Yin, Myanmar

My mother, a 76-year-old, has been suffering from a stroke for 15 years and has undergone two operations for a benign brain tumor. She was hospitalized frequently. After two major operations, she gradually lost her memory. She didn't even recognize her close friend of the same age, who visited and comforted her regularly through prayer and support. After a few weeks, a miracle happened when the fluid collected in my mother's brain was drained by placing a shunt. My mother regained her memory well. My mother and her close friend were so happy to see each other and often chatted.

When my mother recovered day by day, her close friend could no longer attend to her as she got easily tired, unable even to climb the stairs to reach my mom's room. We later found out that she had stage 4 colon cancer. We felt so bad, thinking that if she had an early diagnosis, she would not be like this. Apparently, she was good-looking, physically fit, and active, so her family and she did not think of cancer screening.

It was truly a miracle that my mother recovered and recognized things well. She visited her friend at home in a wheelchair. Her friend said with tears, "You bade farewell to me." After a few days, she passed away.

My mother is receiving excellent care from a team of compassionate doctors and nurses, along with our family, to achieve an optimal outcome. Cancer education and awareness regarding screening before the cancer becomes symptomatic are still low, even among the educated population.

My mother, who once had a slim chance of survival, is still living with a reasonable quality of life. My mother's kind, committed, and educated close friend passed away earlier due to silent cancer. I never thought my mother would survive but her friend would die. The big lesson I learned was the importance of early diagnosis, regular check-ups, and awareness in cancer.

This story was published with the consent of Shwe Young Hnin Si Cancer Foundation, Myanmar.