Get Well Soon, Auntie Jane!

Uncle Cheng is one of my father's ex-collegues from his Sri Lanka days. A few months ago, he was posted to the Singapore office of the company. Many of our weekends these past few months were spent around Singapore, for both he and my dad love to trek. (Actually, I think my dad loves to trek, and Uncle Cheng is game for anything.) They're very chummy, easily exchanging verbal jabs, cracking into unbridled laughter that only close friends share. Uncle Cheng is married to Auntie Jane and like our family, they have an elder son and a younger daughter.

Auntie Jane is perhaps the shrewder of the couple; a good cook, caring mother and loving wife. She is very outgoing: place her amongst strangers and she'll blend in easily. I've never been close to their children, having only seen them on several occasions when they visited Singapore and when we travelled to Sri Lanka. The boy cracks pretty standard teenaged schoolboy jokes (which I sometimes still find funny) while the girl... she behaves like a younger sister.

The kids finished their school term in Sri Lanka recently and they, accompanied by Auntie Jane, came over to Singapore for a holiday and to see their father. Just last week, we had a nice restaurant dinner.

Over the week, I found out that Auntie Jane went to a hospital for a checkup and was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. 2 days later, she was on her first dose of chemotherapy. Outwardly, Auntie Jane didn't show any signs of discomfort. But Stage IV cancer. As my mom told me, Auntie Jane had felt a little "off" these past 2 months, but would never have suspected cancer. The doctors say that her days are probably numbered.

I never expected to be frazzled, if only slightly, by such grim news. Judging from my apparent lack of emotion on hearing the news of my grandpa's and my uncle's deaths, I'd think news of Auntie Jane's cancer wouldn't affect me. But somehow, I sat there listening intently to my mother tell me about the doses of chemotherapy and how expensive the hospital bills are.

Life goes on as usual for me. Meet up with friends, playing some computer games and helping out in the matriculation of the freshies. My parents, who would otherwise be staying at home, have been lending their moral support to their family. But, just like how incoherent this post is, I sometimes think about lots of things related to cancer and death. Like how sudden it can strike. How fast it spreads. The future. The daily struggles a person faces. Each one of these thoughts can be expounded into a post. But I shall not delve too deep. I fear the discussion will end up sounding very sombre. As such, I shall end abruptly. -Jimmy