From Russia with hope… for a cure

Russia is a long way from Singapore but for Madam Galina, the journey was one of recovery and hope, as well as plane rides and weather changes. She tells of her journey from snow to blazing sun, of Singapore food and Russian family.

The first time I was sick was at the end of 2005. I had been diagnosed with lymphoma. I had an operation, the doctors told me that I was OK, when they checked my blood from time to time.

"You are fine," they told me.

Then in 2006, I felt a pain in my chest. Again, they checked me and told me "Everything is fine."

But I knew there was something wrong.

Before I was discharged, someone suggested doing a scope. The doctors said it was not necessary but I thought: "Why not? Just check it out."

And that's how I found out that I had stomach cancer.

The moment I was told, I think I was in shock. I didn't know what I said, or how I got through the day.

Then I started thinking about treatment. I discussed it with my doctors in Russia. I would say that they were quite conservative, so I wanted a second opinion. Parkway had an office in Vladivostok and I visited the International Patient Assistance Centre. I sent some information – diagnosis, scans and so on to doctors in a few countries – Singapore, Korea and Japan. Singapore doctors came back the fastest. They had reviewed my papers and made general comments about my condition.

But they did not give specific recommendations, they told me that they could not do this as it was dangerous to do so without seeing the patient and reviewing all the investigations.

Even though this might not seem like much, I trusted the reply. I don't know how to explain it, but I just felt: "This is the place for me."

So I took a plane with my daughter, and came to Singapore.

One of the most difficult things for me was that I could not speak English. Thank goodness there was always an interpreter around whenever I came for treatment.

One of the greatest blessings that I have found here is Yana (Porthyagina, from Parkway's marketing department). She is "my gold" (Yana is blond), a treasure, my father, my mother, my daughter, all of my family rolled into one.

Since I have gone there for treatment, I discovered that there are all sorts of interpreters in Parkway Health – Russian, Vietnamese, Pakistani, Korean, Japanese.

Our languages are different – but the concerns which cancer patients have are the same. We are all afraid and hopeful, we are all anxious, we all confront the knowledge that we have a serious disease.

The doctors here told me that I have very advanced stomach cancer.

I had an operation, and although the surgery was successful in getting rid of all visible disease, I needed chemotherapy to treat the remaining bits – too small to be cut out. This would improve my chances of cure, the doctors said Chemotherapy for me was not easy, but not too hard either. It goes up and down.

My doctor is always telling me: "Eat more, eat more." I try but you know, Singapore food is not the same as Russian food. My doctors were concerned about what I ate, because I could not eat much even if I didn't care about the taste of food.

You see, I had a total gastrectomy. What this means is that I had my entire stomach removed. The surgeon fashioned a small bowel like a pouch so that it can store food like the stomach. I can only eat a little because without a stomach, I don't feel hungry and can only eat a little each time.

Also, because my whole stomach is gone, it is harder to absorb nutrients. Overall, over three months, I went from 83.1 to 62.9 kg. I lost more than 20 kg. But even as I was losing weight, I was getting better.

Finally, it was the day of the check-up, when I was to know whether my sickness was finally over. I was so nervous, I could not sleep the night before.

Then, after the doctor reviewed the results of the tests, he smiled and told me that I was cured. I could not believe it. I was stunned. Then I wanted to laugh. I rang my daughter up, even though it was middle of the night in Russia. "It's the right time to wake up!" my daughter told me, and we were laughing and laughing. I will be going home soon. I have been living in Singapore for three months. I joke that it is my "second motherland".

I like it that the doctors here take things very seriously. My doctor told me that I am fit despite my age. I am 65 and working as a social worker. I can't wait to get home. There is a family holiday waiting for me – we are going to Italy.

Madam Galina left Singapore in July for Russia. Her real name was not used to protect her privacy.