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Members of the 40-strong choir give a performance at Maggie's Cancer Centre in Tuen Mun. Photo: David Wong

Choir offers cancer patients the confidence to face their challenges

Choir helps sufferers realise they are not alone and to develop the confidence to face their challenges in a supportive environment

LO WEI

Before tragedy struck, Yip Mak-fong and her husband, Wong Hak-yan, had thought they had only each other.

But now they are surrounded by a group of like-minded companions in their battle against cancer.

"I had given up on myself. I just wanted to take my final journey with my husband," Yip said.

Yip, 58, was diagnosed with liver cancer five years ago. The cancer had spread to her gall bladder, and doctors said little else could be done for her.

Wong, 71, was diagnosed with lung cancer 10 years ago. He had a relapse in 2010 and has resumed chemotherapy.

Four months ago the couple joined a choir with other cancer patients at Maggie's Cancer Caring Centre in Tuen Mun. They also started attending a songwriting class at the centre.

"I found confidence and hope. It's like seeing rainbows. I'm not depressed any more," Yip said. "I gained the strength to face everything each day."

Meeting other cancer patients also changed Yip's views towards the disease.

"I listened to how the others faced it," she said. "In the past, I didn't know what to do. But now I think that these are things that we have to go through in life, so we should just face them happily."

The choir, which has about 40 members, is part of the centre's music therapy service to give patients psychological support.

"Taking part in the choir encourages them to sing together without having to worry about how well they sing," centre head Helen Lui Wong Yun-fong said.

The choir performed at the Space Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui this month and will perform in Kowloon Park next month.

Operation Santa Claus, jointly organised by the and RTHK, is raising funds for the centre to provide more diversified music therapies to cater to different patients' needs.

The cancer centre - designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry with the aim of making patients feel at home - has one-on-one and group music therapy sessions as well as instrument-playing and song-writing classes.

It also provides other free services, such as counselling, consultations with nurses and yoga classes.

Music therapist Chung King-man said the patients were encouraged to share their memories and feelings through the songs they sang.

Under Chung's guidance, Yip, Wong and two other patients wrote a song to thank their families for their support.

Wong was in tears as he sang the song, Yip said. "He's a rather conservative person," she said of her husband. "It's the first time I have seen him express his feelings like this through singing."

 

HOW YOU CAN GIVE

  • Donate online by credit card at osc.scmp.com
  • Donate at an ATM or at any HSBC branch (account no: 502-676299-001 for SCMP Charities Ltd - Operation Santa Claus)
  • Send a cheque payable to "SCMP Charities Ltd - Operation Santa Claus". Mail it to: Operation Santa Claus, Morning Post Centre, 22 Dai Fat Street, Tai Po Industrial Estate, New Territories
  • Donations of HK$100 or more are tax-deductible. If you require a tax receipt, please send the completed donation form and original bank receipt, with your name, address and telephone number, to the previously mentioned address. Please call 2680 8159 or e-mail [email protected] with any inquiries, or visit us online at osc.scmp.com

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Cancer patients with a song in their hearts
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