PUBLISHED ONApril 09, 2014 11:00 AM
SINGAPORE - Well-known veteran singer Angie Lau, 45, has been struck with both breast cancer and lymphoma.
According to Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao, she was diagnosed with lumps in her breasts, and had one removed in a hospital operation last week. The paper reported that she still has to undergo chemotherapy for the next six months.
The little sister of getai star Liu Lingling said she discovered a small lump in her left breast six months ago. However, as it did not hurt, she did not get it checked out immediately. Last month, she said she was shocked to find out during a checkup that there were four lumps in her body.
There were two lumps in her right breast, one in her left and one in her lymph node.
She said once she got home, she immediately told her sister, who cried when she heard the news.
The doctor told her that the cancer was in the second or third stage, and immediate surgery was necessary. She underwent a seven-hour long mastectomy.
When Lianhe Wanbao visited her at the hospital, she appeared to be in good spirits and recovering well.
She told reporters that the experience has taught her to treasure life more. She added that she intends to do breast reconstruction surgery and she will return to the stage in her best condition after six months.
Ms Lau, now a freelance singer, first started as a getai singer when she was just nine. Since then, she has recorded seven albums, with two albums recorded and released in Taiwan.
She was crowned the Best Female Artist in Stomp's 2012 Getai Award and is currently a celebrity judge on a local programme.
Revelation
Her revelation comes after a series of high profile breast cancer cases in the media. Recently, veteran actress Pan Lingling came out to reveal that she has beaten breast cancer.
Pan found out that she had Stage 1 breast cancer in March last year and underwent a partial mastectomy followed by breast reconstruction surgery - a seven-hour operation.
The 43-year-old also went for chemotherapy, which caused her hair to fall out and her weight to balloon by 10kg.
Later in the year, Pan's father was diagnosed with Stage 3 lung cancer and died a couple of months ago.
Pan, who is now cancer-free, apologised to the media in a press conference last week for not being forthcoming with the news earlier and explained that they did not want it to affect their two sons, 15-year-old Beckham and 12-year-old Kynaston.
She said she decided to reveal her brush with cancer in hope that more women will become aware of the importance of early diagnosis of breast cancer and regular checkups.