“I had taken her for a checkup at a government hospital in Kulim, Kedah, where we were living back then, and was told she had an aggressive form of cancer,” the 32-year-old tells FMT.
“I was advised to put her through chemotherapy and we were referred to a government oncology facility. Getting an appointment alone took three weeks.”
Due to the nature of her cancer, Malika required immediate chemo treatment. “But she was only given a slot that was scheduled for two months’ time,” Punitha recalls.
“Meanwhile, she was in pain and really suffering.”
Punitha was told to take her mother to a private hospital if she wanted immediate treatment. She decided to bring Malika to Lam Wah Ee, a private hospital on Penang island, where she was operated on and would require eight cycles of chemotherapy.
Unfortunately, Malika does not have insurance. “We were not able to purchase a policy for her because she is diabetic,” Punitha explains.
The family ended up selling their home in Kulim at the end of November 2019 to cover the expenses. Punitha and her parents eventually relocated to Bukit Mertajam in August last year and currently live in a rented house.
Still, Punitha doesn’t regret getting her mother private treatment. “If we had waited, I don’t know if she would still be alive today.”
Local recurrence
Malika completed chemotherapy in early September 2020 but the cancer recurred in the same part of her body, requiring her to undergo another operation in November.
She was put on another 20 cycles of radiotherapy, which she completed by the end of January last year. The total cost amounted to about RM100,000 by this time.
“Throughout the whole process, my mother felt very weak and she lost weight. She was also very down emotionally,” Punitha shares.
But the ordeal did not end there. Two months later, Malika began experiencing pain in the same area, and a visit to the oncologist confirmed the cancer had yet again come back – this time spreading to her neck area.
Malika was advised to be put on chemotherapy tablets, which would set the family back by RM30,000 every two weeks.
“I was really shocked, and the doctor could not even guarantee that my mother would be cured,” Punitha says. “We were asked to ‘try and see’. Both my mother and I were totally broken.”
Thankfully, a friend who had also battled breast cancer referred them to the National Cancer Society of Malaysia, who suggested Malika be brought to Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital in Tanjung Bungah.
Malika was put on further chemotherapy treatment and completed 24 cycles, costing approximately another RM100,000.
By this point, the family could not afford any more treatment as they had used up all the money from the sale of their house, and Punitha had even sold off her car.
Punitha, who works for a hardware company, earns RM1,500 a month, which mainly goes towards rent and utility bills. Her older brother passed away from Covid last July, while her 61-year-old father is a retired driver who looks after Malika while Punitha is at work.
The family is appealing for help from the public so Malika can continue with further treatment.
“I am single and I only have my parents after having lost my brother,” Punitha adds. “I really can’t live without them. They are my world.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital has since updated that they have subsidised a total of RM50,181.79 off Malika’s treatment fees for the first bill, in addition to free chemo medication samples and a free chemoport amounting to RM23,071.
As of Feb 21, the hospital has decided to fully subsidise the cost of three future chemotherapy cycles for Malika as well as the PET-CT scan bill, estimated at approximately RM14,000.