Early 2017, Clarissa Chua, then 38, was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. She did not expect the year to start off with such a shock.

Clarissa’s son was only 8 years old at the time and did not even understand his mother’s disease. Just before Chinese New Year she had to shave her hair due to the cancer treatment. Clarissa needed to endure 16 sets of chemotherapy.

Her oncologist from National University Hospital introduced her to the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS) Rehabilitation Centre.

During her time at the SCS Cancer Rehabilitation Centre, Clarissa found out that SCS provided an Art Therapy programme for cancer patients. Since she had a huge interest in Art, she decided to register herself for the programme.

One of the most memorable classes that Clarissa attended was when all the attendees combined their art pieces together to create a shared piece of artwork. What she enjoys during the programme is the exploration of different materials and using different senses to develop their art. Through art she was able to better express herself. Clarissa feels grateful that she met many friends through this programme. She felt that she was able to better share her emotions with her peers.

Her message to other cancer patients, “Live life the fullest and enjoy while you can. Don’t keep your feelings but learn how to express it in some way.”