A Second Lease on Life
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| Dayang Herlina (centre) with all her children. |
In May 2004, she was diagnosed with Stage II of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (a cancer of the lymph system) and told that if she didn't go for chemotheraphy, she would be paralysed since one of the growths was very close to her spine.
Her husband divorced her on the night she was heading to hospital for her fifth cycle of chemotheraphy and without hair, eyebrows and eyelashes.
"I had no husband and no opportunities," she recalls.
Dayang Herlina had six children to support and couldn't make ends meet with the maintenance paid by her ex-husband, a policeman. She had postponed her chemotheraphy sessions because she had so much to sort out.
But this year, the 37-year-old has gained the weight she lost and grown a full head of hair. She has taught herself to sing and is working on an album of duets with her youngest daughter, five-year-old Nurriyana Jamhari.
Dayang Herlina performed at the Selangor Government's Pesta Nasional last month and will appear in a Citrawarna show next month. And her talented kindergartener sings at weddings and is acting in a new sitcom scheduled to air on TV2 next month.
Dayang Herlina also provides women's traditional massage and, with a micro-credit loan for RM1,500 from the National Cancer Council (Makna) and a stall provided by the Armed Forces, she plans to start selling ice-blended drinks next week near her home in Kajang.
Makna has also persuaded her to continue with her chemotheraphy sessions and has provided RM300 per month for hospital bills.
Her doctor at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital was happy with her recent blood tests, said she looked better and asked her what she had done.
"God has given me a second chance," she says.
"I asked Him for a second chance and said my children all need me. I wasn't ready for everything that happened to me."
Dayang Herlina also told the doctor that instead of taking supplements to boost her health, she turned to music: "I didn't want to think about my cancer, so I sang. I feel better mentally. I have regained 100 per cent of my energy level. I thank God."
She has just done another CT scan and will probably start oral or intravenous chemotheraphy next week.
Her Mother's Day wish is for a long life. And as part of her Mother's Day celebration, Dayang Herlina is taking her five older children to Shah Alam to watch Nurriyana "shooting" on location.
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| Dayang Herlina helping Mohd Raid Jamhari, 9, and Nurrina Jamhari, 8. |
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