LAST WORD
The Battle against
Words Tiong Wen Ning
Photos May Tiong
& Tiong Wen Ning
Cervical Cancer
Nothing can ever prepare
you for the news that you
have cancer. A daughter
shares with us her family’s
battle against cervical
cancer and how it brought
her closer to her mother.
My mum was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2008. It
started out with an abnormal Pap smear result and a
referral from the polyclinic to KK Women’s and Children’s
Hospital. Standing in front of the Gynaecological Cancer
Centre, she debated on whether or not to enter and
register for her appointment, as she was certain that
they had sent her to the wrong clinic. After all, she led a
healthy lifestyle and, with the exception of the previous
year, had gone for yearly Pap smears. Additionally, there
had been no signs or symptoms indicating that there
was anything wrong with her. Thankfully, she ended
up registering for the appointment or she might
not be here today to share her story.
I can still remember the day the doctor
broke the news. She was completely calm
when my brother and I left for school in the
morning, even as I reminded her to text me
after the appointment. When I
still hadn’t heard from her
by the afternoon, dread
and worry began to
set in. As I dialled
her number, I can
still remember
telling myself that
perhaps she had
simply forgotten or
she had been too
caught up in other
matters to inform
me. Yet the minute she answered my call and the way her
voice shook as she said, “We’ll talk when you get back
from school,” told me that something was really wrong.
She later recounted to me that when the doctor broke the
news to her that she had cancer, her first thought had
been, “Why me?” followed by “What is going to happen to
my children?”
In the weeks that followed, we looked up all the
information available on cervical cancer and spoke
frequently to her doctor to decide upon the best course
of action for my mum’s treatment. As her cancer had
been in the early stages, her doctor recommended that
she undergo a hysterectomy to remove the cancer and
significantly reduce the chances of it ever recurring. Now,
6 years later, she remains cancer free and healthy.
Prior to my mum’s brush with cervical cancer, we were
completely unaware that it even existed. While we
knew what the cervix was, the idea that there could be
cancer of the cervix never occurred to us. Neither did
we know that cervical cancer is caused by a virus called
the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Needless to say, the
need to protect ourselves against it never even crossed
our minds. Now however, my mum makes it a point to
encourage those around her to not only go for regular
Pap smears but also take the HPV vaccination or get the
vaccination for their daughters. After all, as she points
out, all it took was for her to miss one Pap smear and
the next thing she knew, she had been diagnosed with
cervical cancer.
We first learnt about HPV and HPV vaccination through a
talk with my mum’s primary oncologist. She was worried
that cervical cancer would be hereditary, given our past
knowledge of how cancer worked, and had enquired
with her doctor if I would be at risk. For my mum, her
priorities was to do everything in her power to ensure
that I never had to go through what she did. As she says,
“Going through this whole ordeal has been so scary,
worrying and upsetting, and I wouldn’t want the same for
my daughter.”
The decision to get vaccinated was one that we had
discussed and agreed upon after learning that there was
a vaccination available. Having enjoyed a close motherdaughter relationship all along, my mum’s brush with
cervical cancer pulled us even closer. Previously, she was
quite reserved about discussing sexual health with me.
Now, she makes it a point to ensure that I am fully aware
of these matters. In an age when most of our information
comes from the Internet, it makes a difference to
daughters when their mothers make it a point to educate
and discuss with them issues on sexual health.
Having my mum talk about and discuss with me such
issues definitely put me in a safe environment where I felt
comfortable asking questions and clarifying doubts about
some of the things I had come across. As for my mum,
her advice for other mothers out there is to schedule
and go for regular Pap smears, as well as to send your
daughters for the HPV vaccination, because if you can
protect yourself and your daughter against cervical
cancer, why wouldn’t you?
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Family & Life • Christmas 2014