Tan sharing her experience of being diagnosed with Leukaemia
“Sports, in general, are helpful as they bring positive energy, discipline
and other commendable qualities in your life regardless of what therapy you
are undergoing,” Tan said and added, “Take sports as a part of ‘genre’ when
looking at the overall health.” “It would be great to take up a sport while
undergoing cancer treatment. This is because you need a lot of energy for
cancer treatment. Sports can bring a positive influence on your life. It
challenges your resilience and will to get better upon failing,” Tan
advised.
“There are no specific sports recommended for cancer patients; it is solely
based on individuals. You need to understand what brings you joy. You won’t
know what type of sports you like until you give it a try. There are online
classes as well as fitness centres everywhere around Klang Valley; feel free
to try. You may not enjoy it by merely trying it once, so you have to give
it a chance. It’s like going out on a date with someone! You must allow the
sports or activity to work its way to you and you must work your way to it,”
she enthused.
Tan added, “In sports, you would have expectations on winning or performing
at a certain level. If that doesn’t happen, how are you going to deal with
that defeat? Would it make you feel disappointed? What would you feel when
you can’t meet your own standard? Would you feel like a loser? All these
experiences would change as you go through the journey, just like cancer.
You need to have full control of the situation. You need to start
understanding different things, whatever that helps you instil faith again.
Furthermore, you can also train your mind to manage your emotions.”
“Sports like tennis, badminton, soccer and basketball are hard to play when
you are undergoing cancer treatment. The last thing you would want to do is
put yourself out there with a whole group of people. When you exert your
body to a certain extent, your immune system would take a hit. Therefore,
you need to strategise,” she said and added, “Upon undergoing chemotherapy,
your platelets and white blood cell counts will drop. And when that happens,
your body will respond with a fever and it will start weakening. As a
result, the medical team will have to give you more medication to control
the symptoms. You may even experience some side effects after taking the
medications. When you deal with this, you must learn to take a step back and
that itself imposes a challenge.”
Tan did not attend any group sessions when she was undergoing chemo
treatment because she was aware that being around people would cause
discomfort not only to her but also to others. In order to challenge herself
mentally and physically, she brought tools, toys and even an exercise band
to the hospital to keep herself active by doing simple workouts. “When you
know you have interest in something, just do it,” she said. It helped to
divert her negative thoughts and it also made her active.
“You are more important than you think you are. Therefore, look for a
purpose in life, one that resonates with you. For those who are dealing with
cancer, get ready to meet and love all the different versions of you. Some
days you will feel emotional, some days you are going to feel negative; some
days you are going to be motivated and some days you are going to be
hopeful. You have to learn and embrace all these different sides of
yourself. Everyone is unique in terms of our needs. Recognise what you need
individually and what is best for you. It is okay to get inspiration from
other people because sometimes inspiration really helps. It helps to boost
your mood and take the first step,” she advised.
Tan explained, “There are four different types of treatment for leukaemia.
For the doctors to consolidate your body, they would usually do induction
chemo. So, the first chemotherapy would usually last for seven days along
with a twenty-four-hour drip. The drip flow is usually slow due to its
toxicity. So, you need to recover before you do the next treatment. As for
me, I was qualified for the next treatment because of my age, and also
because my body was able to handle it. I qualified for a bone marrow
transplant as well. It was not easy to find a match. If you think you can
save a life, then do it! It is your decision; I encourage you to be a
donor.”
Speaking about the side effects of medication, she said, “Any medication you
take has side effects. The side effect I experienced was gut pain. So, I had
to be on morphine for a period of time. After going through the transplant,
walking became difficult for me. At times, my body would tremble when I try
to lay on the floor. It was truly challenging,” she said and encouraged,
“You need to recognise the current challenge on hand and remember that this
is temporary. What are you going to make out of that temporary time?”
According to Tan, movement was very important for her because it helped to
enhance her mood. For her, it is crucial and non-negotiable. “When you are
bedridden for a long time, your digestive system would not work well; it
becomes less effective. The digestive system needs your body to move for it
to function well. It needs the blood to flow. If you are laying, sitting or
being inactive for the whole day, it would affect your digestive system as
well as your mental health. By movement, I meant just moving around, not
workout,” Tan said. She would usually move around every two hours.
“If you are personally dealing with this right now or if you know someone
who is dealing with cancer, it is not the same for everybody, especially
when it comes to movements, sports or any physical activity that has not
been a large part of their lives. Having said that, it doesn’t mean that it
is impossible. You got to find ways to play with them. For example, you can
blow a balloon and play with the person by using your head, hand or knee.
These are the types of task-based activities that trick you into moving
without you preparing yourself to move,” she said.
When Tan found out that she was diagnosed with cancer, she did not know what
to feel. Furthermore, she did not know what Leukaemia was. When she got to
know that she was diagnosed with Leukaemia, she googled and found out that
it was a type of blood cancer. Initially, she had a mixed feeling and she
was a little ignorant because she did not know what it was. But later, she
began wondering what was going to happen to her. The typical feeling of
sadness and anger that people might feel upon receiving news regarding
cancer, did not happen until later.
Fortunately for Tan, she was a solution-based person; if something were to
go wrong, she would immediately seek a solution. Tan did not allow her
emotions to take over despite the overwhelming situation. Upon hearing the
news, she was not angry nor was she sad; Tan simply wanted to sort it out.
She realised that there are things that she cannot control. Rather than
wasting time and energy, she decided to do chemotherapy.
“Before you rush into something, look at the root, look at the cause.
Understand how and what you can do to help the situation. We are all
different in terms of what drives us. We are all different in how we respond
to things. Even our happiness is determined by different things. Do what you
need to do, that works for you at this moment. Be adaptable; that is a
crucial skill if you want to get through cancer, pandemic, etc. We are
currently dealing with a lot of uncertainty. Some of us are going to be more
sensitive to it while some may learn to be more adaptable. Pick your
choice,” she advised.
Tan owns a podcast where she talks about how she finds power from struggles.
She also shares stories about the influencing life of practitioners and
professionals as well as life-changing stories about people.
Wholly owned by UTAR Education Foundation small>(200201010564(578227-M)) LEGAL STATEMENT TERM OF USAGE PRIVACY NOTICE