Cynthia Goh (21 November 1949 - 13 February 2022) was a pioneer of

palliative care Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...

in Singapore. She served as the chairman of the Singapore Hospice Council and the co-chairman of the

Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance The Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance or WHPCA (formerly known as the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance or WPCA) is an international non-governmental organization based in the United Kingdom. In official relations with the World Health ...

, and was inducted into the

Singapore Women's Hall of Fame The Singapore Women's Hall of Fame is a virtual hall of fame that honors and documents the lives of historically significant women in Singapore. The hall is the creation of the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO), and grew out of an ea ...

in 2014.

Early life and education

Goh was born on 21 November 1949 in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, to a family of doctors. She went to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to study in

St. Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, where she met her future husband, Dr. Goh Hak-Su, in 1969, and graduated in 1974. She trained as a specialist in internal medicine.

Medical career

After moving to Singapore, Goh began working as a volunteer doctor at the St. Joseph's Home and Hospice in 1986. Under the Singapore Cancer Society, several volunteers, including Goh, began a hospice home care service, and formed HCA Hospice Care in 1989. She served as the chairman of the Singapore Hospice Council. Goh helped set up palliative care services at the

Singapore General Hospital Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is an academic health science centre and tertiary referral hospital in Singapore. It is located next to the Bukit Merah and Chinatown districts of the Central Region, close to the Outram Community Hospital (OCH ...

and the Singapore National Cancer Centre in 1999. She also served as the National Cancer Centre's head. Goh was appointed the co-head of the

on 27 May 2009. Later that year, she was appointed the chairman of the Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network, but moved to the advisory chair position in 2021. She was also the centre director for the Lien Centre for Palliative Care. Goh was inducted into the

in 2014 for her contributions to palliative care in Singapore.

Personal life

Goh married in 1974 and gave birth to a daughter and a son. In 1981, she and her family moved to Singapore, In November 2019, Goh was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and underwent surgery and chemotherapy till May 2020. In August 2021, a lump was found in her lung, and she underwent surgery to remove it. However, by then, the cancer had spread to other parts of her body. In January 2022, she asked for several of her colleagues to assist her with pain management due to her cancer. Goh died on 13 February 2022 in her house.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goh, Cynthia 1949 births 2022 deaths Alumni of the University of London Hong Kong expatriates Deaths from pancreatic cancer