My Daughter's Journey
by Mother of Do Thi Thanh Tam, as told to Benjamin Lee.
This is our eighth visit to Singapore. Since September 2006, I have been bringing my daughter, Do Thi Thanh Tam for treatment at PCC. I want to tell our story because I want to thank Dr Ang Peng Tiam, and all the doctors and nurses in Mount Elizabeth Hospital for everything they had done for Tam.
I am a single mother with two children, and 15 – year old Tam is my younger child, the baby of my family.
In July 2006, Tam fell very ill and I took her to the hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The doctors there told me she had bone cancer in her left leg, and advised me that she needed chemotherapy treatment.
After two cycles of treatment, Tam became worse. The doctors told me the treatment was not working, instead the cancer had grown larger and was spreading. I was very upset as they told me she was dying. Tam was only 15 years old. How can I let her die?
Even though I persistently pleaded with them, the doctors insisted that there was nothing they could do to save her.
Everywhere I went, I asked everyone I knew whether there was anyone in Ho Chi Minh City who could help my daughter. Sadly, no one could help my baby.
One day I came across an article in the newspaper. It talked about Dr Lee Kim Shang and the new method of radiotherapy, called TomoTherapy in Singapore. I knew I had no choice, but somehow I had to bring Tam to Singapore in hope that Dr Lee would be able to help save her life. When I saw Dr Lee in Singapore, he was very honest. He told me that radiotherapy was not the way to treat primary bone cancer. Instead, he suggested I consult Dr Ang Peng Tiam, who is a medical oncologist.
The first thing I had asked Dr Ang was for him to try his best to save Tam’s life. Dr Ang explained to me that the chances of Tam to get better were very slim – her left leg probably had to be amputated because it was staged as a very advanced bone cancer, involving her entire left buttock bone.
Dr Ang explained that the first step was to use chemotherapy to kill the cancer. This would help to shrink the very big tumour, which was protruding from Tam’s buttock and occupying half of her pelvis. If the chemotherapy worked on the tumour, it would also help to kill the small cancer cells invisible to the naked eye. This would improve my daughter’s chance of being cured.
I agreed immediately, as I was willing to try anything that would give Tam a chance to live.
After a few cycles of chemotherapy, Dr Ang repeated the computer scans and confirmed that the tumour was getting smaller. Patiently, he would take time to show me the scanned pictures, pointing out to me how the cancer had shrunk. I was very happy to hear the good news. From what started out as a hopeless case in Vietnam, I began to see rays of hope for life.
Dr Ang reminded me that even though the tumour was getting smaller, he would still advise me to remove her left leg.
I was shocked as it was almost impossible to imagine life without one leg. But it was not a difficult decision for me to make, considering Tam had cancer and all I wanted was to save her life. Tam was a very brave girl. She accepted the choice to have her left leg amputated.
Dr Ang spent a lot of time explaining to me that the amputation would buy Tam a chance of cure, although not a guaranteed one. However without the surgery, a cure for her was out of the question. The way he explained it had made it easier for both Tam and myself to make our decision. One that both of us felt unanimously was the right thing to do.
When the tumour had shrunk to a considerable size, the amputation was carried out. It was a success.
At present, Tam is undergoing more chemotherapy to kill any cancer cells that may still be hiding in the body. She is feeling better, and now, walks around with a walking stick.
Dr Ang, who knew it was financially difficult for Tam to come to Singapore for treatment, also helped us by asking for subsidised medical fees from the hospital. The staff at the clinic were also very helpful.
Once again, I am very thankful for Dr Ang and all staff of the clinic and hospital for saving Tam’s life. If not for them, my precious daughter would have died. Medical care is so different here, in Singapore, as compared to Vietnam. Everything is explained clearly and in simple terms to ensure patients and their loved ones understand fully the conditions and appropriate treatments.
Thus far, we are very happy with the results, and if Dr Ang says that we have to keep coming back here for treatment, we are more than glad do so.
