Man, 48, given 30 days to live in 2018 due to late stage nose cancer, now runs Yishun noodle stall with wife

A 48-year-old man in Singapore was diagnosed with late stage nose cancer in 2018 and was told he only had 30 days to live.

However, after 37 rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, he has beaten the odds and is running a noodle stall with his wife.

Chen Yongseng was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in 2018.

He now runs Xiao Wen Ban Mian at Block 504 Yishun Street 51.

He previously worked as a maintenance worker in a factory for eight years before his cancer diagnosis.

He told Shin Min Daily News that his sister and mother passed away in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

He said the doctor told him that his grief may have triggered his cancer.

Weight dropped drastically

In June 2018, his weight dropped suddenly and his waistline shrunk from 30 inches to 26 inches.

He went for a medical check-up and received an unusually quick notification the next day: He was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

He said: "The doctor also told me some bad news: I only had about 30 days left to live."

Went for treatment alone

Chen did not tell his family about his illness so as to not make them worry for him.

He faced the harsh treatment alone by taking the train to the hospital to undergo 37 sessions of the intensive treatment.

By the 20th day, he was in so much pain that he could not eat or walk, and needed to be intubated, he said.

But he also said he woke up at 4am to sell tofu pudding while undergoing treatment.

Chen encouraged himself at the time that he has to live on for his father and he must not lose the fight before it even started.

Against the odds, his cancer went into remission after two years of treatment and recovery.

However, he had to endure the after-effects of the treatment.

He is stretching and taking medication daily now, and even borrowed money to open a stall to sell noodles for a living.

Wife chose to be by his side

Even though Chen was diagnosed with cancer, he got married.

He met his wife, Awen, who is Vietnamese, when he was in Vietnam in 2016.

He met her at a roadside food stall.

They maintained a long-distance relationship online for two years.

When Chen revealed that he had cancer, his partner's mother advised her daughter to travel to Singapore.

The future mother-in-law learned that Chen had lost his mother and sister at the time, and prompted her daughter to take care of him and his 90-year-old father.

Chen had a 40 per cent to 60 per cent chance of making a recovery at that point.

Despite that, Awen and Chen registered for marriage on Aug. 3, 2018.

When Chen and Awen solemnised their marriage, he told her she could give up if she regretted it.

But she did not look back.

His wife said: "I am very happy to see him recover."

Opened a stall to make a living

Chen revealed that employers were reluctant to hire him owing to his health.

His wife was the one who taught him how to make noodles.

Chen took out a bank loan and started the noodles stall with his wife.

As there are no subsidies for setting up a stall in a coffee shop, Chen said his monthly rental is S$6,000 and his daily revenue is slightly more than S$300.

He has been operating at a loss for the last two months after he started the stall.

He said he and his wife will take turns to man the stall when the assistant has to take leave at the last minute.

He added that his biggest wish is to move into a hawker centre and ease some of the financial burden with subsidies.