KUALA LUMPUR: Cancer patients who have had to turn to loan sharks to pay for treatment costs are now relentlessly being pursued for repayment.
Cancer Survivors Malaysia (CSM) founder Zuraini Kamal, said that based on the association's records over the past year, there were cancer patients entangled in loan shark debts due to health-related issues.
"We have learned that patients take loans from loan sharks after being contacted by unlicensed lenders who demand repayment from the association on behalf of the patients.
"We are very surprised, saddened and disappointed because they provide the association's contact number to the loan sharks as if we are the guarantors for the loans.
"So far, we have identified five cancer patients who borrowed from loan sharks, and one of them has already received financial assistance and other support," she said.
Zuraini revealed this after receiving reports of five cases involving cancer patients with the excuse of paying for hospital treatment costs.
She said that CSM believes more cancer patients have taken out loans that haven't come to their attention yet.
"There are about 30,000 cancer patients under our association, and all of them are not well-off. CSM can only assist around 3,000 cancer patients per year," she said.
However, Zuraini added that patients borrowing from loan sharks include those from moderate-income families.
"In addition to covering treatment costs, they borrow from loan sharks due to job loss, having many children, and other financial burdens.
"Patients choose to borrow from loan sharks due to life pressures and the lack of funds to cover treatment costs," she said.
She added that the cost of cancer treatment is high, especially for advanced treatment processes.
"My experience with early-stage endometrial cancer in 2012 reached a cost of RM50,000. This includes repeated treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
"The practice of cancer patients borrowing from loan sharks disturbs the association because they will live in fear. Patients will be stressed, and this situation can affect their health and worsen their condition," she said.
Typically, in cases reported, patients borrow relatively small amounts from loan sharks, ranging from RM3,000 to RM5,000.
"Due to late repayments, the loan amounts increase to RM10,000 from interest, putting a burden on them to settle these loans.
"We do not assist patients in repaying loans to loan sharks because the financial aid provided by CSM is for hospital treatments, check-ups, and food.
"The association actively raises awareness among patients.
"In every programme organised, we remind them not to borrow from loan sharks," she said.
Meanwhile, a mother was willing to go above and beyond for the sake of her child, including taking money from illegal lenders.
Despite knowing the potential risks if she fails to repay the loan, Siti Mariam, 47, (not her real name) still decided to take it.
She found herself trapped in debt when her 22-year-old daughter was diagnosed with stage three blood cancer in 2018.
Struggling with financial constraints and unable to afford her daughter's follow-up treatment in a hospital in Lembah Klang, Siti Mariam resorted to borrowing from loan sharks.
In 2019, her daughter underwent a blood transfusion in a Lembah Klang hospital, leading Siti Mariam to commute every two weeks from Kedah to Kuala Lumpur for her daughter's follow-up treatments.
During this period, she had to take a three-month unpaid leave as a religious school teacher.
Due to financial difficulties and encountering personal loan advertisements, she decided to borrow from a loan shark, or "along".
The borrowed amount was RM600, and she applied at a grocery store in Kedah, providing her identification number and home address.
Despite repaying the loan, the along continued to pressure her for additional payments, claiming the amount was insufficient.
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