Man seeks to stay free of nose cancer after battling it successfully

41-year-old is among 18 current patients in a clinical trial aimed at preventing recurrence

- Zhaki Abdullah Correspondent

Mr Mohamed Farhain Mohamed Pawsie was not worried when he began having nosebleeds in November 2024.

He was told by a family doctor that the bleeding could be related to a fever he had. The 41-year-old safety manager also noted that he had previously experienced nosebleeds during times of stress and exhaustion.

When the nosebleeds occurred almost every other day, Mr Farhain became concerned.

In February, he was admitted to Sengkang General Hospital (SKH), where a biopsy showed he had Stage 3 nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC), or nose cancer.

The disease occurs when cancer cells develop from the tissues of the nasopharynx — the upper part of the throat behind the nose — causing symptoms such as nosebleeds, a painless lump on the neck, and hearing loss.

It is one of the more common cancers in Singapore, affecting about 300 new patients each year.

While in Singapore NPC is most prevalent among Chinese men — Minister of State for Transport and Culture, Community and Youth Baey Yam Keng and Bukit Panjang MP Liang Eng Hwa were reported to have been diagnosed with the disease in recent years — it is also found among those of other ethnicities, with Malays making up the second-most affected group.

About 80 per cent of NPC patients here are Chinese, while Malays account for some 70 per cent of non-Chinese patients, according to a 2015 study by the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.