SHARES
A passionate musician, Simon was an aspiring rock star in the nineties, performing with various local bands in the Cantopop scene. After getting a taste of stardom, he decided to take a different route to be a music teacher. Life was going well, until he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in June 2018. He was treated by Dr Kevin Tay at OncoCare Cancer Centre, and had since achieved remission a year after his cancer diagnosis.
Simon had been in the pink of health his whole life. Although he smoked 30 sticks of cigarette and drank alcohol during his rock star days, he had since quit his old habits after changing career. However, things in life were about to take 180 degrees change with a health crisis.
Simon in his Rockstar days (Photo credit: Simon)
Sensing the first sign of trouble
“One fine morning, I woke up with a sharp pain in my left heel,” said Simon. It felt familiar as he had experienced similar pain before during his athlete days. “I didn’t think too much into it and decided to manage the pain on my own.” After a few days, the pain migrated from the left to the right heel, then returned to the left again, and the cycle repeats. At the third time the pain went back to the left heel, Simon started having swelling on his left calf. “I needed a remedy, so I googled for one. It turns out that ginger tea reduces swelling, and it worked for me!”
“Even though I was in pain with the swelling, I still travelled to students’ homes to teach, working full time as a piano teacher,” Simon continued. “With a good night’s rest, the swell disappears in the morning. Nevertheless, it would return after a day’s work, sometimes so severe that it felt tight when I had my pants on. Then, I would massage my leg and drink ginger tea to relieve the swelling, which went on for another two to three weeks before it got worse.”
Soon, every step became excruciatingly painful due to the swollen left calf. “Eventually, it was so painful that moving around required concentration to take the least steps with minimal pain. Then I noticed that even going a short distance would cause me to pant excessively,” described Simon. “Finally, I told my wife who urged me to get it checked immediately.”
Seeing the tip of the iceberg with unexplainable heel pain
“I visited a GP clinic prior to the Raya weekend in 2018, expecting the swelling to be resolved with medications. The doctor prescribed anti-inflammatory medications. In addition, as the swelling persisted for a few weeks, the doctor also ordered a blood test to rule out heart or blood problems,” said Simon. After the visit, he struggled through the week managing with medications, but it became worse by the end of the week. “It became so bad that the swelling felt like a bowling ball about to explode when I tried to stand. I had to elevate my leg to relieve the swell.”
“When I returned to the clinic, my left leg was so swollen that I had to put my left leg on my right thigh,” continued Simon. It was then that the doctor noticed a pronounced red line on his calf. “The doctor was shocked because the red line indicated a blood vessel blockage. I explained that I was frantically massaging the swelling because it was so painful, which led to the doctor’s advice to stop massaging.” His blood test returned with high cholesterol level, which also pointed to possibility of having blood clots in his body. He was immediately referred to the hospital emergency department.
Getting to the bottom of heel pain, only to reveal cancer
“At the emergency room, an ultrasound confirmed a clot in my left leg, and I was admitted to the hospital,” said Simon. “The doctor assured me that the clot could be resolved with medications, but they needed to find the source of the clot to address the root cause.
Simon was wheeled in for a CT scan, which revealed a tumour of 4 x 3 cm in the lungs. A PET scan was done to determine if the tumour was cancerous, which came back positive. “Initially, the doctor proposed surgery as a possibility to remove the tumour. However, as the PET scan showed cancer cells not only in the lungs but also specks along the neck, the doctor decided that surgery was not the best option. The diagnosis was stage IV lung cancer, that was end June 2018.
“After we went home, I went online to learn about non-small-cell lung carcinoma. I was devastated to find out that the survival rate was merely 5%, while the remaining lifespan of a stage IV patient was not more than 200 days,” he said. “I readied my wife for the bad news. After telling her, we hugged each other and cried. We even made financial plans to prepare for the days after I pass on. Knowing that I was dying felt heavy. We were both drained, we couldn’t eat and sleep well.”
Coming out in the wash with the Good Doctor
“A few days after my cancer diagnosis, we met Dr Kevin at OncoCare Cancer Centre. I was sceptical about treatment after witnessing how my mother suffered and died from cancer. Many questions were prepared to bombard Dr Kevin with. I was angry!” Simon said. “I told Dr Kevin, if I was going to have only 200 days to live, why bother treating me? Just give me painkillers so that I can enjoy my remaining days! Since the survival rate is only 5%, just let me be!”
Throughout the outburst, Dr Kevin was calm and reassuring. “Dr Kevin responded gently by agreeing that the choice to treat or not was mine. Yet, he told me that he had a treatment plan ready, which he will share when I am ready to hear it. Regardless of my decision, he will give me his blessing,” reminisced Simon about his initial struggle. “Dr Kevin also dispelled prior misconceptions, explaining that the statistics included patients that either refused, or simply had no access to treatment. He also reminded that we are blessed to be in Singapore, where we rank highly for the best medical care available. Besides, having the right insurance coverage enabled me to undergo proper treatment.”
“After listening to Dr Kevin, I could not help but agree with him, feeling like a fool for allowing fear to cloud my judgement. I got Dr Kevin to lay out his treatment plans for me. And that was it! There was no turning back,” he said, beaming. Dr Kevin prescribed chemotherapy and immunotherapy. After completing treatment in November 2018 and many rounds of blood tests later, Simon achieved remission in June 2019.
Simon with Dr Kevin Tay (Photo credit: Simon)
Walking away from cancer with a new life
“I was an atheist prior to my cancer diagnosis, while my wife is a committed Christian. The whole church prayed for me when I got sick, and that was when I felt the love of God. I had everything I wanted in life, yet I doubted God’s existence. I felt that this ordeal taught me about who God is, and there’s a reason for all that had happened,” Simon concluded.
A Word from GetDoc
Always listen to your body. Any unexplainable body changes should prompt a visit to the doctor for further investigation. If you or your loved one experience unusual signs and symptoms, consult a doctor today for early diagnosis and treatment.
This patient testimony was brought to you by Oncocare Cancer Centre, Singapore.
Further reads:
- How to Spot Cancer Early – Beware of the Warning Signs [Part 1]
- How to Spot Cancer Early – Beware of the Warning Signs [Part 2]
Find an Oncologist in Malaysia, on GetDoc
Find an Oncologist in Singapore, on GetDoc
by Joanne Lee
Multipotentialite. Loves creating and seeing ideas come alive. View all articles by Joanne Lee.
