Living proof

A Russian patient wants to send a message that cancer can be beaten with the right treatment and a strong spirit

Liubov Ryzhakova is a retired geography teacher from the town of Spassk Dalnii in south-eastern Russia, but what brought her to Singapore wasn’t a desire to experience a change in climate – she came to Singapore to save her life.

The problem started in the middle of 2008. Her back started hurting and it was a pain that would not go away regardless of what she did. She also started losing weight mysteriously.

The 62-year-old saw numerous doctors in Vladivostok but they could not tell her what was wrong.

She put up with the pain for six months before deciding that she had to do something new. By that time, she had lost 20 kg.

Many of her friends had told her about the high quality of medical care in Singapore and she decided to find out more.

Mrs Liubov Ryzhakova (far right), her daughter Olesya (left) and counsellor Anna Smirnova, who provided support and translation.

She and her family spoke to an officer at Parkway’s International Patient Assistance Centre in Vladivostok and about a week later, they were sitting in Dr Ang Peng Tiam’s office in Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre.

Dr Ang is an oncologist and the medical director of Parkway Cancer Centre (PCC).

A PET-CT scan that Dr Ang ordered confirmed their worst fears – Ms Ryzhakova had stage IV cancer.

There was a tumour in her duodenum that had spread to her lymph nodes.

Ms Ryzhakova was devastated.

“In Russia, cancer is considered to be a death sentence,” she says. However, instead of telling them to prepare for the end, Dr Ang gave them hope. “He spent a lot of time telling us that there can be positive results after treatment,” she recalls.

Dr Ang proposed three cycles of chemotherapy for Ms Ryzhakova. At the end of the third cycle, the PET-CT scan was done again. This time, it showed that the tumour had shrunk by 60 per cent and had become less active. “ This has extended her life,” says Dr Ang.

He then recommended another three cycles.

“She is tolerating the treatment very well,” says Dr Ang. “She has experienced minimal side effects; she did not hose hair or experience a lot of nausea from the chemotherapy. She has also put on weight.”

Although Ms Ryzhakova does not speak English, she is able to live in Singapore during the treatment with the help of PCC’s Russian speaking counsellors cum translators.

Ms Anna Smirnova, the counsellor assigned to Ms Ryzhakova, helps to translate what Dr Ang says during the consultation. Ms Smirnova also helps to provide psychosocial support.

Ms Ryzhakova’s daughter Olesya flies down to Singapore to help out during the week that her mother undergoes chemotherapy but in between, Ms Ryzhakova lives independently in Singapore.

She stays in a hotel that Anna helped to find. In her free time, she cooks, reads, watches TV, and when she feels well enough, goes out sightseeing around Singapore.

Ms Ryzhakova is currently in good spirits and focused on fighting her battle. At the same time, she also has a message for her compatriots. She wants other Russians to know that cancer is not a death sentence. After all, she is living proof of it.