Ms Lim 林女士

In Uncle Tan’s community garden, there is a regular volunteer who has been helping to cut herbs.  Ms Lim, 42, is a homemaker.

Looking as healthy as one can be, one cannot tell that she is a cancer patient.  In March 2015, Ms Lim’s doctor would not operate on her as her breast tumour has deteriorated beyond cure.  Told that she had barely six months to live.  Ms Lim did not give up hope.  She continued to take the medication prescribed as well as her own health supplements.  Being a Buddhist, she recited chants to calm herself down.  She adjusted her lifestyle and ate healthier. One month passed and she was surprised to find her cancer tumour had gotten better.

One year later, Ms Lim found that the condition of her cancer tumour was no longer as pressing as before.  In February 2016, Ms Lim started volunteering at Uncle Tan’s community garden.  She familiarised herself with the medicinal herbs and started using them to battle her conditions.  The herbs she consume include Strobilanthes crispus, Vernoia amygdalina, Leea indica, and napier grass.

The 938 community garden Ms Lim volunteered at is special to her.  It is from there that she has gained the wealth of knowledge on the use of herbs, understood the need to be selfless and the broader meaning of love.  Ms Lim is a happier person now; she knows that she help others, like her,  seek hope and help.

在陈先生的938草药园里，有一个女义工不时来帮忙剪草药。42岁的林女士是个家庭主妇。

从外表看来，林女士与一般的义工没有分别。其实，林女士同时也是一个癌症病患。2015三月，医生拒绝为林女士的乳癌肿瘤动手术，因为风险实在太大。同时也告诉她她只剩下半年的寿命。林女士并没因此而放弃自己。她继续服用西药及保健品，因笃信佛教，她也以念经来保持心情平和，并且改变心态接受自己的状况。在饮食方面，林女士也做出调整，让自己吃得比较健康。一个月后，林女士竟然发现自己的肿瘤状况有所改善。

一年下来，林女士的肿瘤不但没有恶化，反而得到改善。今年二月，林女士便开始在陈先生的草药园帮忙。因为对草药有了认识，她也开始服用草药抗癌。她所用的草药包括黑面将军，南非叶，岩陀叶和马草。

在林女士的眼中，938草药园犹如一个知识宝库，她可以在这里学到很多草药的知识。但是，在这个知识宝库里，让她最获益不浅的却是感受到大爱与无私的奉献精神。现在的林女士活得更开心，因为她知道她也能帮助到跟她一样有需要的人。

Mr Yeo 杨先生

Mr Yeo, 51, is a landscaping contractor.  Diagnosed with nephritis at the age of 15, he had been taking both Western and Chinese medicine and was spared the need for dialysis.

In 2012, Mr Yeo got to know Uncle Tan through a friend.  He started taking fresh herbs prescribed by Uncle Tan such as Orthosiphon aristatus, more commonly known as cat’s whiskers plant.  The herbs helped him to reduce his dependence on Western medicine, and replaced the Chinese medicine he had been taking.

Now Mr Yeo visits Uncle Tan whenever he feels that he may be suffering a relapse (one of the symptoms is difficulty in passing urine).  Uncle Tan would prescribe herbs to help him ease the symptoms.

Mr Yeo has accepted that there is no permanent cure. But he is thankful that herbs have helped him to ease the symptoms and to manage the condition, to thus far avoid injections, hospitalisation and dialysis.   He does not take it for granted but makes an effort to lead a healthy lifestyle through diet and regular exercise.

今年51岁的杨先生从事园景工程。他在15岁时发现自己患了肾炎。从那时开始便长期服用中药与西药。所幸避免了洗肾的噩运。

杨先生在2012年通过佛友的介绍认识了陈先生 后便开始服用草药。其中一样便是猫须草。那一阵子，他依时服用草药以减少对西药的依赖，并停止服用中药。

近年来，每当杨先生发现自己的肾炎即将发作时（排尿变得困难） ，便会拜访陈先生并取草药服用。如此缓和肾炎，他可免得打针住院，甚至洗肾。杨先生在生活作息方面也做出了改变，运动与均衡饮食已经是他生活的一部分。

杨先生知道他无法扭转自己与肾炎长期抗战的命运，所以他选择了用草药来减缓肾炎所引起的不便。草药虽然不能成为他的救星，但却也是他生活中不可或缺的一部分。至少，它让他在这艰辛的人生道路上活得更具信心。

Kate 柯小妹

We all know that PSLE is the biggest challenge faced by all students in their primary years of education in Singapore. The stress of this national examination is so nerve-wracking that even the immediate family members feel it as much as the students themselves. As if that were not bad enough, imagine the tremendous amount of stress a 12-year old student has to cope with when she is simultaneously undergoing a fight with a life-threatening disease. This is a real story that occurred last year, to a girl named Kate.

In July 2015, her mother noticed a lump on Kate’s right temple. Examination by her doctor confirmed that it was a tumour of 7 cm diameter. Kate’s case was extremely rare and her doctor suggested an operation to remove the tumour. After her PSLE, Kate underwent the operation. However, bits of the tumour remained and her doctor suggested using chemotherapy and radiotherapy to treat it. As these two procedures might cause complications, including blinding Kate’s right eye, Kate’s parents eventually declined the treatment.

