” RGS is raising funds to help a cancer-stricken ex-student Joan Chan Shu Fang (RGS 2002/RJC 2004) who was a Peer Support Leader and 1st sergeant in NCC and captain of the RJC softball team.

In 2005, Shu Fang was diagnosed with tongue cancer Stage 4 and as a result, gave up her place to study Architecture in NUS. She underwent surgery, after which she was treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. During a second operation on her shoulder, it was discovered that Shu Fang was suffering from skin cancer as well.

Unfortunately, chemotherapy has not worked and her situation has deteriorated. She has less than a year to live if treatment with a trial drug Iressa, fails. Iressa has shown to kill off some of the cancer cells but results are still inconclusive. The cost of Iressa is S$110.30 per tablet and she requires 2 tablets a day due to her worsening condition, bringing the total medical bill to a hefty S$6000 a month. This is a great financial burden to her family as her mother has had to quit her job to look after Shu Fang. Her father, a taxi driver, too has had to limit his working hours per day to watch over her in case of an emergency. RGS hopes to raise an amount of $36,000 to cover Shu Fang’s medical bills & treatment for 6 months.

If you feel moved to help give Shu Fang a shot at life, please issue your cheque to “RGS” and write “Chan Shu Fang Fund” at the back of the cheque, together with your name & contact address/e-mail. You can mail the cheque to RGS at 20 Anderson Road, Singapore 259978. Thank you. “

I am very lucky i realised, that i’m spared from all these illnesses. Nobody I know is dying too. I think it’s only when you encounter ppl like Joan, then u realise that the world is not so perfect after all. What spurred me to put this appeal here, is the very fact that Joan doesn’t give up easily. For someone her age, it is very ez to simply throw in the towel and que sera sera. Yet there she is, not giving on the slightest hope that one day she may get well, that one day she would be able to join her friends in university and lead a normal life.

Joan in her blog

…my options are limited and i just want to say my dear friends, i am prepared for the worst. but i want to thank all of you for your love and care. i will not give up till the very end and i hope i will be remembered in your hearts as a fighter always.

That pretty much sums up her attitude.

I plead with readers, to do what you all can. I personally dunno how much I can spare, probably a token sum. Every dollar, every cent counts here. You are not just helping her, but also her family, and possibly future cancer patients if a fund is set up in her name for that.

Extract from Funkygrad article that Joan wrote sometime back [click more for the full article]

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