Advancing Home-Based Cancer Care: Supervisor Siew Tzuh Tang, Nursing Department

Editor: Yuh-Fen Chu   |   Photographs: Hospital Archives

Former Roles: Supervisor, Nursing Department, Sun Yat-sen Cancer Center Hospital and Koo Foundation Sun Yat-sen Cancer Center

Current Role: Professor, Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University

Looking back on my years at KFSYSCC, I remain grateful to every physician and nurse who stood shoulder to shoulder with me. Together, young, energetic, and driven, we transformed the fledgling inpatient and home-care programs into a model of patient-centered nursing.

From the outset we worked with an intentionally lean team, yet delivered round-the-clock, 365-day coverage that blended high-tech expertise with high-touch compassion. More than three decades ago, we were already administering chemotherapy, total parenteral nutrition (TPN), patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), and even blood transfusions right in patients’ homes, services that, even today, are still not universally available in Taiwan’s home-care system.

We have accompanied countless terminal-stage cancer patients through their final journey at home, peacefully, pain-free, and with dignity. That experience fills me with lasting pride and reinforces a conviction I carry into every chapter of life: holding fast to one’s ideals may feel lonely or arduous, yet it invariably draws kindred spirits to the cause. The effort is always worthwhile.

My hope for today’s KFSYSCC medical team is simple but profound: never forget why you began this work. Stand guard over every cancer patient with unwavering commitment. When they find themselves in life’s darkest valley—helpless, exhausted, and suffering—be the light that understands, empathizes, and walks beside them all the way to the end.