A single mother battling stage four ovarian cancer cannot rely on medical and social assistance subsidy schemes after raising S$900,000 in donations.

Tam Chek Ming, 46, made the news in April 2017 after she made a crowdfunding appeal saying she had to fight her cancer to stay alive for her five-year-old son.

According to the Straits Times, this is the first publicly known case where financial aid has been revoked as a result of the recipient being able to raise funds.

Tam was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2015. Her cancer progressed from Stage 1 to 4 despite chemotherapy.

Her medical bills were subsidised by Medifund for the past two years. Medifund is a social safety net to help poor Singaporeans unable to pay their medical bills even after subsidies, insurance, Medisave and cash payments.

Tam then appealed via crowdfunding pages Give.asia and Generosity and has raised S$771,692 and US$80,047 (S$109,000) respectively so far.

In May, a Medifund committee from the National University Cancer Institute, Singapore, where she was receiving treatment, examined her access to Medifund as part of a regular review.

In June, the subsidies were stopped.

Tam was on Comcare for three months from November 2016 but did not return to renew her assistance in January.

Comcare is a national aid scheme for those with low income.

Tam made a second application in May this year but was rejected.

A spokesman from the Ministry of Social and Family Development, which oversees the scheme, said "she was assessed to have sufficient savings".

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Tam's fundraising attempts have been documented before. She had made an earlier online appeal for funds in April last year.

In her posts on crowdfunding pages, she said she had sold off all she could sell in her two-room flat and skipped meals so her son could eat.

She also said the immunotherapy she needed was not covered by Medifund or other schemes. Generally, a dose is required every 21 days and costs about S$6,000.

However, Tam can reapply for subsidies again if her donations are used up and she needs more money.

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