KOTA KINABALU: Norliah Abdul Jalil, a 68-year-old mother of three, was feeling hopeless after she was diagnosed with advanced level-three breast cancer.
However, the urge to take care of her child, who suffers from thalassemia and the support from her husband and other children gave her the strength to carry on with live.
Norliah regained her hope after she was selected as one of the 116 patients to receive free cancer treatment at Beacon Hospital, through the joint program between the Sabah Council of Social Services (MPMS) and the hospital in Selangor.
On Saturday, Beacon Hospital signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MPMS at the Social Welfare Department office in Menara UTC here to provide free treatment to qualified cancer patients. It was witnessed by Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid.
Norliah said she regretted the late discovery of her breast cancer and for not doing a preliminary examination earlier.
Ever since she was diagnosed with level-two breast cancer in 2014, she has undergone radiotherapy treatment 15 times.
She also said that being a full-time housewife with her husband earning a small income as an administrative assistant at City Hall here, she was eligible to receive free cancer treatment at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Norliah said that she found out about the program from Jainab who visited Queen Elizabeth Hospital last year when she was receiving treatment there.
Jainab had proposed for Norliah to contact MPMS to get treatment at Beacon Hospital. Through the joint program between MPMS and Beacon Hospital, there is no need for Norliah to wait for her turn on the long waiting list for cancer treatment at the government hospital.
She said that the treatment she received at Beacon Hospital helped to prevent the cancer cells from spreading quickly and her health condition had also been improving since the treatment.
All medical expenses of cancer patients under the program are borne by Beacon Hospital, which has tremendously helped underprivileged patients like her.
Jainab said the main challenge of providing healthcare for cancer patients is the lack of awareness among the people to get treatment at the hospital.
In rural areas for example, she said there are people who still rely on traditional methods to treat their cancer when they should be getting treatment from the hospital.
As such, she sees that there is a need to raise awareness among the public to come forward to receive cancer treatment instead of looking at it as too costly.
Cancer patients may obtain further information from MPMS regarding the selection process for free cancer treatment or subsidized treatment.