TRIPLE WHAMMY

Retiree shocked by diagnoses of lung, liver and prostate cancers

- Amrita Kaur

At Mr Eddie Low's routine medical check-up in 2017, the doctor found something suspicious in his liver and one of his lungs. Further tests showed he had liver cancer and lung cancer.

They were both primary cancers, meaning cancer did not spread from one organ to the other.

That year, he underwent keyhole surgery for his liver and lung simultaneously to remove the tumors. One lobe in his right lung was also removed.

A year later, Mr Low found out he had primary cancer in his prostate. Around the same time, the cancer in his lung had spread to the lymph node within his thorax. He had to go for chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Eight months later, he found out that the cancer in his liver had relapsed.

Before Mr Low found out about his three primary cancers, he had no symptoms.

"I didn't feel like something was wrong. If I didn't go for a medical screening, I would have probably found out much later," says the 66-year-old retiree, who used to work in a church. He is married to 64-year-old Angela Low, who works in the education sector, and they have a 34-year-old daughter.

Dealing with the cancers has not been easy. "When one cancer appears to be contained, another flares up," he says.

November marks Lung Cancer Awareness month, which highlights the importance of early detection and education around a disease that remains a significant health threat in Singapore.

Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in men and women in Singapore. It is the leading cause of cancer death among men and third most common cause of cancer death in women here.

According to a 2024 study published in Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology journal, lung cancer in people who have never smoked is estimated to be the fifth most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide in 2023, occurring more in women and Asian populations.