How caring for her dying father at 17 shaped this KKH nurse’s care for breast cancer patients
Teresa Ng, a veteran oncology nurse at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, shares how her personal experience caring for her dying father shaped her empathetic approach to breast cancer patients. She emphasizes the importance of emotional support alongside medical treatment.
Why it matters
It highlights the human element of oncology nursing and the evolving standards of patient-centered care in hospital settings.
KKH oncology-trained nurse Teresa Ng learnt early that breast cancer patients and their families need more than medical care. For decades, the 61-year-old has helped women and their families navigate the fear, uncertainty and challenges that come with the disease – even after treatment ends.
Oncology-trained nurse Teresa Ng believes that cancer care should go beyond a patient’s diagnosis. (Photo: Eveline Gan)
Veteran oncology-trained nurse Teresa Ng was talking to CNA Women about her late father and patients when her voice faltered.
Tears filled her eyes. Dabbing at them, the 61-year-old apologised for the sudden emotion.
After decades in nursing, the assistant director of nursing at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) is no stranger to the emotional weight of caring for cancer patients.
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