Wings of Hope: What Growing Up Around Cancer is Like
As the gentle sounds of a guitar fill the air, university student Kenji Ng sings Invisible Wings by Angela Chang, a song that speaks to the power of inner strength and courage.
Addressing the audience of cancer patients and their families, he shares, “The wings of hope are not visible to the eye but reside within our hearts.”
“Let’s spread our invisible wings, uplift one another and advocate for those affected by cancer.”
He is performing at an event hosted by the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS), a group that is inextricable from his family’s history. As the son of a cancer patient, Kenji has benefitted from SCS’s support over the years.
This performance is his little way of expressing thanks and spreading a message of hope to the rest of the cancer community.
Touched by Cancer at a Young Age
Cancer stories tend to revolve around the patient. What goes unspoken is how the disease can deeply impact their families and loved ones as well.
For young children, seeing a parent battle cancer can be stressful and evoke feelings of anger, grief and even rejection. Older children may feel compelled to take on caregiving roles and in the process, lose their own identity.
Kenji was only eight months old when his father was diagnosed with nose cancer. “It was a very challenging and uncertain time for my family. Our lives took an unexpected turn,” he recounted.
The elder Mr Ng was unable to work and had to use a nasogastric tube to take in liquid nutrition. He received welfare aid assistance from SCS to defray the financial burden of his treatments. With immense determination, Kenji’s mother became the family’s sole breadwinner.
Despite these unnerving changes, Kenji’s journey was also graced by love, resilience and hope.
Soon enough, he and his younger brother started getting support from SCS’s Help the Children and Youth Programme. Conceived in 2009, the programme equips children of cancer patients with tools to cope with the impact of the disease and live their lives to the fullest.
One common concern cancer patients have is whether the disease will disrupt their children’s education.
Thankfully, Kenji and his brother benefitted from free tuition as well as SCS’s Education Financial Assistance Scheme, which provided them with an allowance. While their mother worked at a tuition centre to support the family, these resources allowed the brothers to focus on their studies and pursue higher learning opportunities.
A Life of Opportunities Ahead
Despite – or perhaps, because of – the challenges growing up around cancer, Kenji has emerged as a role model for resilience.
His LinkedIn reveals a hard worker who is striving for more. He has straddled part-time work since he was 14, embracing diverse roles such as a masseur, flyer distributor, tutor, musical actor, emcee, photographer and sales. He has also found time to release a song entitled 我爱你爱到快疯掉.
Now an undergraduate at Nanyang Technological University, Kenji is pursuing a degree in business, specialising in marketing. He recently began an exchange at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, marking his first journey to Europe.
His younger brother, a Raffles Institution alumnus, is now serving National Service and exploring further education opportunities.
For both boys, the future is bright and only just beginning. In a LinkedIn post, Kenji recounts his performance of Invisible Wings and his lifelong journey with SCS.
Addressing the organisation, he writes: “Your dedication is truly remarkable, and I am forever grateful for the impact you make in the lives of those affected by cancer.”