Cancer survivor Yam glad to keep swimming

Annie Yam was wearing a radiant smile as she got out from the OCBC Aquatic Centre's swimming pool, despite finishing fourth in the women's 50m butterfly (35-39 age category) at the annual Singapore Masters Swim Meet on Nov 3.

- Deepanraj Ganesan

For the 37-year-old, a survivor of lung and thyroid cancer, the real joy comes simply from just being able to swim and compete again.

The Hong Kong-born Singaporean, who clocked 38.47sec, is among the 237 swimmers - with the oldest aged 83 - from Singapore, Australia, India, Hong Kong, Japan, United States, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Saudi Arabia in the fray.

The short-course event is seen as a key preparation for the World Aquatics Masters Championships in Singapore from July 26 to Aug 22, 2025.

Yam, the marketing lead at Johnson & Johnson, told The Straits Times that both diseases had been detected by chance.

She had experienced stomach discomfort after eating oysters while on holiday in Paris in December 2019. Upon her return to Singapore, she underwent an endoscopy and a CT scan, which found she had Stage 1 lung cancer. Subsequent scans also led to the discovery of a malignant thyroid tumour.