The following article by POON CHIAN HUI is from Mind Your Body of the Straits Times dated 12 August 2010.
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What began as a way for Ming Wei, 16, to express her thoughts has turned into a space that gives hope to others who suffer from cancer. POON CHIAN HUI reports
'I am beginning to forget how it feels like to gently pick up a comb, raise it to my head and to brush my hair with it.
No more flipping of my hair when I get angry; no more solace to be sought from stroking my hair when I am upset.'
So reads a recent entry on 16-year-old De Ming Wei's blog, written weeks after she had shorn off her shoulder-length locks because her hair had noticeably thinned from chemotherapy. She now wears a wig.
Simply titled Ming Wei's, the blog (http://judithdmw.blogspot.com) written in Chinese and tracking the Malaysian teen's ongoing battle with lymphoma cancer, has inspired her peers and adults alike.
Primary school teacher Willy Wah, 28, from Penang, Malaysia, found her unabashed willingness to share her cancer experience 'very courageous'.
'People don't like to reveal their problems, not even to their friends. But Ming Wei is not shy about her situation. She has even posted photos of herself with a bald head for everyone to see,' said.
Mr Wah, who has been a regular follower of the blog since May.
From introspective accounts of hospital visits to the elation at eating her first slice of pizza in months, the white-and-violet themed blog chronicles the daily ups and downs of her much-altered life as a cancer patient since the discovery of a cancerous lump in her upper left chest earlier this February.
The blog's impact is far-reaching.
Last month, it won the best individual prize at the Singapore Blog Awards 2010 organised by omy.sg, a bilingual Web portal under Singapore Press Holdings.
Speaking at her present home in Sembawang - a three-room HDB flat that belongs to her mother's cousin - the soft-spoken teenager expressed wonder at how the blog is no longer 'just a blog' to many others.
She recalled how she got to know other young cancer sufferers after they posted comments on her blog, which has garnered more than 10,000 views.
'Initially, writing was simply a way for me to express myself as I was away from home,' she said in Mandarin. 'But the blog has become so meaningful not just for me, but also for others.
'Now, it can inspire young kids, who are also suffering from cancer, and tell them they don't have to be too depressed or too fearful.'
Ming Wei has been in Singapore with her mother since March for chemotherapy, and will be here until the end of this month. Her businessman father and 13-year-old brother visit them once or twice a month.
Between chemotherapy sessions, which she describes as agonising, she usually needs several days of rest to allow side effects such as vomiting and headaches to wear off.
When her strength returns, she updates her blog, e-mails her friends, talks to her father and brother on the phone, watches television and reads books.
She rarely ventures out of the house as her immunity is weak. After five months in Singapore, the only trips she has taken are to National University Hospital, where she is seeking treatment.
This is a stark contrast to the life she was used to.
'In the past, I had a busy life because of school. Now, everything has slowed down,' she said. 'I used to sleep at 11pm but I go to bed at 9pm nowadays as I'm tired from the cancer treatment and also because I feel bored.'
Her diet has also undergone a dramatic change. She has had to give up her favourite foods like ice cream and stick to a light diet with less salt and oil and which comprises mainly of fruit and vegetables.
Her mother also makes green barley or wheatgrass and coconut juice for her every day to build her immunity.
However, this easygoing teen is not one to whine or complain. 'My diet is fine and I like healthy food too,' she quipped.
Now that she is down to her final round of chemotherapy before heading home in a few weeks, Ming Wei is making plans to return to her secondary school in Malacca, Malaysia, next year.
The aspiring artist said that she will also continue writing her blog back in Malaysia.
'Because of the blog, I have not wasted the last five months of my life,' she said. 'Although chemotherapy is nearly over, the road to recovery is still very long.'
Sometimes speaking out lets the vent of the mind disappear and so has happened sharing through the blog.It is a very difficult journey and more at her age when there is rest of the world having fun.Wish a healthy life soon.
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