When cancer treatment becomes a family journey
Tan Chiew Mei shares her personal journey of navigating a breast cancer diagnosis while pregnant. She emphasizes the importance of family support and proactive communication with medical teams during complex treatment plans.
Why it matters
It highlights the unique medical and emotional challenges faced by pregnant women diagnosed with cancer, underscoring the need for coordinated multidisciplinary care.
Tan Chiew Mei with her family, whose support helped carry her through pregnancy, chemotherapy, surgery and the uncertainty that came with treatment. (Tan Chiew Mei pic)
PETALING JAYA: After learning she had breast cancer, Tan Chiew Mei cried through the night. Pregnant with her second child and with a young daughter at home, she could not stop wondering who would look after her daughter if she were no longer there.
Then she focused on two things: “I want to get treated. And I want to keep my baby.”
Tan, then 37, had found a hard lump in her breast. An initial ultrasound left her feeling reassured, but another assessment two weeks later found that it had grown, leading to a biopsy. The diagnosis was triple-negative breast cancer.
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