“Just do not give up. It is worth fighting the battle together with SCS,” shared 68-year-old Victor Thuang when asked for his advice to other cancer patients. With this quote comes with the lessons learned from his fight to gain back any semblance of his life before his cancer diagnosis.
In 2017, his symptoms started with a urination problem followed by pain in his groin. Sensing something was amiss, Mr Thuang went for a biopsy and found out that he had stage 4 prostate cancer.
When he heard about his diagnosis and that it was aggressive cancer, he thought it was the end of the road for him and fell into a depressive state. Mr Thuang had to go through hormone therapy for 3 months. After a CT scan and blood test, he was told he needed to go for chemotherapy, which he had to endure for 6 cycles.
However, in 2018, he found out his Prostate-Specific Antigen started to rise and was required to take medication. Already struggling with the reality of being diagnosed with prostate cancer, his medical bill started to pile up and he was not able to manage his finances especially with no CPF or insurance.
Fortunately, help came along when a medical worker from National University Hospital (NUH) referred Mr Thuang to the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS). Besides helping to subsidise his cancer treatment costs through the Cancer Treatment Fund, SCS also opened doors to other forms of cancer support services to Mr Thuang. He was recommended to consult with an SCS Sexologist, Dietician, and Physiotherapist for holistic care and support through his cancer journey.
Mr Thuang joined the SCS Walnut Warriors support group, and was also introduced to the Walnut Warriors Exercise Programme. Going through the programme and doing the exercises, like the resistance band exercise, helped reduce his fatigue as well as improve quality of life and muscular fitness. These exercises help prostate cancer patients who are receiving hormone treatment.
The exercises helped improve Mr Thuang’s muscle strength and he gained back his confidence. With that, he also felt that his life was slowly returning to normalcy. Looking back throughout his workout sessions, Mr Thuang feels grateful for the support and advice given by the instructors and his peers. He knew he was not alone in this journey as he gained a considerable amount of knowledge on how others similar to his situation are going about in life.