How many people do you know who have been touched by cancer? From family and friends to colleagues and neighbours, you may be surprised by the number of people in Hong Kong who are living each day with the physical, emotional, and financial concerns of a cancer diagnosis.

We need your help to continue to provide our much needed FREE professional services. Please can you help us raise HK$3 million to ensure that no one faces cancer alone?

Cancer is not just a medical journey, it affects every part of a person’s life. It brings both challenges and milestones, and it impacts the lives of the entire family.

This has been the reality for Mrs. Wong and her husband, whose story reminds us why support, compassion, and timely care matter so much.

Mrs. Wong was just 48 years old when she was diagnosed with Stage IV liver cancer in 2016. The cancer had already spread to her lungs and brain. As a nurse working in a medical clinic, she had always been the one caring for others. Suddenly, she found herself on the other side, no longer the caregiver, but the one needing care.

Over the years, she underwent targeted therapy, chemotherapy, liver surgery, and most recently, brain surgery in 2023. Her cancer journey was long and at times it was also difficult, but she never gave up. Along the way, she found strength and support at the Cancer Fund.

Mrs. Wong first came to us in 2021 before her liver surgery. She had one-on-one counselling and her distress level was tested and was a moderate 5 out of 10. She joined a peer support group, where she found comfort in sharing her journey with others who understood. Her husband often joined her for couple’s therapy. She also participated in sound healing and art therapy classes, where she finally found a safe space to release her buried emotions.

“In my first counselling session, I finally felt like I wasn’t alone. Just having someone truly listen made such a difference. It gave me the strength to face what was ahead with more hope and less fear,” Mrs. Wong shared.

With regular ongoing counselling sessions and holistic support, Mrs. Wong was learning to live well with cancer. However, in September 2022, her husband, who was 61 years old and recently retired from his job in a restaurant, was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The news brought a wave of stress and worry for both of them, and the Cancer Fund soon noticed that they had become unusually withdrawn and quieter. As a result, their distress levels were reassessed, and both of them scored 10 out of 10, indicating the immense emotional strain they were under.

“Mrs. Wong had already been part of our support network and was doing well managing her own diagnosis through counselling and therapeutic programmes. But when her husband was diagnosed, we saw a sudden shift and she became much quieter, more withdrawn. They were both trying so hard to protect each other that they weren’t expressing how scared they really were. Our role was to help them reconnect, speak openly, and realise they didn’t have to carry this alone.” Mr Elvin Wong, Centre Manager, Kwai Chung Cancer Support Centre

Through joint counselling sessions, we helped them talk openly, manage their fears, and re-establish emotional support within their relationship. Our oncology nurse provided practical advice, helped explain treatment options, and guided them through managing side effects, giving them back a sense of control.

During their counselling sessions, our team discovered that the couple’s challenges went beyond the emotional distress and cancer treatment side effects. They had been hiding the extent of their financial struggles that were having a huge impact on their stress levels and causing them constant worry. They had been borrowing money from family, friends, and had taken out a bank loan to help pay for some of Mrs Wong’s treatment and were trying to shoulder both the emotional and financial burdens on their own.

Thanks to donors like you, we were able to provide emergency financial assistance, easing their daily burden and allowing them to focus on healing.

“We were drowning,” Mrs. Wong said. “We never expected help, but when it came, it felt like someone had lifted a huge weight off our shoulders.”

Today, we are grateful and relieved to share that both Mr. and Mrs. Wong are on the road to recovery. Their treatments have been successful, and they continue to receive support through our counselling services and wellness programmes.

“We are deeply grateful to the Cancer Fund and all the donors,” Mr. Wong added. “You gave us more than support, you gave us hope.”

Please help us raise HK$3 million to continue these life-changing services. Your donation, no matter the size, can make an immediate and lasting difference.

HK$500 – Will enable 1 patient to take part in our emotion and stress management Wellness programme.

HK$1,000 – Will enable 2 patients to receive a tailored recovery plan from our case management team.

HK$1,500 – Will go towards supporting a family with food coupons from our Hardship Fund.

The Wong’s’ story is one of resilience, love, and the transformative power of support. Their journey is not unique, this is just one of the many cases and families we see at our Cancer Support Centres.

With your help, we can continue to ensure that they don’t face their journey alone by offering emotional healing, financial relief, and essential support from all of our professional team.