From Tech to Food: How battling cancer at 29 prompted a career rediscovery
In 2021, database engineer Michelle Teo received her first-ever promotion at work. Then 29, she was on the cusp of taking on more projects and responsibilities in the technology sector. But then a breast cancer diagnosis derailed it all.
While taking a leave of absence from work, Michelle underwent a battery of treatments including chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy. Although she returned to her job over a year later, her body had changed.
Her days fell into a cycle of fatigue, illness and restless nights with only four hours of sleep. Even when she tried a part-time arrangement, it was still a struggle to juggle meetings and manage co-workers. The stress simply snowballed.
By 2023, she made the tough decision to resign for the sake of her health. “I felt a sense of relief,” she said. “My biggest struggle was lack of sleep and fatigue. I realised I would not end the cycle if I didn’t quit.”
She also enrolled in the SCS Return to Work programme, which helps cancer survivors understand their readiness to return to work, secure jobs, and how to cope and perform in their roles. It was also cathartic for Michelle. When a social worker initiated a discussion about her relationship with work, the floodgates opened. “I broke down in tears. I did not know what I was feeling and why I was overwhelmed.”
A Changed Perspective
Through the programme, Michelle enjoyed complimentary career support, occupational
therapy, and dietician services. Her energy levels, once a major bugbear, improved with exercise.
But there remained the question of purpose. “After I quit my job, I didn’t know what to do. I knew I wanted to contribute to some part of the rehabilitation process [for cancer patients] but didn’t know what,” she says.
Serendipitously, it was her cancer experience that informed her of the way forward. When she had returned to work, one of her bugbears was not having the time to cook healthy meals, a habit she had picked up when undergoing chemotherapy.
“Patients who go through chemotherapy can develop many food aversions and it’s hard if you live alone,” she adds. While people may have access to dietitians, they may not be able to cook or gain access to healthy food.
This knowledge, coupled with her lived experience, strengthened her passion to help others gain access to nutritious and affordable meals.
A new cause, a new chapter
Armed with a new focus, the last few months have been spent researching the food and beverage industry and upskilling. Through her social worker, Michelle got connected with food-based social enterprise The Social Kitchen to obtain work experience. For a while, she manned the fort at The Social Kitchen’s weekly pop-up cafe at the SCS office, preparing orders and learning the ins and outs of a running a cafe.
All that has laid the foundations for the next chapter in her life. These days, when she isn’t working part-time at an F&B establishment, she is busy helping SCS set up its more permanent cafe, CAmpung. The name, a portmanteau of ‘cancer’ and ‘kampung’, represents the hope to create a cancer-focused community; a safe space where those affected by the disease can learn from each other and access available resources. Oh, and coffee too, of course. CAmpung will debut on May 1, 2024 at SCS’s headquarters with an initial three-year run.
Michelle reflects on the life lessons she has picked up: “Before, I was working in a nine-to-five job where the only progress you see is getting promoted or finding a better job opportunity. I’ve since realised progress need not be linear. You can amass different skill sets throughout your life, pace yourself with various work arrangements while making meaningful contributions to society. There are so many possibilities,” she says.