Bubur Gastric.....

May 30 (Day 7 of Cycle 3)

Scene 1, Act 1:

At home, I was grovelling in pain. I woke up at 4 am with a fresh wave of nausea and spasms in my tummy. And burping too loudly for 4 am in the morning.

Kakak: Adek, masih sakit ke? Kakak buat air halia lagi, ya?

Me: Ok, aduuh....macam ni hari ni saya mesti jumpa doctor.

Kakak: Pergi lah, ambil ubat. Mungkin kurang sakit nya nanti.

Me: Tapi saya takut doctor marah nanti kalau dia tahu saya makan laksa hari tu.

Kakak: Adek mesti beritahu, jangan bohong, nanti di beri salah ubat.

Me: Ok, Ok lah....nak marah marah lah.

Scene 2 , Act 1

At the Medical Center. I was contorted in pain in the Onco Reception waiting for my turn, and burping every few seconds. A big crowd today but everyone else looked sickly as well, except they were all politely silent.

Nurse at Reception: You still have gastric since that day , is it?

Me: Ya, lah. It comes and go. It is back this morning.

Nurse from Chemo Ward: Kak Azmi ada booster ke today?

Me: No, sakit gastric.

Nurse: Oh, don't worry , nanti doctor kasi Nexium.

Me: Nexium tu apa?

Nurse: For gastric .

Me: Can I get take some first while waiting for my turn?

Nurse: Hmm, doctor has to see you first.

Scene 3 , Act 1

In Doctor's office

90 minutes of pain disguised with strained smile to whomever passed by. Finally, my name was called.

Onco: Morning, how are you?

Me: "Morning, Dr, I am not fine....I haven't been fine since this morning...

Onco: What's wrong?

Me: Tummy cramps, very sharp and persistent. Nausea.

Onco: Nausea? Still? Cramps where exactly? Come, let me examine you.

Onco/Nurse/Me moved to he examination area. Onco examined and pressed tummy and below ribcage ( very hard, bloated and full of air). I burped. Many times and very freely and loudly.

Me: Ooops,sorry, doctor. Angin.

Onco: Hmm, I think it is gastric. Let's get back to the table.

Onco: When did this start?

Me: Since Sunday and has continued on and off since then.

Onco: Hmm, you had your Chemo when - Thursday?

Me: Yes....

Onco: Hmm, you are still nauseous since Thursday?

Me: I was quite okay until Sunday.

Onco: Have you been eating well?

Me: Errr...(pause and look around at pictures and floral baskets on the shelves in Onco's room)....yes but last night and today no appetite pulak.

Onco: What have you been eating? Anything spicy?

Me: Errr ...( now really don't know where else to look, so look at Onco's face)...

.....not too spicy...just to work up an appetite...

Onco: What did you eat? Kari?

Me: Yes, kari a bit....and (trying to mumble through this)...assam laksa...(whisper)

Onco: What, Assam Laksa? When?

Me: On Sunday.....but it wasn't too spicy, masam sikit aje.

Onco: ...Hmm, when will I be seeing you next? In 2 weeks? Okay...no assam laksa, no sambal, no chilli, no spicy food until then and we will see what happens. In the meantime, I am giving you Nexium daily for 2 weeks every morning and during the day Liquid Gaviscon. Make sure at least 1 hr interval after Nexium, before you take Gaviscon...okay, you have to jaga makan sikit.

Me: No spicy, no chilli, no sambal, no laksa....what can I eat, doctor?

Onco: Porridge.

Scene 4, Act 1

I got home with some beef to be turned into porridge. Stewed the beef slowly so that all the goodness seeped out into the broth. Kakak came in at about 6.30pm

Kakak: Sudah dapat ubat , Adek? Doktor cakap apa?

Me: Sudah, dua jenis. Mahal. Pasal Laksa 2 ringgit ubat beratus .....Gastric

Kakak: Itu lah, kalau doctor suruh pantang memang elok pantang. Hari ini nak makan apa?

Me: Bubur.

Kakak: Boleh lalu makan bubur?

Me: Boleh....saya nak baik cepat. Esok nak balik kampung. Nanti saya ajar buat bubur segera.

An hour later, my friend who dropped by when the bubur was brewing and Kakak was stirring away, exclaimed that something smells delicious in the kitchen.

Friend: Sedapnye.....Bubur apa ni, macam mana Kakak buat?

