Cancer didn't kill me... Cancer inspires me...
A 80 pages of black and white book filled with humour and tongue in cheek illustrations that show a journey of me overcoming through nasopharyngeal cancer.
Author
I was diagnosed with cancer in May 2013. At the grand "old" age of 33, all your plans seem promising and peachy. When cancer hits you, everything goes to a standstill. We live in this world feeling invincible, not knowing when life will throw us a curve ball. We feel like tragedy can never happen to us, and we take this for granted.
I hope to share my experiences with others, knowing that we all have all it takes to handle any kind of adversaries. There is nothing we can’t face as long as we have a positive mind set. Cancer merely is a term which you can refer as a problem, challenge, bad situation, or suffering. You don’t have to be someone who needs to experience cancer to empathize or relate to what I’ve written.
CAN
If you look hard enough, the word CAN is hidden in the
word CANCER which means I CAN and we CAN conquer
the side effects in our life.
TAME
Who better to tame the monkey’s mind than the
monkey who is a monk.
CUT OFF
I love bananas but when life gives you rotten banana,
you cut away the bad parts and enjoy the rest.
LIFE
Life begins at the end of our comfortable days.
Read it on your Laptop #1
As long as you have a pdf reader on your laptop, you can read it, during your break or any time you fancy.
As long as you have a pdf reader on your tablet, you can read it on the move and anytime you like.
As long as you have a pdf reader on your mobile, you can read it on the move and anytime you like.
About this book
Tongue in cheek, humorous and philosophical, Monk Key is a candid look into the life of a young adult battling cancer, but with a strong Buddhist influence. It’s more like an adult children's book. It’s emotional, educational, heartfelt, and totally original. It is a book that deals with the social side of cancer, as a son, a friend and an individual.
It is a story of coping with uncertainty, the reactions of others and living with them too. It documents the total shock and utter fear that a diagnosis brings and the acceptance of surrendering to a treatment that brings its own baggage yet ultimately insures life. It talks about transforming all the negativity into positive means. Yet at the very root of the book, ahead of the fear and disappointment, there is humour and laughter. Though the story of cancer has been told before, it has not been told like this.
Why Monkey?
Born in the year of the Monkey and with a strong Buddhism background and Key connotes with the initial of my name Kyle and to unlock the mystery of life. Monk Key is conceived after a year I’ve completed my cancer treatments.
After the death of my father and recently, a friend of mine, Uncle Chan whom have the same cancer as me, it pushes me further to finish writing this book.
Watch
An introduction to my book, Monk Key
Video done by: Ashton Wei Choon from Mindful Productions
Cancer inspires me
This book talks a lot about the mental states I’ve gone through cancer. By using humour and creative visualization (guided imagery) as a way to allows reader to comprehend Cancer is no different from other kind of mental anguishes we suffered universally. Hopefully this book will brings you laughter and others might find it inspiring.
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What our readers say?
"A personal journey that many, in this plight, can also claim as their own. There is an indefinable clarity that resonates with many friends & patients that I've come across. Thank you for sharing this story for it has also given me new insights as how to be a much better & effective befriender." - Anthony
Monk Key is now an app!
According to the WHO, "Depression is one of the leading causes of disability. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds. People with severe mental health conditions die prematurely – as much as two decades early – due to preventable physical conditions."*
Taking care of your emotional well-being is as important as physical health, but in Asia, the topic is often stigmatized. So, on my 41st birthday this year, I've decided to develop an app addressing the mental health, free for everyone, adapted from my book Monk Key. I hope to make the idea of mental health more approachable with an app that offers self-guided exercises based on cognitive behavioral therapy techniques.
See Video
