“I was looking forward to recovery. Looking at my old photos – I used to run marathons, participate in charity events, volunteer, travel, diving in the free ocean – I wanted to experience this again! I wanted to have this meaningful life again!”

“I completed my 4 cycles at the end of June last year.I find it hard to believe how I managed to get through it! To me, cancer doesn’t mean death. It gave life a new definition! It means a second chance, to restart.

As a cancer survivor, I’m lucky to be alive. After my diagnosis, I received treatments to get cured. I have a chance to tell my loved ones how much I love them. I travelled after recovery and did the things I like doing. I feel hopeful for each brand new day that I wake up to. Well, all we need to do is to try our best. Have faith and be happy. Take it one step at a time and breathe. There are so many beautiful reasons to be thankful for in life!

Many people fear medical consultations. They fear bad news, that if it’s cancer, the doctor will tell them that they only have a few months to live. But stressing our bodies and minds about what could go wrong won’t help. If the symptoms are there, any delay will just make things worse. My advice to everyone: go to the hospital right away if you experience any abnormalities or symptoms in your body. Don’t wait. Don’t risk thinking that it’s alright to ignore it. Go for an annual health check-up. Remember, prevention is better than cure.

In the meantime, live life!

Set short term goals.

Take up new challenges.

Learn new things. Achieve them!

Reward yourself!

Don’t just find time, make time for your family and loved ones!

Work hard but play harder.

Contribute to society.

Help others. Volunteer.

Expose yourself to new experiences.

Keep improving.

Keep moving, while you still can.

No one is going to live forever. So why are we living as if we’re not dying, and die regretting that we’ve never lived?”

29 year old Jennifer is an ovarian cancer survivor whose last cancer treatment ended in June 2015. She shares about her journey in this series in conjunction with the Women’s Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Campaign. Next month, she will be celebrating her first year of being cancer-free and wants to raise cancer awareness. People do not need to fear cancer but to conquer it!