When Roanne Ho was undergoing treatment for Sarcoma during her O-Level year, her parents and teachers tried to talk her out of taking the national examinations.
It was not surprising, given the side-effects that wracked her sixteen-year-old body. Chemotherapy sessions made Roanne vomit violently and left her nauseated over the following days, and she developed a fungal infection in her spine due to her compromised immune system.
But Roanne was determined not to waste the preparation she had done in Secondary Three. Although the infection risks kept her from attending school, Roanne made three to four trips a week - in between chemotherapy sessions - to CCF’s Place for Academic Learning and Support (PALS).
There, teachers helped her keep abreast of the syllabus. “I taught myself new materials from my textbooks, and the PALS teachers explained things like math concepts that I didn’t understand,” says Roanne.
Her hard work paid off. She did well to get a place in a junior college.
PALs didn’t just help Roanne academically. Meeting other students bolstered her spirits as she struggled to stay positive throughout the treatment process. Roanne recalls meeting a girl around her age who had lost a leg to Osteosarcoma.
“I was very gloomy and didn’t feel like talking to anyone, but this girl was so bubbly and chatty. When I first met her we were sitting at the table, so I didn’t realise she had lost her leg until later. She seemed so normal, and she even walked faster than me! I was inspired to be more like her - to be happier and more confident,” says Roanne, whose cancer is now in remission.
She found a similar confidence when she entered junior college, and spoke openly about her cancer journey to her new friends.
“I was very skinny, only 36kg and my hair was still super short from chemotherapy. I knew I looked different from everyone else. But I was glad my friends asked about my appearance and we could talk about it, because if you hide from it you’ll never know what people are thinking,” says Roanne,
She is grateful every day for her health and being pain-free, but has this to say to those still fighting cancer: “The drugs will work. It’s not the end. The pain you are suffering will be over eventually - and you are not alone.”