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What we focus upon expands.
So is beauty.
In this modern society, we have a narrow interpretation of beauty.
Beauty affects us in an unlimited variety of ways.
It can be exhilarating, appealing and inspiring.
It can also be consoling, disturbing, sacred and profane.
Yet it is never viewed with indifference.
So, what makes a person beautiful?
The following is a story of beauty and resilience.
At 35, Alison was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer.
It has spread throughout her body – in her lymph nodes, lungs, spine and liver.
70% of her liver was filled with tumours.
It was a shock. But there was no despair.
Days after her diagnosis and first chemotherapy session, she put on her cheongsam and makeup in her hospital ward, competed in a beauty pageant she had joined and was placed first runner-up.
“When I walked out of the ward in my cheongsam and makeup, the nurse was quite shocked.”
Alison was beautiful, indeed.
A stay-at-home caring for four young children, she had thought about returning to work.
But her cancer diagnosis derailed her plans.
Nonetheless, she began to live.
Before she was sick, she never felt beautiful. She felt cowardly.
She didn’t dare to dream or strive for the things she wanted.
As a stay-at-home mum, she lost touch with society. She was shy and not very outspoken.
After her diagnosis, she realised life is short, time is limited.
She had to live and live it well.
Beauty was no longer about how she looked and how others viewed her.
“I can accept myself for who I am, and I feel beautiful even without hair.”
It was no longer about a person’s figure or face.
It was about spirit and character.
And in that, Alison packed a punch.
She saw life with new eyes.
She saw time as limited.
She saw herself in a new light.
Alison actively shared her experiences with cancer.
She went for treatments with joy and gladness.
She renewed her faith in God – she was reminded of Job.
She believed.
In June 2023, another scan showed cancer cells in her brain.
There were more than 50 tiny tumours spread across the brain.
One more setback.
One more badge.
She did not relent. She never stops believing. She lives.
Alison was beautiful, indeed.
Her strength of character. Her optimism. Her joy.
Alison never felt more positive.
“It might not be fully cured, but I’m prepared to live with this cancer. I will not let it take over me.”
Her family kept her strong and going.
She led her husband, Paul, on a journey of rediscovering herself.
She taught her children, Isaac, Ivan, Isaiah and Isabelle, to be brave and do whatever they want to do.
She was a living example for them.
Alison never gave up on life.
She embraced it.
“Just do it,” she said.
She showed us the meaning of beauty.
Alison was beautiful.
She received the news, accepted her condition and pressed on.
On May 24, 2026, Alison rested.
She was 39.
39 full and beautiful years.
: CNA
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