Olympic badminton silver-medallist Malaysian Lee Chong Wei has been diagnosed with early-stage nose cancer, the Badminton Association of Malaysia confirmed on Sept. 22.

Lee is currently in Taiwan seeking treatment and "is responding well to his treatment".

First reported as a "respiratory-related disorder"

News that Lee had health issues first emerged on Jul. 25 when BAM issued a statement that they had been informed by Lee about his affliction from "a respiratory-related disorder."

As a result, Lee did not participate in the BWF World Championships 2018 scheduled from Jul. 30 to Aug. 5 and the Asian Games 2018 scheduled from Aug. 19 to 28. 

Subsequently, Malaysian media outlet The Star reported that Lee had flown to Taiwan for two months of treatment in order to recover from "a career-threatening disease."

Some good news emerged on Sept. 20, when The Star reported that Lee was responding well to his treatment and effectively only had one week of treatment left to go.

Rumour of third-stage nose cancer

However, on Sept. 21, a viral Facebook post declared that Lee was diagnosed with third-stage nose cancer.

However, online Malaysian news site World of Buzz called for the post to be taken with a pinch of salt given that the post had not been verified by any official sources.

World of Buzz also pointed the that The Star's earlier report on Lee having only one week to go for treatment was a statement from BAM itself.

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Lee is expected to resume his training again in November once he receives the go-ahead from his doctor.

Top image from Lee Chong Wei Official Facebook page