashimah Noordin who has
actually been battling with colon cancer for
the past few years.
Noorhashimah is the loving embrace behind
Malaysia’s talented artist, Wan Jamila
Noorhashimah (left),
living her life with
cancer accompanied
by her ubertalented
daughter, Wan Jamila.
The lingering concern
Although all is well with her daughter’s
career, Noorhashimah herself is not free from
concerns.
“I realised I was getting tired very easily. In
May 2016, I signed my two daughters and
myself up for an overseas tour covering six
different countries. I had already retired
from lecturing in Universiti Teknologi MARA
(UiTM), and I wanted to focus completely on
Jamila. However, during the trip, I was having
diffi culties walking and even bending down.
When I came back from the trip, I developed
needle like pains and bloatedness. When I
went to the clinic, they dismissed it as gastric
issues and gave me gastric medicine.
“However, I just became worse. I told my
son who was studying to be a doctor about
my pains and he told me it sounds very critical
and told me to go to the hospital. At the hos-
pital, the doctor took a blood test and realised
something was amiss from the results. He
immediately requested for me to be admitted
and informed me that he has scheduled an
appointment to meet the colon specialist the
following day,” she explains.
The harrowing fi nd
During the appointment with the colon special-
ist, Noorhashimah underwent a CT scan and
the scan showed there was a growth. To add to
the horror, the specialist told her that was only
one millimeter of space left in her colon, the
growth had almost taken up her entire colon.
Th at explained why she was in pain all the time
and the constant bloatedness. “He gave me two
choices, whether I proceed with the operation
the next day or the day after that. It was that
urgent because apparently my colon was about
to burst,” she recalled.
In 2018, I started to feel the same
tiredness again. The doctors saw
something at the lymph nodes near
the heart but there was no growth after
observation. However within a span
of six months, it grew to a massive
5.6 centimetres. I was ordered to start
treatment - I’m currently at Stage 4.”
Th e growth was then sent to the lab and it
was identifi ed at cancerous, at Stage 2B. “My
doctor proposed I meet an oncology specialist.
After recovering from the operation, I took
extra special care of my dietary intake for a
couple of months but then I slowly went back
to my old eating habits.”
Call for colon cancer awareness
AN estimated 60 per cent of
cancer prognosis among patients
in Malaysia is only detected
at later stages of the dreaded
disease. The big C is usually only
detected at Stage III and IV after it
has struck its victims, said Health
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefl y
Ahmad.
One of the primary causes of
deaths in Malaysia is colon cancer
and regardless of this, the lack of
awareness of the symptoms and
signs of colon cancer remains low,
which causes delay in presentation
and treatment. The awareness of
the prevalence of colorectal cancer
is indeed very low and frightening.
In Malaysia, colorectal cancer
is the second most common
cancer in males and the third most
common cancer in females and it
is also the third highest cause of
cancer deaths amongst women
after breast cancer and cervical
cancers. Get yours checked
today! — The Health
The continued battle
“In 2018, I started to feel the same tiredness
again. The doctors saw something at the
lymph nodes near the heart but there was no
growth after observation. However, within a
span of six months, it grew to a massive 5.6
centimetres. I was ordered to start treatment
- I’m currently at Stage 4.”
Every two weeks, Noorhashimah has to go
for chemotherapy for the cancer of the lymph
nodes. She’s currently at the second cycle of
chemotherapy. Her condition doesn’t waiver
her eff orts for her daughter, however, and
she continues to ensure Jamila is healthy and
independent. — Th e Health