A familiar vendor here, she’s known for her warm smile and friendly disposition, welcoming customers as she sells her plants and fashion accessories.
But behind her easy warmth is a quiet resilience. Auntie Barbara is a cancer survivor, now in remission, who spends her time at the market to bring a little extra joy to her loved ones.
“My granddaughters are my inspiration. They’re eight and 11 now. I want to live so I can watch them grow up,” Auntie Barbara, 68, told FMT Lifestyle recently.
The sunny sexagenarian, born in Alor Gajah, Melaka, has had quite a storied life: she started her career at the Malayan Flying Academy, carrying out administration tasks.
She then entered the automotive industry, where she worked for 20 years, and eventually settled down with her husband, the late Luques Marques Manickam, with whom she had two children.
Auntie Barbara now resides in Subang with her family, alongside two dogs and seven cats. A year ago, however, life dealt her a difficult blow – a cyst in her ovaries, which required a hysterectomy.
“During the operation, they told me I had cancer. I had just woken up from surgery, so I was taken aback. You don’t expect something like this. I felt like my whole world was crashing down on me at that point,” Auntie Barbara said.
Despite the unexpected diagnosis, Auntie Barbara pressed on, beginning chemotherapy just two weeks later. Having heard how the treatment could cause her hair to fall out, the tenacious senior chose to shave her head a week before it began.
Cancer treatment was not easy, but Auntie Barbara is thankful to her family and friends for supporting her through the ordeal. One of her friends, who she calls Uncle Dave, cooked her the best chicken porridge she had ever tasted, she said.
For her, the key to getting through a difficult journey like this is finding a sense of purpose to help take one’s mind off darker thoughts.
As the hardest part of treatment passed, Auntie Barbara found herself turning to simple routines that helped her heal; one of them was gardening.
In her home, she nurtures a small variety of plants: money plants and lidah jin, which she pots and sells at the weekly market. Caring for living things and watching them grow is something that has always brought her joy.
“I enjoy the feeling of digging into soil with my hands. It helps me take my mind off things. I like talking to the plants. I tell them, today I’m taking you to the market. I hope someone good will take care of you,” Auntie Barbara says with a smile.
“Sometimes I’ll go for walks, and I’ll find a half-dying plant that maybe someone has thrown away. And I’ll think to myself, maybe I can save it, pot it and take it home.”
Auntie Barbara’s cancer is currently in remission, and she returns for check-ups every three months to monitor her condition. Her first visit this May is approaching, and she remains optimistic about it.
In the meantime, she intends to keep living life with a smile, tending to her beloved plants as she prepares for her Saturday markets.
“I think I stand out there as I’m one of the older vendors. I look forward to meeting my customers. They tell me, Auntie, you’re always the first stall we come to see, we look everywhere for you,” Auntie Barbara said.
“Life is very short. If you’re grumpy and down all the time, what’s the use? I’m just a happy-go-lucky person, trying to get by in life.”