SAF regular and father of five kids fights stage 4 nose cancer

In 2023, 36-year-old Yeo Fu Kiang had just returned from a fun-filled holiday with his wife and kids in Thailand when he noticed his right ear felt blocked. At first, he decided to ignore it, thinking it was caused by changes in air pressure from the flight.

When the sensation didn’t go away after a few months, his wife who is a clinic assistant, urged him to get it checked. He visited a GP who prescribed a course of antibiotics, but when that did not help, he went to a polyclinic and was referred to see an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist.

“When I heard stage 4, I blacked out.”

At the hospital, the ENT specialist did a physical examination and discovered two lumps, one in his nose and another near his upper neck. A biopsy confirmed that it was nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), commonly known as nose cancer and MRI results showed that it was advanced.

“When the doctor told me the results, I blacked out for a while,” Fu Kiang recalled. “All I could think was Stage 4 means that that I’m out of options. Then I kept wondering how my wife and children were going to manage without me.”

As a father of five, Fu Kiang felt the heavy responsibility of being his family’s provider.  

New hope

Fu Kiang was referred to the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) for treatment, and was put under the care of Assoc Prof Melvin Chua, Head and Senior Consultant, Department of Head and Neck and Thoracic Radiation Oncology.

Assoc Prof Chua recommended a PET-CT scan to determine the extent of the cancer spread. He then explained the results to Fu Kiang, which showed that the cancer had not spread beyond his head. Fu Kiang’s diagnosis was adjusted to Stage IVA NPC, which is still advanced cancer but potentially curable.

With this new diagnosis, Fu Kiang breathed a sigh of relief, “It gave me hope as I realised I still had a fighting chance.”

Treatment and its toll

In June 2024, Fu Kiang began a year of rigorous cancer treatment, undergoing 9 sessions of chemotherapy followed by 35 sessions of proton therapy at the Goh Cheng Liang Proton Therapy Centre at NCCS. The treatments took a toll - he lost close to 30 kilos of weight, struggled with fatigue, and had to take a year’s hospitalisation leave from his job in the Singapore Armed Forces.

Yeo Fu Kiang (centre) with his colleagues before his cancer diagnosis. (Credit: Yeo Fu Kiang)

“I had signed on with the army right after NS, I worked with tanks and was always outdoors. Before I was diagnosed, I was a Master Technician Trainer and trained others. When I became weak from treatment and was stuck at home on hospitalisation leave, I didn’t feel like myself anymore,” admitted Fu Kiang.

Fu Kiang worried about whether his career would be affected, and how his wife could cope caring for both him and the children.

But his fears were unfounded. His wife took on more at home and ensured their children were well cared for. When he went back to work in 2025, his bosses made arrangements for him to work in a less physically taxing, administrative role.

“I found it tough to adjust to office work at first, after being in the field my whole career. But I am so thankful that the army looked out for my wellbeing and gave me this new role, as it has allowed me to fully recover.”

Preventing recurrence

After his treatment, blood tests showed traces of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) DNA in Fu Kiang’s blood which put him at higher risk of recurrence. Assoc Prof Chua recommended that he join a new clinical trial, RIBBON-LA-01, which combines immunotherapy infusions with oral chemotherapy for 12 months to prevent recurrence.

The trial which is part of larger research efforts at NCCS to improve treatment for NPC, has recruited 18 patients so far with an overall target of 69 patients.

A new perspective

Nasopharyngeal cancer patient Yeo Fu Kiang is grateful to his wife for her support during his treatment. (Credit: Yeo Fu Kiang)

“Before I had cancer, I used to get stressed out about small things. Now, I know what’s most important is to be there for my children and wife,” Fu Kiang shared.

He is grateful to his wife for looking out for him. “If not for her, I may have just kept ignoring the symptoms. She pushed me to see a doctor and took care of the family when I was going through treatment. I’ll always be thankful to her.”

Today, Fu Kiang spends quality time with his family, taking them on trips, but also appreciates the everyday activities with them that he once took for granted.