JOHOR BARU: A post by a medical officer questioning the decision by the Health Ministry not to approve financial assistance for her mother's cancer treatment, despite her having served for years as a nurse.
Dr Ngu Pei Hwa expressed disappointment after applications for aid for her mother were rejected, leaving her family to shoulder the high cost of treatment at Hospital Sultan Ismail here.
"My mother, a retired staff nurse, spent her entire career serving under the ministry. She served in Sarawak, including Kapit, Limbang and Sibu, places many would avoid, before retiring with a monthly pension of RM1,900," she said in a Facebook post that has since gone viral.
She said her mother is battling high-grade serous ovarian cancer and conventional chemotherapy has failed to stop the disease.
According to Dr Ngu, her mother's oncologist recommended Olaparib (Lynparza), a treatment aimed at prolonging her life, which costs RM12,760 per month.
"We turned to the system she gave her life to but applications for assistance from both the Health Ministry and the Public Service Department were marked 'tidak disokong' (not supported).
"A nurse who spent her entire career serving the nation is now left to fight for her life without support," she said.
Dr Ngu, who serves in the public healthcare system, said the experience had raised wider concerns about support for frontline workers.
"I serve the same system. I believe in public healthcare.
"But today, I am also a daughter trying to find RM12,760 every single month just to keep my mother alive," she said, adding that she is also raising two young children.
"We are not asking for luxury. We are asking for fairness, for humanity, and for the system to take care of its own," she added.
