He battled liver cancer thrice, and won

SINGAPORE — In school, 52-year-old Yue Keng Siang is a hands-on Physical Education (PE) teacher who has no problems exercising alongside his students. Outside school, the fit and active father of two is an avid cyclist who loves competing in sports.

By all accounts, Mr Yue said he looks “so normal” that no one would be able to tell that he is a transplant recipient, or that he battled liver cancer thrice in 10 years.

Back in 1999, Mr Yue was a father of a newborn girl and three-year-old son. Then, he was diagnosed with Stage 1 liver cancer. Mr Yue was not aware that he was suffering from Hepatitis B, which had been passed to him from his late mother at birth. Hepatitis B is one of the most common causes of liver cancer.

He underwent surgery and a host of other cancer treatments, including chemotherapy and radiation. Along the way, he also had to grapple with the grief of losing his mother and younger sister to liver failure and ovarian cancer respectively.

Just when he thought he had finally rid himself of the cancer after undergoing surgery and chemotherapy, it relapsed twice in 2005 and 2007. By his second relapse, surgery and cancer therapy were no longer viable treatment options. A liver transplant was his only hope.

As he waited for a liver donor, Mr Yue emotionally readied himself to face the worst. “After battling the cancer for so many years, I was ready to go. My consolation was that, at least, I know how I’d die. I’ve had fit and healthy friends who suddenly passed away while exercising without even knowing what happened,” he said.

Although his wife was a good liver donor match, Mr Yue was not keen on having her undergo the procedure.

“I didn’t want the both of us to be in the operating room at the same time,” he said.

Eight months later, a suitable match from a deceased donor was found. It saved Mr Yue’s life, and he got his life back on track. Two months after the transplant, Mr Yue was well enough to return to work as a PE teacher and resume his regular hikes on Bukit Timah Hill.

Having received a new lease on life, Mr Yue is now an active advocate of organ and tissue donation.

“The wait (for a liver donor) wasn’t easy. You never know when you will get it. Even when I received it, I wasn’t sure if I could survive it. Going through all these makes me treasure the gift of life even more,” he said.

On April 26, he will be one of the 50 transplant recipients, living donors and healthcare professionals from SingHealth who will be participating in OCBC Cycle’s Parade of Hope to raise funds for needy transplant patients under SingHealth’s TRUEfund scheme. The fund was set up in 2010 to help needy transplant patients, as well as for public education campaigns and transplant research initiatives.

Mr Yue will also be part of the Singapore contingent for the 2013 World Transplant Games in South Africa in July, where he will compete in badminton and squash.

Looking back, Mr Yue, who is now on lifetime medication to prevent organ rejection, describes his life to be “a little more bumpy” than that of most people. Having beaten cancer thrice, his wish now is to “take things easy, live life as happily and positively as possible”.