5/11/23, 4:55 PM Cancer is Not the Endgame: Bowie and Nasopharyngeal Cancer – Lee Yoong Shin

Lee Yoong Shin

Copywriter | Chinese and English Translator

Cancer is Not the Endgame: Bowie and

Nasopharyngeal Cancer
I wrote “Cancer is Not the Endgame: Bowie and Nasopharyngeal Cancer” for
Sunway Medical Centre. I also assisted with the video production and
interviewed an oncologist, Dr John Low for the topic.

You can watch the video here.

Bowie first discovered numerous small lumps on her neck in 2017. Thinking
that she was feverish, she started to drink herbal tea, hoping that the tea would
make the lumps go away.

The tea didn’t work, so Bowie consulted a doctor. She was advised to go for a
biopsy, where tissues will be removed from her nose and checked for disease.
As her CT scan results suggested that she might be suffering from
nasopharyngeal cancer, Bowie was prepared for the worst.

To her surprise, the biopsy revealed that all was well.

A year later, Bowie’s neck began to swell again. She tried to shrug it off by
convincing herself that this was another false alarm. However, when her neck
swelled to the size of a ball, Bowie knew that she could not hide her head in the
sand anymore. The time to face the music had come, so she went to the hospital
for another CT scan and biopsy.

With the diagnosis of stage 3 nasopharyngeal cancer, the beautiful world that
she had worked hard to create came tumbling down.

Denial Stage

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5/11/23, 4:55 PM Cancer is Not the Endgame: Bowie and Nasopharyngeal Cancer – Lee Yoong Shin

Me. Me! Why me? Bowie thought, shocked and distraught. She had always
considered herself to be a strong and healthy person – she rarely needed to take
medicine to recover whenever she was bogged down with flu or fever.

How could it be me? Bowie was neither a smoker nor a drinker. She did not
indulge in any other vices either. She felt penalised for her decency.

Surely it couldn’t be me… A happy-go-lucky person, she always thought that it

was highly unlikely for her to be diagnosed with cancer. Like many, she was
under the impression that there was a concrete correlation between cancer and
negative emotions.

Bowie’s husband, Wilson, had a hard time accepting the diagnosis as well. He
was at the verge of tears when he first received the news. However, when he
saw how helpless his wife was, he realised that he needed to stay strong. Both of
them had worked hard to build a lovely family together and Wilson would not
let anything destroy their happiness. Not even cancer.

Determined to be Bowie’s pillar of strength, Wilson started to learn as much

about cancer as possible. He brought his wife to Sunway Medical Centre to be
treated by Dr John Low Seng Hooi.

“Will I die, doctor?”

Those were the very first words that Bowie blurted out when she met Dr John
Low in 2018. She was terrified of the huge tumour on the left side of her neck;
she was in desperate need for assurance.

When Dr John Low smiled gently and shook his head, Bowie found all the
strength she needed to conquer the battle.

Since her tumour was tremendously huge, it was not possible for Sunway
Medical Centre’s medical team to give Bowie direct radiation therapy. As such,
Dr John had proposed to shrink the tumour with chemotherapy first before
proceeding with radiation therapy.

After completing 3 major chemotherapy sessions, Bowie started to undergo

radiation therapy.

The treatment caused Bowie’s mouth to fester. It also wounded her neck,
making it unbearably painful for her when her children hugged her. Blood and
pus started to ooze from her neck. Her mouth and neck had stiffened to a point
where it was no longer possible to tell stories or sing to her children.

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5/11/23, 4:55 PM Cancer is Not the Endgame: Bowie and Nasopharyngeal Cancer – Lee Yoong Shin

Bowie was in such great pain that she begged the doctor to give her morphine.
By the fifth week of radiation therapy, her throat was hurting so badly that she
couldn’t eat or chew anymore. She was admitted to Sunway Medical Centre.

The sight of his wife receiving nutrition via drips broke Wilson’s heart.

The Power of Love

Ah, if only there was a way to transfer the pain from one person to
another! Wilson thought, saddened and frustrated. He was willing to bear the
pain for his soulmate. Alas, that was not possible. So Wilson shaved his head
bald to show his support to Bowie.

Whenever Bowie felt like giving up, she would remember how Dr John had
smiled and shaken his head when she asked, nervously, if she was going to die.
She thought of her children looking at her eagerly, waiting for her songs and
stories. I will recover, I will survive, and I will be singing songs and telling
stories to my children again, she told herself as she exercised her mouth and
throat muscles despite the excruciating pain to make sure that the treatment
would not affect her pronunciation.

Bowie had successfully completed all her therapy sessions in March 2019.
Reflecting on her experience, she was particularly grateful for the advancement
of modern medical technology, without which she would not be able to share
her story with us today. She wanted other cancer patients to know that they too
can win the battle, and she hoped for all cancer patients to be blessed with the
strength to fight until the end.

A Message from Dr John

Everyone thinks that cancer is a terminal disease. There are so many myths and
stigma surrounding cancer, causing many patients not to receive the right
treatment. By the time the tumour spreads, it would be too late.

This is a huge problem.

As doctors, we must encourage our patients and help them build confidence.
We must give hope to our patients – and I don’t mean false hope.

I want everyone to know that cancer can be cured. Recovery is possible, so

please seek medical treatment.

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5/11/23, 4:55 PM Cancer is Not the Endgame: Bowie and Nasopharyngeal Cancer – Lee Yoong Shin

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Yoong Shin Lee February 1, 2020 Copywriting Health Edit

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