Every mother hopes to stay by their children and see them grow. Watching them from babbling, learning to walk, and attending school until they grow up to become adults. As a mother of four, Chia Bee Peng has the same dream. She wants to continue to accompany her children. Even though she is now tortured by cancer, she still fights hard and stays positive in receiving treatments.

The disease tortures her a lot. She is thin and weak, and she often coughed up blood. She had blurred vision, shortness of breath and suffered pain in her neck and body. Many years ago, her uterus had a small tumour, and she had gallstones. Considering her health condition, she temporarily stays at her sister’s house and sometimes returns home to see her husband and children.

【Her earlier treatment was not effective, so she needed to change to another treatment plan】

Bee Peng from Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in 2018. She has been receiving treatment for many years, but recently resulting in the cancer cells spreading to the lymph, lungs and bones. Her family transferred her to another hospital for treatment. Unexpectedly, the doctor found cancer cells in her lungs in February this year, so the doctor gave her a stronger version of chemotherapy medication. The medication caused her white blood cells and platelets to drop sharply, and her life was at stake.

The doctor later switched her treatment to immunotherapy, where her condition became stabilised. However, during one of her follow-up visits at the hospital in May this year, the doctor discovered that although immunotherapy was a suitable treatment for her, it was ineffective in fighting the cancer cells in her body. Therefore, the doctor prescribed another chemotherapy medication for her. Now, she needs to receive treatment once a week and rest for another week, and the treatment duration will remain for about half a year. To avoid increasing financial burden, she chose to complete the treatment at the hospital and return home immediately to save on hospitalisation expenditure.

However, she and her family could no longer afford the chemotherapy expenses of RM54,000. Although Bee Peng has medical insurance, the previous treatments and claims had almost used up her annual insurance claimable amount. In addition, her father, sister and brother died one after another due to cancer several years ago. During this period, the family borrowed money from their relatives and friends for treatment, but now, all their relatives and friends can no longer assist her.

【The financial burden of the family is heavy, and her four children are still schooling】

Bee Peng has been unable to work since she fell ill. She resigned from her job as a clerk in 2018. Her 46-year-old husband, Chong Fook Thiam, runs a hardware shop, but the business is not doing well and has suffered losses. He needs to repay a large loan and no longer manages to pay for his wife’s treatment. The couple has four children – their eldest son, aged 18, is a culinary college student; 16-year-old and 13-year-old daughters are in secondary school; and their youngest 10-year-old daughter is in primary school.

Over the years, the family’s financial burden was heavy, and they needed to pay for medical treatments for their family members. Bee Peng approached One Hope Charity to seek help to continue treatment.

After reviewing the case following a home visit, One Hope Charity decided to assist Bee Peng in raising the RM54,000 she needed for chemotherapy. Her family agreed to fully authorise One Hope Charity to take charge of the fundraising and collect donations from the well-wishers on their behalf. Call One Hope Charity’s hotline at 04-539 9212, 016-419 2192 or 018-911 4192 if you have questions.