However tough the odds may seem, maintaining positivity and perseverance in life can yield good outcomes eventually. Mr Wille Foo, 50, is a survivor of Gastric (Stomach) Cancer. Listen to his story and hear how he survived gastric cancer and a subsequent relapse. Willie first came in contact with SCS when he shared his story at an SCS Gastric Cancer GP Educational Seminar in 2016. SCS teamed up with Eli Lily to share Willie’s story.

In his career as a chemical engineer, Mike has lived a fast-paced and often stressful life. Originally from UK, but a Singapore permanent resident for several years, Mike has travelled frequently around SE Asia working on various projects as well spending too many hours sitting behind an office desk.

We don’t have full control over our bodies. We can lose our physical abilities at any minute, but ... we have full control of our mind. One thing I’ve learnt during my battle against cancer is how powerful the mind is. I have never to this day taken no as an answer. You can tell me I can’t do something and I’ll make it my mission to show you I can.

It came as an unpleasant surprise - a surprise that changed her life. She was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Being a non-smoker, lung cancer was the least of 56 year old Ms Phyllis Lau’s concern.

Sport has always been an important part of my life. As a child and during my teenage years, I was raised in an environment where physical activities, and their combination of benefit and pleasure, had constantly been at the center of my personal life and our family balance. It had always brought me some peace, and it also helped me go through the chemotherapy. During my treatment, sport was one of the few salutary activities that kept me going forward and allowed me to feel “good” in my daily life during this period of time.

The hospice office dispels its sleepy shadows at 7.30am when the first people walk in and the lights go on. The start of the day is marked by the whir of the photocopy machine, and footsteps of nurses, doctors, admin staff, social workers, counsellors, all making their way to their workstations. The smell of coffee fills the room, and the noise picks up in a lovely chorus of greetings.

I was born in Malaysia, into a family of teachers. And I was good with Math and Physics, and beat all the boys at it. I was intrigued with machines, and my childhood aspiration was to operate a crane. When it was time to decide on my career, I chose to be an engineer.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the beginning of January 2015. On that day, the 5th of January, I was told that a crab is gnawing at me from inside. I immediately understand that I have to be in control in order to break his momentum and stop him.