Come and share in my efforts to make a difference in the lives of cancer survivors and their caregivers!

Contribute and help get “HELP! My wife has Cancer… A Practical Guide to Becoming the BEST Caregiver for Your Loved Ones with Cancer” published.

When I set out to write a book on becoming the best caregiver one can possibly be to a loved one with cancer, my wife Jennifer was still with us. I was driven to write the book because I could not find any resource for caregivers like me -- that could answers my questions, give me support, help me cope with my pain and in short, provide an easy how-to guide to follow.

So I started writing, full of hope that it would help me in my journey as Jennifer’s caregiver. I started writing the book as a kind of journal, a “how-to” guide compiled from the notes I kept for every visit to the doctor, for every therapy she underwent. I had hoped it would be a wonderful gift to both Jennifer and myself when she went into remission, that I could publish it to help others like me.

But it was not to be. Jennifer left us.

Six months after she passed away, I took time off work and spent it caring for our son and writing. It was a form of self-prescribed therapy. The words were angry and bitter, full of pain and hurt. It was very therapeutic, but would not really have offered much help to anyone else. Perhaps the therapy was indeed only meant for me.

I put the entire project aside, and moved on to other forms of therapy (which I describe in the book).

Then I chanced upon “The Last Lecture” on YouTube. It was and still is, the most compelling video I’ve ever watched in my life. Randy Pausch inspired me to write this third version of the book that I now need your help to publish.

This book has been written to inspire caregivers of cancer patients, particularly if your loved one has terminal disease.
You may be reading this because you are a caregiver. Or you may be a cancer survivor. Or someone in your life has been touched with cancer – whatever the case may be – I am glad you are reading this.

I need your help, financially and in other ways, to see that this book gets published.

I have consulted my printers, and they tell me that the printing cost for each book is around RM15 (or US$4.30). I intend to have 5,000 copies printed, which will cost RM75,000 (US$21,500). I will fund RM25,000 of this amount, and I now need your help to cover the shortfall of RM50,000.

From the 5,000 copies I will make 2,000 copies freely available to the Oncology units in all the major government hospitals in Malaysia, and sell the rest for RM30 (US$8.50) each. The entire proceeds will be donated to LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation who Jennifer, Michael Jr and I support and to local cancer charities. I hope to raise RM100,000 with this effort – the money will go along way to help, I am sure.

But more important than the money, is the message the book contains. This book has the potential to change lives – I know, because it changed mine.

The experience of being a caregiver to my late wife has made me realize my full potential as a human being. The experience helped me transcend physical love (Eros) and move to unconditional love (Agape).

I have had to look death in the eye and accept it.

I have had to let go of the most precious moments in my memory – the future we planned together and embrace the reality of life with her, just as she was. Making the most of the precious time we had left together.

I have had to live up to my end of the bargain when we made our matrimonial vows to each other: “for better or for worse, in sickness and in health” and kept it to the end, “till death do us part”.

I encourage you to take a moment now and think of the people in your lives whom this book could help. And then please help me get it published.

I have set-up two bank accounts for this purpose.

The first is a Maybank account primarily for my friends in Malaysia, the second is with HSBC so that contributors from outside of Malaysia can also send monies for this effort.

Here are the account details:

Maybank:
Account Name: Michael Gilbert Chan Hong Beng

Bank: Malayan Banking Berhad

Account Number: 114393016550

SWIFT Code: MBBEMYKL

HSBC:
Account Name: Michael Gilbert Chan Hong Beng
Bank: HSBC
Account Number: 359-256203-108
Bank Address: KL, Malaysia
SWIFT Code: HBMBMYKL

Please do give what you can, as they say, no amount is too little.

As an added incentive, I will send anyone who contributes RM100 (US$28.50) or more a yellow LIVESTRONG wristband. For contributors of RM500 (US$143) or more, I will send you an autographed copy of the book once it is published. Contributors of RM1,000 (US$285) or more will be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section of the book (please let me know if you want your contributions to be anonymous).

So my friends please spread the word for me. I will post on my blog and FB page once the RM75,000 has been reached as I do not need more than that.

If you feel the need to reach out to me, please drop me a note at mc@vinebranches.org. I read every e-mail and will respond as necessary so please do write to me. If I can help make your role as caregiver that much easier and that much better I will.