Yes, that's us in the big photo above, unapologetically enjoying pastries—and I was still undergoing chemo at the time.
We know, we know—cancer loves sugar, and we’re strict on no-sugar diet during my cancer fighting period.
But you know, every once in a while, life needs a little sweetness (and a lot of strawberries, because they’re basically cancer-fighting superheroes in fruit form). Cheat day? Absolutely. Regrets? Zero.
And as of Feb 2025, I am already 1 year and 5 months remission.
Now that we’ve addressed the elephant in the café, let me tell you about our story.
But First, A Little Bit About Us
Starting with me, Irwin.
I’m an Iban from Sarikei, Sarawak—working a typical 9-to-5 job, specializing in digital marketing. But beyond the routine, I’ve always been driven by a big dream, constantly hustling with side businesses, hoping to make it big one day.
Before cancer, my lifestyle wasn’t exactly the picture of health. I had a serious love for sugary drinks—downing at least 3 to 4 cups of teh tarik, cham, or whatever sweet concoction I could get my hands on daily. And when it came to food, let’s just say I never let anything go to waste. My friends even gave me the nickname “DBKL” (a reference to the city council’s street sweepers) because I’d happily clean up everyone’s leftovers. My catchphrase? “Are you still eating that?” 😆
So yeah, I ate a lot back in the day. And while I did occasionally have vegetables (usually at a Chinese mixed rice shop) or fruits, my diet was far from balanced. Knowing what I know today, I have little doubt that my excessive sugar intake and processed food consumption played a major role in my cancer diagnosis. This became a wake-up call—one that completely changed the way I live my life today.
Also, before cancer, I’m not religious, but I am quite spiritual in nature. But after cancer, I’ve decided to become a catholic. Wanna know why? Just check out my April 2023 Entry in the timeline below 🙂
And I'm Dr Jean.
Just call me Jean.
I was born in Sandakan, Sabah, to a Filipino-Malaysian family and pursued my medical studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta—one of the most prestigious medical schools in South East Asia. In 2018, I proudly graduated, eager to dedicate my life to helping others.
However, shortly after beginning my housemanship, I made the difficult decision to walk away. The relentless demands of the job—endless shifts, little to no rest, and barely enough time for a proper meal—took a heavy toll on my physical, mental, and emotional well-being. While my passion for patient care never wavered, I found myself battling a system that left me drained and defeated.
Leaving medicine wasn’t easy, especially with the weight of expectations from my family, who struggled to understand my choice. But stepping away led me to new opportunities, first in a medical startup and eventually in the tech industry.
Life seemed to be on a steady path—until Irwin was diagnosed with cancer. That moment changed everything. It pulled me back into the medical world, but this time, with a deeper purpose: to fight for the person I love.
Also here are some of my graduation pictures😊😊
Just want to show you these as evidence that I’m real and really graduate as a medical doctor. Also as proof that I’m not a “PhD doctor” but a true medical doctor who studied very hard with countless sweat and tears for 6 years to get my medical degree.
Our Journey fighting cancer
Diagnosed with Cancer
I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. One thing led to another, and I was immediately recommended to do chemotherapy for a total of 6 cycles. (I was actually offered to do high-dose chemo but I declined) So I proceed to do the chemotherapy.
July 2022My First Chemo Journey
During the 6 cycle chemo journey, I lost all my hair, and the battle was brutal. I lost my appetite.
My brain becomes foggy. Some days everything I eat tastes metallic. I feel very weak on most days, lying on my bed, unable to do any physical activities except for walking.
I vomited frequently, especially the first few days of each chemo session. The worst is getting infected (twice) and I had to undergo painful surgeries to remove the abscess and clean the infection area.
It’s bad, I really wish I would just die at the time.
July - Nov 2022Remission, but...
Anyway, I made a full recovery as my December PET scan shows that my cancer is no longer active.
I thought the fight was over and life would resume normally again.
But NO.
4 months later, I felt an abnormal pressure inside my head and after a biopsy, it was the same lymphoma cancer. It has spread to the size of a golf ball behind my eyeball.
Dec 2022Chemo Again.
Again, I was devastated. So long story short, I was started on another round of chemo (Salvage Chemo). Again, I get all the unpleasant side effects.
To make matters worse, after 3 cycles of chemo, I got infected with covid and that experience was a deadly one for me. I could’ve passed away if Jean didn’t get me admitted into the hospital in time. I was put in an isolation room with 24/7 oxygen support. Again, not a pleasant experience even in the room. I really wished I would just die, so that I would no longer suffer.
But God has another plan for me. In fact, I experienced a very spiritual encounter while I was on my bed in the isolation room. It was a powerful one. I feel the assurance from God that all is going to be well. (You can read more about the experience in my blog post here.)
April 2023Continued with chemo, but didn't work.
So long story short, after 2 weeks in the isolation room, I made a full recovery from covid, and continued another 2 cycles of chemo.
However, I did another PET Scan shortly after that in June 2023, and it shows that my cancer spread even further, to my organs and even into my bones. It was bad, Stage 4 cancer bad.
It was very devastating. To have all those chemo cycles again and suffer so much for them to not work at all.
June 2023Hope comes in unexpected place.
But guess what, even in those darkness and despair, there was hope. Hope that came in an unexpected place.
I had a chance encounter with other cancer survivors who then connected me to others like pharmacist, nutritionist, and other survivors and eventually led me to meeting Guru Amma, a herbalist that prescribed me cancer fighting herbs and other concoctions as well.
Collectively, they gave me advice on diet and lifestyle change as well, and I also explored another cancer treatment that time which is immunotherapy.
So I proceeded to do all of these approaches simultaneously.
July 2023Achieved remission, finally.
Guess what, 2 months after doing all these, I had another PET scan in Sep 2023.
And what did you know? The scan results show no traces of cancer at all! ZERO!
Me and Jean couldn’t believe it at all.
And we still have fear of relapse again. So we continue with the same approach - (allopathic + homeopathic + lifestyle change).
Sep 2023No cancer detected. Thank God.
6 month later in March 2024, I did another PET scan. No cancer detected. Now we have solid conviction that my cancer is fully in remission.
We still continue living life with the same approach, except that I no-longer do any form of treatment at the hospital.
We rely entirely on anti-cancer lifestyle and taking herbs + some homeopathic treatments.
March 2024Fast forward today, all good. Amen.
Till this day, I live like a normal person would. I didn't experience anything abnormal. In fact, I'm feeling very energetic, goes to the gym frequently, and I'm gaining my weight and muscle mass again.
Once in a while, me and Jean have cheat day where we satisfy our sweet cravings of cake and other desserts. But 70-80% of the time, we eat diet rich in anti-cancer properties. And life is good so far.
At the same time, we also dedicate our time to help others as well because we know how it feels like fighting cancer without a clear guidance.
If you're struggling with this fight, don't worry, you're not alone. Please reach out to us. We can help. May God bless you and us all with healing and everlasting health 🙏
Feb 2025Our Lifelong Mission
For as long as we are still breathing, we will dedicate our lives to help more people win the fight against cancer.
We believe this journey was part of God’s plan for us—to use our experience to guide, support, and inspire others. And we are truly thankful to God for this experience and for the fact that God gave us a second chance in life.
We are deeply grateful for this second chance at life and for the opportunity to share what we’ve learned.
If you’re fighting this battle right now, don’t lose hope. Have faith. And reach out to us—we’re here to help. May God bless you and us all with healing and everlasting health. Amen 🙏