Book to help kids cope with cancer

Book to help kids cope with cancer

2008/09/12

KUALA LUMPUR: Mahilah (not her real name) was having a hard time explaining to her 9-year-old son why his hair dropped after his chemotherapy treatment for cancer. She also had problems answering his questions about death, especially when the boy in the hospital bed next to his died. In desperation, Mahilah and the hospital staff had lied and told her son that the boy had gone home to his family.However, her son later found out the truth and scolded his mother for lying to him. The news of his friend's death had also frightened him.

Mahilah is one of the many adults who find it difficult to talk to children about cancer, and more often than not, would give vague answers or tell a lie when posed with such questions.

It is precisely this problem which the What Book of Cancer hopes to address. Produced by the National Cancer Society of Malaysia (NCSM), it is an illustrated book for children aged 9 to 12 who are exposed to cancer.

NCSM executive director Dr Saunthari Somasundaram said talking to children about cancer was better than keeping the information from them.

"If you keep things from them, children think that things are worse than they sometimes are and they also get frightened," she said at the book launch yesterday.

Dr Saunthari said that when cancer struck, children would be able to sense that something was wrong even if they did not know what it was.



The What Book of Cancer, which is distributed free, covers topics like "What will life with cancer be like", and "What will happen to my studies and school?"

NCSM is distributing 5,000 copies of the book to hospitals nationwide. The English-language book will also be translated into Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese by year-end. It is produced with the support of Blackmores (M) Sdn Bhd.
© Copyright 2008 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.
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Disney motto saved dad, son in sea

MSNBC.com
Disney motto saved dad, son in sea
‘To infinity ... and beyond’ is one of the few phrases 12-year-old responds to
By Michael Inbar
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 10:40 a.m. ET Sept. 10, 2008



Lost at sea with nothing to hold onto amid a dreadful darkness, Florida resident Walter Marino continually called out some of the few words his 12-year-old autistic son Christopher responds to. The pair, swept out in a late-afternoon current near Daytona Beach, had been treading water in shark- and jellyfish-infested waters throughout the night, slowly floating apart.“I’d be screaming, ‘To infinity ... and beyond!’ ” Marino said, referring to the Disney character Buzz Lightyear’s catchphrase in “Toy Story,” one of Christopher’s favorite movies. “Then I would hear him and it would be more and more and more distant, until finally I couldn’t hear anything.”

Happily — perhaps miraculously — both father and son survived the night, thanks to good Samaritans and the U.S. Coast Guard. Walter and Christopher Marino, along with Walter’s daughter Angela and the children’s mother, Robin Bishop, beamed their way through a joyous interview with Matt Lauer on TODAY Wednesday.

Walter, Christopher and Angela were enjoying a family day at the beach at the Ponce Inlet south of Daytona Sept. 6. Late in the afternoon, Christopher was swimming near his father when he got caught in a current, and his dad paddled rapidly to retrieve him.

“We were both just sucked out,” Marino told Lauer. “The forces just took us out so quickly, it totally took me by surprise.”

Darkness falls
On the beach, Angela could no longer see her father and brother and quickly called 911. The Coast Guard and the Volusia County Beach Patrol launched a search-and-rescue effort, but were unable to locate the pair and called off the search when darkness set in.

Meanwhile, Walter and Christopher treaded water while looking at each other face to face. Christopher, who is largely nonverbal, “watches a lot of Disney movies,” explained his father, and Walter kept calling out Christopher’s favorite Disney lines, including the “Infinity” phrase.

But as the hours ticked off in the dark night, Walter could no longer hear his son. He tried to reconcile himself to the worst.

“I knew in my mind he was gone,” Marino told Lauer. “The only thing that got me through was I could not lose my daughter. I could not let my daughter lose her brother and her father on the same day.”

Around 7:30 a.m. the next morning, fishermen spotted a glint in the water from Walter’s necklace and rescued him. With the fate of Christopher still unknown at the time, Walter had little hope of finding his son alive.

Three long steps
“The Coast Guard asked me if I wanted to be evacuated to a helicopter to go to the hospital, or stay on the boat and continue the search,” he said. “I stayed on the search. They asked me if I wanted to be above or below — I chose to be below, because I knew in my mind that Christopher was gone and I didn’t want to see my son floating facedown.”

