Patient Experiences
Interview Welly Djaja
Personal Information:
Full name: Welly Djaja
Age: 49
Sex: Female
Country: Indonesia
Diagnosis: Breast Cancer
Date & place of diagnosis: Indonesia, 16 years ago
Date of arrival for treatment in Beijing: Sep. 20, 2009
Welly Djaja is a 49 years old woman, originally from Indonesia. Welly has breast cancer with metastasizes to her lymph nodes. She has already been battling cancer for the last 16 years.
Before arriving to Beijing, Welly was treated in Singapore for many years with chemotherapy only. She battled cancer during all those years, but time after time, the cancer returned.
Lately, Welly has decided to come to China for Gene therapy treatment for cancer.
On the September 20, 2009, Welly arrived in Beijing together with her daughter, Hilda (22 years) and her brother, Buhi. Back in Indonesia, Welly and her family have their own shop. During her stay in China now, the shop is being taking care of by her husband and her son.
Because Welly has been fighting cancer for a very long time with no big improvement and because chemotherapy made her very weak, she decided to give gene therapy a try.
Welly came across gene therapy on the internet. In addition, few friends of her told her about the treatment. She had also heard about another hospital in Guangzhou that provides treatments for cancer, but preferred to come to Beijing.
Welly was afraid before coming to China. She considers it as a totally different new experience for her. Although her fears, Welly strongly hopes that gene therapy will help her to fight the disease.
Welly’s biggest obstacles in Beijing are the language barrier and the food. Welly does not speak English and is used to different types of food. Nonetheless, her daughter and her brother speak English very well and can communicate with the doctors and the medical staff who usually can speak English.
On September 24, Welly started her first gene therapy treatment. She will be staying at the hospital for at least two months. Together with the treatment, Welly has also started taking already some traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), that so far seems to have a good effect on her weak body.
Both Welly and her family think that the facilities in Beijing are quite good. Their room is wide enough and satisfyingly accessorized. An extra bed was added to the room for Hilda, Welly’s daughter so that she can stay beside her mother all the time. The hospital surroundings are quiet and pleasant too. Although the hospital in Singapore was more conveniently located in the center of the city comparing to the hospital in Beijing, the room in Beijing is nicer and bigger and the treatment is much more affordable.
The doctors and the nurses are very supportive and nice. Welly’s direct personal Doctor visits her twice a day and Dr. Li, the head of the gene therapy treatments at the Phoenix hospital, visits her once a week.
Welly and her daughter Hilda have not done yet much sightseeing as for they just arrived a week ago. Hilda did go around the neighborhood together with one of the nurses and to the nearby supermarket. Welly is too weak to do any exhausting activity. She usually goes for a walk around the hospital and watches TV, but she feels satisfied with that and comfortable. Welly is getting more used to the environment and hoping for the gene therapy treatment in China to bring her better life and good health.