After consulting Uncle Tan, Kate’s mother decided to use medical herbalism as part of Kate’s treatment.  Prior to the operation, Kate started taking fresh medicinal herbs to counter the effects of the disease. The herbs were Rhaphidophora pinnata, Strobilanthes crispus, Callicarpa longiforlia and Artemisia vulgaris. After the operation, Kate continued taking medicinal herbs but changed to Rodgersia sambucifolia hemsl, Clinacanthus nutans and Annona muricata. Kate now watches her diet closely and lives her life no differently from an ordinary Secondary One student. She undergoes MRI and CT scans every three months to monitor the condition of her tumour. Happily, the results of the latest scan show a slight improvement in her condition.

It was certainly a blow for Kate and her family when they first learned the news of her tumour. However, Kate never faltered, taking it all in her stride, with the help and support from her dearest ones.

We tell this story to show that fighting against life-threatening illnesses need not be a lone war.  With the help and support from family and friends, the war can be better fought.

在我国，小六离校会考是所有学生都要经历的一个重大考验。应考的莘莘学子感受的压力之大不在话下，其父母与其他家庭成员个个也都如临大敌。去年，有一个正在准备应考的小六女生，却也同时在准备一场不同于一般的搏杀，一场为自己争取生存权益的搏杀。这名勇敢的女生名叫Kate, 今年十三岁。

去年7月，Kate 的母亲发现Kate右额头上长了一个小肿块， 便带她去给医生检验。检验结果发现是一个7公分大的肿瘤。因为情况罕见，医生建议动手术把肿瘤切除。会考之后，医生便为Kate进行手术把大部分的肿瘤切除。医生也同时建议对残留的肿瘤进行化疗与电疗。但基于疗程或会导致Kate右眼失明与其他副作用，Kate的父母最终决定不让女儿进行疗程。

因为Kate不抗拒吃草药，在与Uncle Tan咨询之后，Kate的母亲便以鲜草药来作为治疗的一部分。手术之前，Kate吃的草药是爬树龙，黑面将军，米碎花和艾草。手术之后，Kate吃的草药是岩陀叶，忧遁草和红毛榴莲叶。Kate的饮食均衡，每天的生活也与一般的中学生没有两样。每三个月，她需要返回医院做核磁共振检查（MRI）与电脑断层扫描 (CT scan)。最近的检查结果显示肿瘤有变小的迹象。

回忆当Kate 与家人获知患瘤的消息时，可真是当头棒喝。但年纪轻轻的Kate并没有屈服于老天给她的挑战。在整个抗瘤过程中她都保持着乐观与积极的态度。当然，母亲无微不至的照顾与家人无时无刻的关怀自也功不可没。

希望Kate的故事能让所有与病魔战斗的朋友们深切地明白到抗战过程或许艰辛，但那绝对不是孤军作战!

Madam Lee's Personal Account 李女士的自述

When the doctor told me in 2009 that I had a malignant tumour, the only word that could describe my feeling was “astonished”. I felt helpless. When I thought of my youngest son, who was four, the distress simply multiplied. Many people rallied round with all sorts of homeopathic cures but, in the end, these confused me as I really did not know how to use them properly.

I met Uncle Tan one day and he introduced me to medicinal herbs. That marked the beginning of my journey of herbal treatment.  Eating raw Vernonia amygdalina was a daily routine when I was undergoing chemotherapy. Of course, I survived to tell this story.

I do not blame my ill fate as this experience of cancer has influenced my life and my thinking. I have learned to think more positively and have since managed to take more things in my stride. I cherish what I have now and I hope you all do.

2009 年，当医生面无表情地对我说我有肿瘤时，霎那间我真不知如何面对这晴天霹雳的消息。再加上小儿子当时才四岁、真让我不知如何是好！难过、绝望的念头总是在我脑海里浮现。亲戚、朋友和同事们排山倒海地介绍各种的治疗土法，也让我不知如何取舍！

直到有一天我去到陈先生的草药园与陈叔会面，他和蔼可亲地向我说明草药的功效、也解释了草药的服用方法。就这样我开始了草药治疗。当我在做化疗时，每天都生吃南非叶。我不但平安度过化疗时期，也一直健康地活到现在。

当然这个经历对我的生活与工作有一定的影响。但我认为山不转, 路转，路不转, 人转，人不转, 心转。我们来到这个世界，不要怨自己投错胎，既来之，则安之，做好本分，安分守己，脚踏实地活着就对了。

现在的我可以勇敢地面对工作、人际关系、家庭 与世俗的纷纷扰扰。更会寻回灵魂的最初、最随意、属于自己的怡然自得。并从中获得心灵与精神的满足、惬意、闲适与放松。这才能真正体会美丽人生的意义！

现在的我特别感谢命运。过去的种种，让我更懂得珍惜！

有一种幸福叫做拥有，更有一种幸福叫做珍惜。