Twenties, the prime age for youths to finally discover more about the world, to chase and fulfill their dreams of attaining what they have yearned and worked hard for, for many years. But for some youths, their life plans are put to a halt, and they find themselves in a battle with cancer.
According to the Singapore Cancer Society, “The term cancer refers to a group of diseases. Although there are over 100 different types of cancer, all cancers are characterised by abnormal cell growth. If left untreated, this disease can lead to death.” With that being said, many youths find themselves in shock due to the unannounced arrival of a terminal illness which could possibly lead to death.
However, on the bright side, based on the statistics the American Cancer Society has released on their platform, it shows that although the number of cancer cases amongst youth has been increasing, on the other hand the death rate has been decreasing.
Though it may be uncommon for youths to be diagnosed with cancer, the number of youths with cancer is increasing every year. According to another research done by American Cancer Society, the overall number of cancer incidences showed an increase in youths from 2007 to 2016.
Koh Wen Yu, 21 year old Female who had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in November 2021 went through 6 months of Chemotherapy before she had a relapse in June 2022. Due to her relapse, she is currently undergoing a stronger type of chemotherapy ( BD + ICE ) and will be going for a bone marrow transplant in a few weeks time.
She was doing her Diploma in Mass Communication at Republic Polytechnic when she found out about her terminal illness. She managed to pull through her year 2 alongside going for treatment. However, when the relapse hit her, she was left with her last semester of school and had to drop out despite already having almost completed her Diploma studies.
Wen Yu mentioned that she found out about her illness from a month long of various signs. She wasn’t feeling well, for instance, she was coughing, had stomach issues, and constantly felt like her energy levels were low . One day she woke up and took a few steps out of bed and felt like she had run a marathon so she went to the nearest polyclinic to her house and had an x-ray done. The doctors found something pressing into her windpipe and gave her a referral letter to the A&E at Singapore General Hospital. After various tests and scans which lastly led to a biopsy , she was diagnosed with cancer.
She, like many other youths her age, had plans, dreams and ideas of her future that she wanted to fulfill. Her initial plan was to complete her Diploma and move on to finding a job in the field she is interested in. When asked how did the diagnosis change her perspective and course of actions in life, she mentioned that in terms of perspective, it didn’t really change anything other than throwing herself a pity party, she feels like maybe she accepted it quite fast as another unlucky roll in life.
In terms of her life plans changing, she mentioned that she just has to look for a job sooner to pay back the hospital bills after her treatment is completely done with and believes that it is going to derail a lot of future travel and family plans but she cannot do much about it. She is not even given the chance to graduate despite already completing the majority of her diploma studies.
On the other hand, someone who is in a similar situation but in a very different phase in life as he had just started fulfilling his career plans, Sukhvinder Singh Dhillon, 26 year old Male Radiographer was diagnosed with Stage 3 Germ Cell Cancer in October 2022. He is currently undergoing his Chemotherapy treatment and is going on to the second out of four cycles.
Just like Wen Yu, Sukhvinder had plans of his own which was to complete his 3 year bond with Singapore General Hospital, move overseas and save enough money to settle down and start a family with his partner. However, due to the diagnosis, things did not go as planned as he now has to push back his timeline by months.
Sukhvinder was working at the A&E at Singapore General Hospital as a Radiographer. He was a fresh graduate who had not even attended his graduation ceremony which was upcoming. During one of his work shifts, he got back from his lunch break and was feeling a little faint. His colleagues felt his pulse and realised it was beating abnormally fast. They did an ECG on him and saw that his heart was under distress and decided to do an X-ray. That was when the doctors found tumours in his throat, abdomen area and between his heart and lungs. They then did a Cancer Test which came out positive. This led to a biopsy, from which the specialist diagnosed him with Stage 3 Germ Cell Cancer. He did not want to start treatment immediately because he really wanted to attend his graduation ceremony hence, the doctors let him attend the ceremony after which, they started treatment once he got to the hospital after the ceremony had ended.
Both Sukhvinder and Wen Yu mentioned that despite already having to face disappointment due to the drastic change in their life plans and having to eat the bland hospital food, they have to deal with the side effects of the treatment daily. The side effects consist of weight loss, nausea, diarrhoea, blood in urine, dry eyes, swollen eyes, loss of appetite and one that could hit many youths emotionally would be the hair loss. It could be very demoralising to be in your prime where many people your age are out there trying to look their best while you have to deal with complete hair loss. According to the Mayo Clinic,(https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/chemotherapy/in-depth/hair-loss/art-20046920#:~:text=Fortunately%2C%20most%20of%20the%20time,a%20different%20shade%20or%20texture) it could take one up to 6 months for their hair to start growing after they are completely done with their treatment.
(A meal Sukhvinder was served during one of his stays at the hospital.)
Another side effect that is a major setback to these youths would be the fact that their immune system is drastically weakened as compared to before. This means that they are not allowed to go to crowded places and are recommended to stay home as much as possible. This is in hopes that they will not contract any illnesses as it could really affect their health and how their body recovers from the treatment. If one is not allowed to go to crowded places or leave their house as often as before, this means that their social life could take a turn into a lonely direction. When one would probably need emotional support from their friends and family, they are unable to receive it due to the restrictions they have to follow.
(Sukhvinder’s point of view of his surroundings in the ward.)
A very noticeable trait in the wards from both Sukhvinder and Wen Yu is that they find themselves stuck in a ward filled with elderly - It serves as a constant reminder to them that their bodies are similar to that of an elderly and the depressing atmosphere creates a deeper mental void in them.
Hence to keep themselves going they often have to seek happiness within themselves by occupying themselves with things they enjoy doing.
For Wen Yu, she plays video games which she grew up playing. She mentioned that it is a bit lonely sometimes. Recently she also got into streaming to fill that void a bit and learn how to use live streaming tools in case she wants to get into the events industry one day.
(Sukhvinder’s treatment machine, where the Chemotherapy medication is dripped into his bloodline)
As for Sukhvinder, he streams movies, plays games and often gets onto voice calls with his close relatives while he is in the hospital for treatment. However, as for Sukhvinder, he prefers having some alone time to deal with his emotions as he rather not shares them with people around him as he does not want to stress or worry them.
(An app Sukhvinder often turns to when bored at the hospital.)
A report by Supportive Care in Cancer, (https://www.singaporecancersociety.org.sg/images/publications/in-house-research/2022_AKuo_DistressAmongCancerPatientsAtt.pdf) , it indicates how younger people with cancer have higher levels of distress. This is because they often have the worry of having to pay their treatment bills, and how they are going to continue on with life after they complete treatment. They often tend to stress on how to fit in even after they have recovered.
All in all, cancer often affects youth differently from people in other walks of life. For instance, when an elderly is diagnosed with cancer, they would have probably already experienced life as its own. As for children, their recovery rate is a lot faster. However for youths, they are neither here nor there. They have not fully started living life as a whole and are still in the midst of setting their life up from scratch. Some are even diagnosed right when they are left with the final step in terms of their career aspect. Clearly, cancer knows no age.
Comments