The Oncology Ward-Penang GH

Salam and hello everyone,

I am now warded in the oncology ward of Penang General Hospital. Here, there are all sorts of cancer patients, majority suffer from colon cancer and quite a number are recurrence cases. I got here on Oct 7 and started my radiotherapy on Oct 10. I am going to get 25 zaps of the nuclear thing. I also have to go through 5-6 cycles of chemotherapy which is administered once a week. This also started on Oct 10.

Last friday, Oct 10 I went for my first radiation. When I laid down on the table, the technician secured my head to the table with a mask. That mask was fitted on my face when I had a ct scan. The ct scan shows the exact position of the cancer tumour/cells which is targeted by the radiation. Thats why its very important to keep my head at the exact position during the treatment as when I had the ct scan. The whole process took around 10 minutes but it felt like forever because I was fighting with the saliva which threatened to choke me...

Right after coming back from Mount Miriam, the nurses straighaway started my chemo. It started around 7 pm. I was put on IV line. There were four bottles of water with sodium chloride and one bottle of chemo drug (cisplatin). The chemo cycle started with two bottles of water. It was alright. I started wondering what the fuss is all about. Then, came the cisplatin which took about two hours. I was still having fun. After, that back to the water. Then, my head started spinning. I began to see a lot of stars. I felt like I was on a roller coaster. It went on for two hours.

There was a lady who had nasal cancer. She started groaning and moaning in pain right after I started the chemo. She also seemed to be gasping for air. Then, she stopped for a while. She was groaning again when I was on my roller coaster ride. After the water finished, amazingly the ride stopped. I was so tired that I drifted off to sleep amidst the groaning and moaning. I think it was around 3 am. I woke up at 6.30 am and was told that the lady passed away at 4.00 am.

Last Monday, another patient succumbed to lung cancer which had metastasized to the brain. She was only 24. She was about to start her career as a pharmacist when she realised that she had lung cancer. It has been depressing but then, you can see how fragile life is. A lot of time, things just do not go as we'd like to.

Today, I am going to have my second cycle of chemo. The nurses are preparing the stuff for me. Let's hope that its going to be a holiday cruise this time....

Will keep you updated whenever I can.

Bye, for now.

Sharifah
"Life is too short, but intend to grow old gracefully"