Wheelchair Racer Brings the Athlete’s Mindset to Battle Against Cancer
What draws the line between success and failure? Winning and losing? As past parasports athlete 67-year-old Lai Pak Lok has found, it is often simply the will to fight.
Stricken by polio as a baby, Pak Lok has been wheelchair-bound since he can remember. “I would get a lot of sarcastic remarks. Back then, people were not so aware about disabilities and would start calling you unpleasant names,” he wryly recalls of his growing up years.
Pak Lok could have gone down the path of bitterness and resentment, but his will to fight kept him going. Then, at 17 years old, he began parasports.
“I love wheelchair basketball and wheelchair racing,” he exclaims, visibly brightening as the conversation shifts to his athletic days. “It helped build my confidence.”
Of all the parasports he tried, Pak Lok found the greatest affinity with wheelchair racing. In fact, at just 21 years old, he was selected to represent Singapore at a half marathon. “There were over 100 racers in my category, and I was in the top 10! I was elated,” he proudly recalls.
Hit by Hurdle After Hurdle
Over the years, Pak Lok went on to represent Singapore on the international stage at multiple competitions, including the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Para Games. He also travelled the world, found work as a freelance petition writer, and started a family.
“No doubt I was disabled, but I could soar like an eagle,” he declares. “I was very independent!”
So in 2023, to find he had Stage 4 renal cancer was like being hit by “ton of bricks”.
“It was like a death sentence. I went into a period of doubt about my mortality and questioning how much time I have left with my children, grandchildren and wife,” he recounts.
Pak Lok was put on both oral drugs and immunotherapy. The first type of medication he took was able to shrink the 21cm tumour to just 17cm. Although promising, the side effects were a nightmare: he experienced heart palpitations, back pains and convulsions.
A haunted look comes across his face as he states that at some point: “I thought I was going to die!”
The doctors switched him to a different type of medication, but side effects such as rashes, blisters and for a while also incessant diarrhoea, kicked in. His energy levels fell by almost 40 per cent.
As a result, he had to stop work and hire help to cope with his daily living. Finances grew increasingly tight, especially because the new medication cost around $40,000 to $50,000 a month.
Fighting Against the Odds
The odds seemed stacked against him, but drawing on the mental reserves he had cultivated as an athlete, Pak Lok grit his teeth and fought on.
He reached out to Singapore Cancer Society (SCS) for assistance, and through the cancer treatment fund, found support for his medical bills.
He researched thoroughly about his condition to learn to care for himself better, and followed the doctor’s instructions closely, resisting the temptation of his favourite food—all in the name of recovery.
As his condition stabilised, he also returned to the tracks for the 2024 Relay for Life, an SCS event that rallies the community to walk or run 100km and raise funds for cancer warriors.
Realistic, Resilient, Resolute
Looking back at the last year or so he has battled renal cancer, Pak Lok observes that the most common advice he’s heard is to “stay positive”.
“But that’s easy for you to say,” he scoffs. “I don’t want to have wishful thinking, because during treatment, things may move forward, but if it moves backward it can be very discouraging,” he explains.
Instead, he believes it’s more important to be realistic and resilient no matter what one faces.
After all, as he has found time and time again across his life, the right mental state is what draws a line between winning and losing, surviving and thriving.
“Having a strong mental state can help you face challenges even if the results are not what you desire,” he concludes.