Six-year-old S'pore cancer survivor shares her story

Meet six-year-old Maeve Low, who with the help of her parents fought and survived cancer.

When Maeve was three, she suffered from persistent stomach aches shortly after the birth of her younger sister Paige.

Her Singaporean parents, economics teacher Bernard Low and former drama teacher Joanne Poon, initially suspected they might be attention-seeking but realised something was wrong when she refused even chocolate, her favourite food.

After consulting with Maeve's pediatrician and a stomach specialist at the National University Hospital, Maeve's parents made a horrifying discovery: her intestines had telescoped (overlapped) into one another and she needed to undergo a painful air enema process to pull them apart.

Two harrowing and failed attempts later, Maeve went into surgery -- where the team eventually discovered a cancerous tumour and diagnosed her with Stage 2 Burkitt's Lymphoma, a particularly aggressive form of cancer that impacts the digestive system.

Maeve then went through four months of four and a half rounds of chemotherapy, after which she was eventually declared cancer-free. Poon wrote a story about Maeve's battle to inspire and motivate her to actively take part in her fight against her cancer.

Her story would later become a published book, translated into at least seven languages and shipped to children’s cancer foundations in more than 14 countries all over the world, and as far away as Kazakhstan and Mozambique.

Here, Maeve reads this story, entitled "Brave Maeve". Read more about Maeve's journey with cancer in our interview with her parents here.

This story is brought to you in partnership with the Singaporean of the Day project. Watch more stories of inspiring Singaporeans on their page here.