After nearly two hours, the Coast Guard asked Marino to come on deck. “That was my Green Mile,” he told Lauer. “I thought they wanted me to come up and identify the body. Those three steps, I just needed help to get to the top.

“I got up there and they pointed to the helicopter and said, ‘See that helicopter over there? That has your son, and he’s fine.’

“I never kissed so many Coast Guard men in my life!”

Christopher was picked up some 3 miles from where his father was found, and some 8 miles from shore.

While an animated Marino showered his rescuers with thanks, appreciation — and yes, kisses — he also cited plucky Christopher as a hero, saying the boy actually helped his father get through the nightmare ordeal.

“His lack of fear was calming to me,” Marino said. “He was on an adventure — I mean, he was laughing. It was just a day in the ocean to him. It wasn’t until the jellyfish started stinging that he started to freak out a little bit.”

Marino also offered a shout-out to the animated superhero who helped him communicate with his son. “Buzz Lightyear got us through,” he said.

Rescue team member David Birky said he was awed at Christopher’s resolve. “That kid is an amazing kid,” Birky said. “To tread water for almost 14 hours — I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could do that. They have amazing willpower to be able to do it.”

© 2008 MSNBC Interactive

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Leukaemia girl needs help

Leukaemia girl needs help
By Laviinia Dhanagunan

2008/09/10

KUALA LUMPUR: Nurul Atikah Salleh is battling for her life. The 15-year-old from Alor Star was diagnosed with acute leukaemia and needs RM160,000 to ensure her survival.The money will be used to buy a cord blood unit from a cord blood bank overseas as well as for the operation scheduled at University Malaya Medical Centre in November.

"We didn't suspect anything when she had a fever in November last year.

"However, when the fever went on for more than a month, we admitted her to Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah and eight days later, the doctors did a bone marrow test and confirmed that she had leukaemia," said her mother, Jamilah Saad.

Unfortunately, Atikah's sibling did not have her B-positive blood type for a bone marrow transplant. Doctors had also advised her against going to school due to her weak immune system. The family survives on RM450 monthly.

"We are getting RM300 a month from the National Cancer Council (Makna)."

She said last April, the Alor Star Welfare Department stopped the RM80 monthly aid for the family because the department felt the assistance from Makna was sufficient.

Those who wish to help Nurul Atikah can send cheques, made payable to The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd, with her name written on the reverse, to: The Cashier, Finance Department/Charity Unit, The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd, Balai Berita, 31, Jalan Riong, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.
© Copyright 2008 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.
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Special attention on autistic top scorer

Special attention on autistic top scorer

2008/09/10

KUALA TERENGGANU: All eyes were on Muhammad Danial Zainuddin on the first day of the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examination yesterday. Sitting alone in a room answering his examination papers, away from the other UPSR candidates, the 12-year-old autistic student of Sekolah Kebangsaan Padang Hiliran was on the verge of setting a new record for the state by being the first ever student-with-special-needs to score all A's in the UPSR examination.But it was probably just another day for Muhammad Danial who seemed oblivious to the attention he was getting from the visit of several representatives from the state Education Department, including head of special education sector Ngah Bidin who observed him from afar.

"Okay-lah," said the shy and soft spoken Muhammad Danial who started his schooling in a special education class six years ago, summing up his first day's performance.

School headmaster Md Sidek Besar, however, said it should be more than just "okay" as the boy had constantly scored high marks in his school examinations over the past few years.

"As a matter of fact, he has been the school's best student for a while now and judging by his trial examination results.

"He will not just be the best special education candidate but I have a feeling, even among normal candidates, he will be up there hovering near the top," he said.

Meanwhile, state Education Department director Ariffin Embong said a total of 24,337 candidates, including 29 from special education classes, sat for the UPSR examination in the state.

"Aside from looking forward to Muhammad Danial becoming the first special needs candidate in the state to score five As, we are also anticipating a better overall performance from the rest of our candidates this year.

"The state has done well in the past and going by the figures derived from the trial examinations, we can look forward to another good UPSR year."

In Negri Sembilan, state education director Datuk Abdullah Mohamad said a total of 19,844 candidates from the state sat for the UPSR at 334 examination centres throughout the state.
© Copyright 2008 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.
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At the service of humanity

At the service of humanity
8 Sep 2008, 0417 hrs IST, Sanjeev Kumar Verma,TNN


PATNA: It is seven in the evening and a house in city's Sri Krishna Nagar locality is humming with activities. A casual glance may give you an impression that those present there are busy making arrangements for somefamily function.

