What it looks like when cancer gets the chance to spread

Musliha, a woman with young children, has been told the public healthcare system can no longer help her, highlighting the challenges faced by families with limited resources.

The columnist encourages readers to prioritise health, get regular check-ups, and not be deterred by societal expectations, emphasising cancer's unpredictability and life's ephemeral nature.

The piece criticises systemic healthcare failures, urging policy-level changes rather than individual lifestyle adjustments, and highlights the importance of compassion and preserving mental well-being amidst societal pressures.

SEPTEMBER 23 — When I think about the theory of multiverses, I wonder if there was an “other me” who didn’t survive the year.

Right now, though, Musliha, the woman I’ve mentioned before in past columns, has been told there is nothing more the public healthcare system can do for her.

She has young children who face the possibility of losing their mother. A husband who has done his best with limited resources.

This shouldn’t be anyone’s story.

If you can send her a spare ringgit or two so she can at least eat without having to worry about where the money will come from, you can donate to her here .

I wonder in the other universes if the other Ernas were championing other people.

It is beyond me to eradicate cancer (it isn’t just one disease, it’s multiple different ailments, which the AI bros don’t understand, alongside how to be good humans).

Maybe I can’t save people like Musliha but perhaps reading this will remind you to get checked.

Maybe you’ll drag or cajole that stubborn family member or friend to a check-up.

Maybe you’ll stop telling yourself your aches, your constant tiredness and lacklustre mood is just the tiresome business of life.

With cancer it’s a race and once it gets ahead trying to catch it, beat it and tell it to get out of your life becomes an even twistier, harder slog.

There are things just as bad, maybe worse than cancer so really, you shouldn’t live a life revolving around trying not to get it.

I think being a cancer patient has taught me to let go of things such as the weight of expectations and needing to prove myself to anyone.

Why spend an hour or more spiralling about things that haven’t happened or outcomes that did not favour me?

Life is ephemeral, sometimes full of discomfort, and it is, beyond anything, still a gift.

Which is why I think you should be prioritising your own health and stop telling me to not eat doughnuts.

Speaking of doughnuts, I am very annoyed that the queue at I’m Donut? is still ridiculous and I would rather have a good burger than waste two to three hours of my life for the sweet pastries.

Not that I would refuse a box coming my way; I just do not want to annoy my joints and legs to line up by 8.30am as I have heard some people do.

Life is too short to chase doughnuts, sweetheart.

I’ve heard that IKN is now swamped and people are filling up public hospitals out of desperation.

The solution is not selling people insurance. It’s about prioritising health in every aspect of our daily lives at a policy level.

Our kids are stunted. Our incomes depressed. We cannot budget or “ ubah gaya hidup ” ourselves out of systemic policy failures.

So instead of mocking the fat Malaysian you see walking past you or feel proud that you’re not the one lining up for a sweet drink or dessert, remember this — cancer does not care about how virtuously you live your life.

What you should care about is that we do not have enough healthcare professionals or hospitals, that current insurance standards means most policies exclude people who would most benefit from it.

Moralising or judging doesn’t help you; it just hardens your heart in a world where we need it to be softer.

Yet as dark as this world may seem now, with creeping inflation, people asking talking Magic 8 Balls to answer their emails for them and billionaires gorging themselves with money, it is more important than ever to preserve our minds and souls.

Hold on to those things that no one can take from you, that essence of humanity.

And if you need to, have a doughnut (that you don’t have to queue two hours for).

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.

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穆斯利哈是一位有年幼孩子的妇女，她被告知公共医疗保健系统无法再帮助她，这凸显了资源有限的家庭所面临的挑战。

专栏作家鼓励读者重视健康，定期体检，不要被社会期望所吓倒，并强调癌症的不可预测性和生命的短暂性。

这篇文章批评了医疗保健系统的失败，敦促进行政策层面的变革，而不是个人生活方式的调整，并强调了在社会压力下保持同情心和维护心理健康的重要性。

9 月 23 日——每当我思考多元宇宙理论时，我都会想，是否存在一个“另一个我”，他没能活过这一年。

不过，目前我曾在之前的专栏文章中提到过的穆斯利哈女士已经被告知，公共医疗系统已经无法再为她提供任何帮助了。

她有几个年幼的孩子，他们可能面临失去母亲的风险。她的丈夫在资源有限的情况下已经尽力而为。

这不应该是任何人的故事。

如果你能给她一两令吉，让她至少能吃饱饭而不用担心钱从哪里来，你可以在这里捐款给她。

我想知道在其他宇宙中，其他的厄纳斯是否也在支持其他人。

根除癌症对我来说是不可能的（癌症不只是一种疾病，而是多种不同的病症，人工智能专家们既不了解这些，也不了解如何做个好人）。

也许我无法拯救像穆斯利哈这样的人，但或许读到这篇文章会提醒你去做检查。

或许你会拖着或哄着那个固执的家人或朋友去做个体检。

也许你会不再告诉自己，你的疼痛、持续的疲惫和低落的情绪只是生活中令人疲惫的事情。

与癌症的斗争就像一场赛跑，一旦癌症领先，想要追上它、战胜它并让它离开你的生活，就会变成一场更加曲折、更加艰难的跋涉。

有些疾病和癌症一样糟糕，甚至可能更糟，所以你真的不应该把生活重心放在如何避免患上癌症上。

我认为，作为一名癌症患者，我学会了放下一些事情，比如背负沉重的期望，以及需要向任何人证明自己的需求。

为什么要花一个小时甚至更长时间来纠结那些还没有发生的事情或者对我不利的结果呢？

生命短暂，有时充满苦难，但无论如何，它仍然是一份礼物。

所以我觉得你应该优先考虑自己的健康，别再劝我不要吃甜甜圈了。

说到甜甜圈，我非常恼火的是，I'm Donut? 的队伍仍然长得离谱，我宁愿吃个好吃的汉堡，也不愿浪费两三个小时的生命去买那些甜甜圈。

倒不是说我会拒绝送货上门；我只是不想像有些人那样，为了赶在早上 8 点 30 分之前起床而让我的关节和腿感到不适。

亲爱的，人生苦短，何必浪费时间去追逐甜甜圈。

我听说IKN现在人满为患，人们因为绝望而涌入公立医院。

解决之道不在于向人们推销保险，而在于从政策层面将健康放在我们日常生活的方方面面的首位。

我们的孩子发育迟缓。我们的收入下降。我们无法通过合理预算或“改善生活”来摆脱系统性政策失败带来的困境。

所以，与其嘲笑你看到的肥胖的马来西亚人，或者为自己不用排队买甜饮料或甜点而感到自豪，不如记住这一点——癌症不会在意你过着多么高尚的生活。

你应该关心的是，我们没有足够的医疗专业人员或医院，目前的保险标准意味着大多数保单将最能从中受益的人排除在外。

说教或评判对你没有帮助；在这个我们需要柔软心灵的世界里，这样做只会让你的心变得冷硬。

然而，尽管这个世界现在看起来一片黑暗，通货膨胀不断加剧，人们让会说话的魔法八号球帮他们回复电子邮件，亿万富翁们挥霍无度，但保护我们的思想和灵魂比以往任何时候都更加重要。

珍惜那些无人能从你身上夺走的东西，珍惜人性的本质。

如果需要的话，可以吃个甜甜圈（而且不用排队两小时）。

* 这是专栏作家的个人观点。

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