Expat Living Singapore – July 2019

76 JULY 2019

I

n 2012, Lesli Berggren’s seemingly

healthy, football-playing son Nils was

diagnosed with a rare form of stage four

lymphoma. She spent the next year and

a half navigating her son’s cancer, in and

out of hospitals in Singapore and Seattle.

Miraculously, he beat cancer, only to die

months later from complications arising from a stem

cell transplant. Lesli talked to us about what she

went through and about her charity that supports

children with cancer.

Help people understand what it’s like to be

in the haze of a cancer diagnosis.

At first, you’re in total shock. Everything feels completely

surreal. The terminology is all very

foreign and confusing, yet you

have to quickly make decisions

about treatment and you just have

to keep moving. You keep asking,

“How can this happen to my child?”

And then, when you finally have

time to let it sink in, you just lose

it. You cry. You beg. You pray. You

promise. You’d trade anything for

life to be normal again, for your

child to be healthy.

Is a cancer diagnosis more than just about

curing the disease?

Singapore is the hub for paediatric oncology

treatment in Southeast Asia. The doctors are amazing

at doing what they do – saving lives. But cancer affects

the entire family and it’s just plain hard. Parents

seeking treatment for their child have to find their

way through complex, often puzzling healthcare

systems. Both parent and child face immense

HELPING HANDS

What would you do if the unthinkable happened and

your child died from cancer-related complications?

LESLI BERGGREN launched a charity to help others.

challenges, which can lead to anxiety,

isolation and depression. Families need

guidance, emotional care, a strong

community and other forms of support

that some hospitals may not be able to fully provide.

After his death, how did you cope? Where

did your thoughts go?

I sought out as many therapeutic sources as I could to

help me move through the pain of loss. I wrote down

everything that happened during Nils’ illness to help

release more grief. I realised that patients and families

need more support navigating the healthcare system