KUALA NERANG: Wan Fahimah Wan Mohamad, a 27-year-old student at Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, has put her studies on hold and taken up a cleaning job to fund her stage three breast cancer treatment.
The final-year Bachelor of Quranic and Qiraat Studies student was diagnosed with breast cancer in January and she now works as a public toilet cleaner at Pantai Merdeka, here.
When met at her home in Kampung Kepala Atas in Pedu, Wan Fahimah shared that doctors confirmed her diagnosis after conducting two biopsies.
"I decided to defer my final semester this year," she said.
She added that she rides her motorcycle alone from her rented house in Taman Desa Mutiara, Kuala Ketil for bi-weekly check-ups at Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital in Sungai Petani.
However, she could only work for three weeks due to frequent health issues, and her salary was used to cover the costs of her commute and hospital treatments.
Wan Rahimah did not want to burden her family as her father, Wan Mohamad Othman, 56, only works as a security guard and her mother, Rodhiah Safie, 49, sells frozen 'kuih' while supporting six other children who are still in school.
"For chemotherapy, I forced myself to ride my motorcycle to and from the hospital, even after treatments. I have now completed six rounds of chemotherapy," she said.
Wan Fahimah said she recently underwent surgery to remove cancer cells from her right breast at Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital on July 16 and would continue with 15 sessions of radiotherapy at Penang Hospital.
"I plan to rent a house near Penang Hospital to ease my treatment process. Previously, I had to pay RM53 per chemotherapy session and RM258 for my recent surgery.
"For radiotherapy, the cost may exceed RM300 per session, not including the house rental and bill charges," she added, noting that doctors also found a lump in her left breast.
Nevertheless, Wan Fahimah remained determined to continue her hospital treatments.
Wan Fahimah had previously studied in Egypt but had to return to Malaysia in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
When she wanted to resume her studies there, her parents could not afford to finance it.
"So I decided to continue my studies here before being diagnosed with this illness," she said.
Wan Fahimah received a donation of RM1,200 from Cancer Survivors Malaysia chairman Zuraini Kamal to help alleviate her financial burden.