Me: My recipe....ini bubur Gastric. ......saute garlic, shallot, ginger, black pepper. Add cubed beef and cubed potatoes. Add salt. Add washed rice, add beef broth and brew until mushy. Serve with steamed vegetables (carrots, brocolli, peas). Absolutely no chillis. Yummy and easy on the tummy.

p.s-saving bubur lambuk for special occasions when more people can enjoy the labour of love and the 1001 ingredients.

This about "summed" up the day in between running errands that need to be done before June 3 in KL and solving the mystery of the burps and bumps in my tummy and digestive tract. Despite cramps was zooming about in Bangsar area and scaring the living daylights out of some people who saw me squirming in the supermarket aisles so much so, one person helped to push my trolley to the car and unloaded the stuff into my trunk. Chivalry is very much alive too.....I almost tipped the fella....

The medication hasn't taken effect yet, and at time of writing am still feeling bloated and still experiencing spasms in my tummy. Hopefully by tomorrow morning the Bubur Gastric and Nexium will show results....

It is possibly gastritis.......

May 28 (Day 5 of cycle 3)

Terrible day but at least I was forced to rest.


The discomfort in my tummy and the bloated feeling stayed with me all day. As much as I tried to ignore the feeling, I was unable to do much else to distract myself. Kind of hard to relax when I felt as though there were huge angular bubbles ready to erupt from my body. I have read that the chemo drugs can affect the lining of the digestive system and gastritis is a possible side effect.


That's the whole day gone as I cannot see myself going out to manage the errands that I had planned for the day. I was lucky that I was able to have a good shower and felt a little refreshed although the discomfort forced me to stay put on the sofa. Spent much of the day trying to rest, then got up to sort out some personal filing.


It was a really restless day, and I can hear every tick-tock of the clocks around the house and the sound of water dripping from the gutter. I couldn't read much, and jumped from one book to another. I had saved the special NST feature on The Pak Chik Sailors (in the UK)by Kak Teh from yesterday's paper and settled down to read that. I take my hat off to those Pak Chiks and, especially to Kak Teh for her ingenuity in covering their stories. The article made me sad though, how do they feel about being away when the country is about to celebrate 50 years of independence, can they or will they be back here?


My Oncologist wasn't at the Medical center when I called so I consulted the doctor who was standing in for him today. The doctor informed me that I should not feel too nauseous on the 5 th day due to the chemo drugs, and he guessed that it might be gastritis. He agreed that I should try munching some cream crackers and try to release the flatulence. Of course I dared not tell him of the Assam Laksa that I had the day before, which in retrospect could have given me an acid stomach. I was to turn up at the medical center if the discomfort continues tomorrow so that he can prescribe some relief but in the meantime did not suggest that I try anything at home.


I had like 10 errands to do today so they remained on the 'to-do' list for the time being while I sat like a contorted, bloated and bald Cleopatra on the sofa. When Kakak came home, she prepared a hot ginger and gula batu infusion for me to sip slowly and it did seem to help soothe the bloated feeling. I had to rub Minyak Cap Kapak on my temples, behind my neck and on my tummy and just below my rib cage. I should have thought of the Minyak Cap Kapak (MCK)earlier! The kids in our family grew up on that. My late Mum always had that in her bag and everything from a mild mosquito bite to a severe sprain could smoothly be healed when she rubbed some MCK on the problem spot. Even my niece Jannah, looks for MCK whenever she gets bitten by mosquitoes when back on a holiday in Malaysia.


I did not have any appetite for dinner due to the spasms and "memulas-mulas" feeling in my tummy, so I told Kakak that she does not have to prepare any food for me. SM, who dropped by to return a book, suggested that I should at least have a Milo and some cream crackers to help fill up my tummy and reduce the acidity, so I had that instead of a proper meal. I continued to burp a lot, and it made me wonder where all the gas is coming from since I hadn't eaten much at all today.


This is yet one of the down moments, which I know will pass and tomorrow I will look back on today and think "what a fuss for nothing". I certainly hope so. It didn't help that no one has visited my dad since I started my chemo, so I really must feel good very quickly so that I can pay him a visit soon. I have yet to inform him of the real nature of my illness. I will need to do so in a way that will not scare or worry him unnecessarily as I think he may feel a bit lost if he is aware that I am not as readily available as before.