Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Tuesdays With ...

...... Dalilah Tamrin.

She is blogger Raden Galoh, a cancer survivor.

Last Monday, her book "Kanser Payudara Ku - Perjuangan Dan Kesedaran" was launched at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

In her book, Dalilah talks about her fight to survive through the physical and emotional pain that cancer had inflicted.

Her postings in her blog "One Breast Bouncing" inspired her to write the book. It seemed to be a logical development from blogging to "documenting" her experiences in paperback.

She brings you into her world of uncertainty, of devotion, of patience, of love and of fear. She shares with you her pain, her anguish and her long journey towards recovery.

For a long time since the first time we "met" through our blogs, I had called her Raden. It was a little difficult to begin calling her Dalilah.

We met, for the first time, when I fetched her at the Kelana Jaya LRT station to join the lot of us bloggers (in 2007) for our mee rebus on Tuesday.

When she first appeared in the comment box of my blog in 2007, I was curious to know who Raden Galoh was. I knew she must be a Javanese (Raden is a title for those born of the "kraton" class or royalty in Javanese society). Raden Galoh Chandra Kirana was a Majapahit princess.

When I clicked on her link, I discovered that she was a cancer survivior. Because I had lost two sisters to cancer, I felt an immediate connection, an affinity with her.

We've been close since and she'd keep me and other blogger friends abreast of her condition.

It is not always that Dalilah can attend our mee rebus lunches on Tuesday. In fact, for quite some time late last year through early this year, Dalilah was unable to join us as she had a "relapse" when the cancer had begun to spread again. She was in hospital and was given the strongest of drug which could either "make" or "break" her.

Our prayers were with her.

She survived. She overcame. She is a survivor.

Today she looks so much better . We pray that she will remain well.

Dalilah joined us for our Tuesday mee rebus lunch at Kak Ton's (Maria Samad AKA Tok Mommy) Kelana Jaya home and brought 10 copies of her book.
Ahirudin Attan (Rocky's Bru) bought all 10 (@RM25) and donated one to each of us who were there.

To Dalilah : Thank you for enriching my life!

*Dalilah is wife to Saiful Bahri Abbas and mom to Adam Zachary and Idris Zachary. Selangor-born, she graduated from the International Islamic University in Petaling Jaya and later, obtained her Masters from University of Findlay in the US.
She works in the private sector and is active in cancer awareness activities.
Dalilah now resides in Sepang, Selangor with her family.


*Photo of Dalilah holding a copy of her book taken by me at Kak Ton's at lunch today.

16 comments:

zaitgha said...

Mam,

The MRT still on??...and Congratulation to Raden on her book...nak gi cari when i am free nanti...

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

zai,

my dear...it is.

if you are in KL/PJ on Tuesdays....PLEASE call me so you can join us....

the mee rebus lunch will only be cancelled if Kak Ton has something MORE urgent to attend to, or the whole of KL/PJ has run out of mee or any of the essential ingredients in the dish!

Zawir Al-Hamidi said...

Congratulations to Raden Galoh aka Dalilah Tamrin for her new inspirational book. There are a lot of cancer survivor out there, and they are the pure 'unsung heroes'.

Anonymous said...

It is indeed unfortunate that this dreaded disease cannot be remedied. But I read somewhere that a tree by the name Graviola or something like that from the forests of Brazil holds some hope for sufferers. But research has stopped due to the inability to get a patent for the plant.

Nonetheless, research must continue and for every disease, there must be an antidote, and finding that antidote is still a long long way ahead.

On a lighter note, where is this so called mee rebus place? I swear there's none better than the side lane off Jalan Kamunting/Campbell area, but your 'research' is proving otherwise.

A GOOD MAN DOES NOTHING.

Unknown said...

Salam Kak...
I'm moved by your writing today... It is a blessing I never fail to be grateful with that we were connected via the blogs and after that we literally become sisters...with you and kakton, it's like having your own sisters sharing every bit of the feeling and the way you all express your feelings for me, really tells you all feel me sis.

Thank you Allah for the bonding...Thank you.

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

zawir,

in every sense of the word. Dalilah is an inspiration and certainly a hero.

thank you.

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

good man,

the mee rebus tuesday (MRT) first began at cafe 14 in section 14, petaling jaya where a group of us bloggers met after going to court - at first at wisma denmark, then later, at jalan duta -- to giove moral support to jeff ooi and ahirudin attan (Rocky's Bru) who were sued by the NST and several executives of that newspaper.

then we moved to the home of mariah samad (my elder sister) AKA Kak Ton AKA Tok Mommy because she stopped serving the mee rebus at cafe 14 (her brother-in-law's cafe),
as you can see, Tok Mommy did it for the pleasure of simply serving her home-made (My mother's Singapore recipe) to people. She found out that her cucu-cucu missed her when she was at the cafe, so she decided to open her house every tuesday (as it had been on tuesday that we began meeting at the cafe) to the group of us bloggers. and the rest is history.

the mee rebus is to-die-for--lah, bro!

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

dalilah,

i've always believed that developing and cultivating friendship with some of the nicest people i had ever met, is the double-plus point in blogging!

you're on my A-list, dear dalilah!

i would like to dedicate this to you. it was something i used to write in autograph books back in the 60s and 70s during end of year:

"meet new friends
but don't forget the old
for friendship is more precious
than silver or gold".

AND

"friendship remains and never can end".

I know, i know...so juvenile....but i love them!

Anonymous said...

I have family member and friends who had the big C and can fairly understand the ordeal cancer patients had to go through.Pretty long tough road.

For those who overcame whatever it is that needed to be overcome - physically, emotionally and trashed the C crutch - I say to you - you have been through a battle and we are proud of you.

So Dear Pn Dalilah,who embraces life and chose to share her difficult experience - Yes ma'am
you are an inspiration and our Hero
allanwee

Anonymous said...

Nuraina,

Thanks for solving the MRT curiousity, as I am a late comer to the show!

All things said, perhaps a Mee Rebus franchise is in the works?

No, I just want to be a customer, should that happen!

Cheers!

A GOOD MAN DOES NOTHING.

Anonymous said...

sometime express your feeling can sure the cancer rather then cemo or radiation :-)
cancer survivor for almost 15 year....

Anonymous said...

Nuraina
How about this one.

I have a pen
My pen is blue
I have a friend
My friend is you

Amin

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

Amin,


hey ..i remember that one!

Anonymous said...

Dear Nuraina,

I enjoy reading your blog especially "Tuesday with.....". Keep on writing for you denifitely have this soul fan who never stops reading them.

Regards from Singapore.

mutalib saifuddin said...

I remember reading this post for the first time since i've never missed your TWB.

Kini semuanya kenangan, Kak Ena. :(

Tinta Publishers said...

Hi, I'm trying to reach out to any fan/friend to the late Dalilah Tamrin (aka Raden Galoh) to help work on a 2nd and expanded edition of Dalilah's previously quite successful and inspirational book, "Kanser Payudara Ku: Perjuangan & Kesedaran" (2009: Tinta Publishers). I feel that with her passing, an expanded edition of the book detailing her inspirational experience with cancer will certainly continue to benefit and inspire a wider reader/fan base. I would suggest the new materials to come from her once extensive blog writings that were heavily omitted in the 1st edition. They are now still available with me as I had been her publisher then and still holds the rights. I think her family would appreciate it too. Anyone interested and willing, please contact me: Riz at 012-2280037 or email tintapublishers@gmail.com. (On another note, Dal's same book is also now being converted to be sold as e-book by an e-publisher, Kotabuku, perhaps available before year's end). Many thanks.