A closer look, however, will leave you surprised. For, the work going on there is not personal rather these people are busy making food packets forthe people who lost almost every thing in the Kosi flood this year. A group of some 20 women and a few schoolchildren, in fact, are working here for the last four days. The packaging work starts around 8 in the morning and is carried out well past nine in the evening. Till Sunday, over 2,000 food packets and over 500 packets of other essentials like clothes and items of daily use had been prepared.

A beginning was made by a group of residents who thought of collecting relief materials. "We were initially hesitant knowing nothing about the type of response we would get. The outcome, however, has left us completely surprised as people have contributed more than our expectations," said Javed who is part of the group that came up with the idea.

He said first they were expecting relief materials which could be sent in a tempo, but the way people responded the materials would now need at least two trucks for being sent to the flood-hit areas. "So far around 10 tonnes of edibles and five tonnes of other daily use items, including clothes, have been collected and contributions are still pouring in," he said and added that help was coming from almost all the localities of the city.

Overwhelmed with the response, women of the locality volunteered to make packets of food items and other materials and they gather here since 8 in the morning and stay for well over 12 hours. Food and tea for these women come from neighbourhood. Even some schoolchildren have joined them in this noble work and the house wears the look of a workshop where everyone is busy with some work.

"Helping the marooned ones is something every Bihari should think of. I have the satisfaction of having contributed something for those who lost everything," said Jaishree, a resident of Sri Krishna Nagar.

Aditi, a Class XII student of Mount Carmel School, echoed Jaishree when she said, "Helping people who have lost everything gives a satisfaction of a different kind," she said.

Copyright © 2008 Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service
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Big Brother is still walking tall

Big Brother is still walking tall
By Joniston Bangkuai

2008/09/03

KOTA MARUDU: When former students of St John's Institution in Kuala Lumpur received a call from their former director, they knew what the conversation was going to be about. Some had been fielding calls from the well-loved educationist for the last 12 years since he "discovered" the needs of the children in the interiors of Sabah. Brother Lawrence Spitzig invariably asked for financial assistance to help educate the children, and was usually rewarded by money or items.

His latest target group of children were in Paitan, a two-hour boat ride from here.

Spitzig had just secured sponsorship of 1,000 writing books as well as clothing for them.

It was easy getting Bata Malaysia to sponsor 200 pairs of shoes as company regional manager Datuk James Selvaraj was a former student.

At 90, Spitzig was undeterred by age and used a walking stick to move his frail frame into the boat taking him to Paitan.

He did not mind the exhausting journey as he was eager to meet more than 100 children from poor families attending classes in six kindergartens he had helped set up.

"I have heard so much about the predicament of the children there. I wanted to meet them so much and am glad I made it there," said Spitzig, who was twice director of St John's Institution, first between 1955 and 1961, and later between 1979 and 1983.

Spitzig became involved in supporting young people in impoverished regions in Sabah after a visit to poverty-stricken remote Kampung Sungai Magandai and Kampung Sosogon Magandai, about three hours by logging road from here, 12 years ago.

Among the many community projects that Spitzig hadbeen involved in was the construction of a hostel for rural students here.

He came to know about the plight of the children in Paitan who were being taught how to read and write by Loreto Convent sisters -- Sister Dorothy and Sister Hilary Laudi.

Sister Dorothy, who was posted to Kampung Dalamas in Paitan in 2005, saw the need for pre-school education in the village and started a kindergarten in a small chapel there.

With assistance in the form of cash and in kind secured through concerned individuals like Spitzig, Sister Dorothy was soon able to open up five new kindergartens in the area.

The other kindergartens are at Kg Lubang Buaya (18 pupils), Kg Suli (28 pupils), Kg Vatangon Darat (15 pupils), Kg Lakan (15 pupils) and Kg Tawanan (22 pupils).

"I was told that plans are afoot to build eight more kindergartens in eight villages in Paitan but this is only possible with more funds," said Spitzig, who came to Malaysia in 1938 and is a Malaysian citizen

Those wishing to donate can contact Sister Dorothy at 013-5477525 or the Loreto Convent in Kota Kinabalu at 088-711991.
© Copyright 2008 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.
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