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My name is Anna Tan Soi Hong and I’m 72 years old this year. In January 2007, I felt a pain on my left breast around my armpit area. Initially, I went for a mammogram but the result did not show anything. However, after 2 weeks, I insisted on doing an ultrasound and a biopsy where I was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. With the advice from the doctor, I went ahead with the surgery and 5 weeks of radiation therapy.

I came to know of 365 Cancer Prevention Society (365CPS) through a fellow cancer survivor around 2015. When I first joined the Society, I was very interested in ukulele and painting classes. Since then, 365CPS has become my second home. Due to Covid-19, Singapore underwent a circuit breaker during which all of us had to stay home. Normally, I would go hiking and brisk walking to keep my body active but with the circuit breaker, I could not go out. I am thankful for the virtual classes conducted by the Social Service Centre which allowed me to continue exercising at home via Zoom. I also joined Zentangle, Zumba and Zoom classes that were organised by 365CPS.

I always looked forward to attending the Zentangle art classes because I love to draw and the teacher is very patient and pleasant.

In one of the Zentangle classes, the teacher taught us to divide our lives into four different stages and use an object or photo that relates to each part of our life journey in the artwork. As I drew tangles through each stage of my life, I reminisced my days before and after my cancer diagnosis. I cried. The artwork was so beautiful and the entire process helped me to relieve all the pain I had felt due to this illness – having the privacy of doing this assignment at home also allowed me to release all my emotions better.

In general, I felt very at ease attending the virtual classes at home then. There was no stress and no hassle with the need to travel to classes.

I would like to thank 365CPS for organising all the Zoom classes during the circuit breaker. Despite all the restrictions, these activities relieved me from the boredom experienced during the period and more importantly, I was able to continue leading a healthy lifestyle. Also, many thanks to the wonderful staff at 365CPS for all their help and patience. I really appreciate my care leader for her love and concern. She never failed to call, encourage and update me on the various online activities at 365CPS.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in person soon!