SINGAPORE — While going for a routine check up for a separate health matter in November last year, People’s Action Party (PAP) Member of Parliament (MP) Baey Yam Keng received an unexpected news — that he was diagnosed with early stage nose cancer.

“I was actually following up on an unrelated condition. And as part of the follow up I was referred to the ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist who did a scope of my nasal passage, as part of the investigation. That's how they saw a little lump in my nasal passage,” he told TODAY over a phone call.

While he had counted his blessings and pledged “to do (his) best to overcome it” after the news, Mr Baey, 52, said he felt the greatest anxiety during the week between the initial diagnosis and confirmation of the stage of cancer, which would determine the type and intensiveness of treatment he would have to go through.

Aside from his wife, the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport initially kept his family in the dark about his condition until his son finished his final GCE A-Levels paper.

“They, of course, were shocked and worried but when I assured them that it is stage one and there is a very high chance of full recovery, they were relieved,” he said.

The MP for Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC) revealed in a Facebook post on Friday that he was diagnosed in late November with stage one nose cancer and is currently in the middle of his radiation therapy sessions.

He said he is expected to complete his treatment at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) by the end of this month.

Sharing his treatment experience with TODAY, Mr Baey said: “The radiation therapy itself is painless, I don’t feel anything. I just lie there and let the machine do its work for about seven minutes, so it is very short. The procedure itself is fine, nothing much, it is the side effects that arise after the radiation.” 

He wrote on Facebook that the side effects he has been experiencing after four weeks of treatment — mouth dryness, mouth ulcers, loss of taste and fatigue — “have been manageable”, while adding that his immunity is not affected.

He mentioned, however, that his doctor had warned him that he might get tired more easily as the therapy progresses.

“The skin in my neck area is also expected to look sunburnt and my voice might change. Some radiation patients might lose hair at the back of the head.”

Mr Baey added that as he slows down his pace of work during this period, he is thankful for the support of his colleagues at the Ministry of Transport and Tampines GRC, where he has been an MP since 2011.

Mr Baey was first elected in 2006 as an MP in Tanjong Pagar GRC.

He explained to TODAY that he was prompted to share about his condition on Facebook on Friday ahead of the upcoming Edusave awards ceremonies to explain to his residents in advance why he will not be able to physically attend some sessions to personally hand the awards to the recipients.

He added that besides being unable to be physically with his residents as frequently as he would like, nothing much has changed for his grassroot work.

As for his work at MOT, Mr Baey said it was fortunate that the diagnosis of his condition came late last year, when work was not “in full swing”. Not much will be affected, the Senior Parliamentary Secretary assured, besides having to take a back seat when it comes to physical site visits or outreach efforts.

On the contrary, Mr Baey said that he will be taking on more responsibility as he takes over from Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim as chairman of the Active Mobility Advisory Panel.

Besides the minor adjustments to his work, Mr Baey said that he had to make some changes to his other routine as well.

While he used to exercise and go for runs frequently before the diagnosis, he was advised by his doctor that “all these strenuous activities have to stop for the time being”.

Instead, Mr Baey began the New Year with new activities to stay healthy, namely doing meditation and taking daily walks.

“And maybe... qi gong. I have a friend who is a master in qi gong and he said that doing that will help, so I will be trying these things,” he said.

He is thankful for the relatively smooth recovery journey he has had thus far.

“I now appreciate things in life, like, you know, being able to taste food is something that I do not have right now. So it is, I think, a blessing to be able to appreciate all these simple things in life, and also realise that a lot of things, your family, time, family members, your close ones, are most important,” he reflected. 

Ending off his Facebook post on an upbeat note, the father of three wrote: “I am fortunate to have discovered my medical condition at an early stage, when treatment is simpler and there is a very high chance of survival.  I am still relatively young and have been keeping myself fit.

“Life has thrown me a curveball, but I will be fine!”