Give moral support to children with cancer: KIDS

KUALA LUMPUR: The president of Kumpulan Ibubapa dan Sokongan Anak-Anak Kanser (KIDS), a parents and support group for children with cancer, has called on the public to at least give moral support to children suffering from the disease if they are unable to contribute monetarily.
Its president Hamidah Tajuddin said children with cancer could not live their lives like other children as they had to undergo various treatments based on their type of cancer and according to the schedule set by the hospital.
"Some of these children are forced to spend time in hospital or commute every week for treatment, and they only meet other cancer patients like themselves.
"Therefore, I hope that parents out there can bring their children to occasionally visit and meet with the young cancer patients," she told reporters after a breaking-of-fast with KIDS at Wisma Bernama recently.
She said such exposure would allow these cancer patients to get acquainted with more of their peers as well as uplift their spirits.
Hamidah also hoped that concerned parties could contribute funds to KIDS to help relieve the burden of parents, especially those who do not have a fixed income and could not afford their children's treatment.
"The cost is not only to cover the treatments alone, but also to finance other needs including transportation, especially for those who live outside Kuala Lumpur," said Hamidah, who is also the mother of a cancer patient.
Hamidah also shared her experience when her youngest son Muhammad Syukur Shukri, 12, was diagnosed with cancer of the blood (Pre-B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia) at the age of seven.
She said it was not easy for the family to face the situation, more so for her son, who had previously been declared free from cancer in 2015, and now had to undergo radiotherapy at Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) after a relapse in October, last year.
Muhammad Syukur's eldest sister, Farah Shuhada, 23, said the family always supported the former while undergoing treatment, adding: "As his sister, I'm really sad, but if we do not support him, he will feel worse."
Nur Sarah Iman Suhaimi, 10, a cancer patient, also shared about the illness she has had since the age of two, which causes her to suffer from neuropathic pain.
Her mother, Ismaini Ismail, 46, who was in tears, said the cancer had spread to her throat, and now her daughter could only rely on methadone pills taken three times a day as there was no other possible treatment left.
Another cancer patient, Suci Nurr Qaisara Mohd Sofa Raazie, 6, who suffers from protein C deficiency, was diagnosed with the disease when she was three days old at Likas Hospital, Sabah, and has been using an artificial eye on the right since the age of six months.
The eldest child of couple Mohd Sofa Raazie Mohd Yusof and Nordiana Ibrahim, both 32, also suffers from complications in her left eye.
However, these limitations have not stopped the cheerful girl from attending school at SK Jalan Batu, and she aspires to become a doctor one day.
Zuriana Sudin, 35, the mother of cancer patient Muhammad Zaki Mohamad Izam, 3, said she was grateful that the chemotherapy treatment for her eldest son, who is suffering from Leukaemia Pre B All High Risk, was borne entirely by the government.
Hasni Mat Hassan, 42, the mother of Muhammad Rayyan Azahar, 8, a muscle cancer patient from Shah Alam is also grateful not to have to bear the cost of her son's ultrasound tests as the treatment is borne by the government through a letter from the school.
She said the second of five siblings was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, and had to undergo tests every six months.
About 60 children with cancer were feted at the "buka puasa" event, which was also attended by UNIC nasyid group member Bazli Hazwan, who lost his son, Muhammad Shahid, 4, to cancer recently.
KIDS is a non-governmental organisation established on Jan 19, last year. It was founded by the parents of children suffering from cancer at the oncology ward of Kuala Lumpur Hospital's Paediatric Institute. — Bernama