Taiwanese singer-actress Fang Wen-lin had surgery to remove a tumour from her oesophagus two months ago.

The 59-year-old revealed on social media on Sept 25 that she had stage 0 oesophageal cancer, which was detected after she underwent a full-body health check-up in end-June.

According to the United States National Cancer Institute, stage 0 is when "abnormal cells that look like cancer cells under a microscope are found only in the place where they first formed and haven't spread to nearby tissue" but may turn cancerous and spread eventually. It is also called in-situ carcinoma.

"My focus was only on the colon and stomach (colon cancer and gastric cancer run in my family)," Wen-lin wrote.

However, the next day, Wen-lin's daughter read the health report and told her mother that there was a suspicion of oesophageal cancer.

Wen-lin compared it to her report from three years ago - the last time she had a check-up - and noticed that the cancer index was at seven, above the normal range of zero to three and four to five for smokers.

"Two days later, the doctor called me with the blood test report and told me that the cancer index was as high as 9.8, but I had to wait for another two days for the biopsy report," Wen-lin continued. "The waiting time was really difficult…"

Wen-lin and her daughter did their research - "How did it happen? How to treat it? Chances of survival?" - and sent each other messages with their findings.

"The next night, my daughter came to my room. She cried when she looked at me, and said, 'You shouldn't have it. This cancer almost always only occurs in men, and it's all your fault! It's because you drink sorghum liquor!'"

Wen-lin told her daughter: "Just face it if it happens. Even if it's not good, Mummy's life has been wonderful enough that she won't regret it."

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However, she admitted to drinking a small cup of sorghum liquor nightly before going to bed over the last few years as a "relaxation antidote" to sleep soundly at night. She noted that it burnt her throat when it went down, and she would drink hot soup too.

Wen-lin said that the doctor called her back in another two days and said the biopsy showed precancerous lesions. She would need to undergo oesophagectomy (removal of the oesophagus) if the cancer had spread, but luckily it hadn't.

Her tumour was 10cm in size and she underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection, which according to John Hopkins Medicine uses "an endoscope to remove precancerous and cancerous areas in the gastrointestinal tract".

"Because the area was not small, the operation took nearly five hours," Wen-lin added.

'I almost lost myself just because of my drinking habit'

Wen-lin had difficulty swallowing for a few days after the surgery as it was painful.

"Some people said that I could take medicine to relieve the pain, but I didn't want to because I had to learn a lesson. I couldn't forget my daughter's helpless eyes full of tears," she wrote. "Seeing that broke my heart…

"Everyone knows that I pay great attention to health and exercise regularly, but I almost lost myself just because of my drinking habit!"

Wen-lin is glad she does not have to undergo chemotherapy as the cancer was only at stage 0, but she still has to go for follow-ups.

She also began steroid treatment soon after being discharged but thought of quitting a stage play she was working on, worried the medication would give her "a moon face and buffalo shoulders".

"Later I thought about it, even if my body undergoes subtle changes, what does it matter?" she added.

"I am most grateful to be able to stand on stage and perform healthily."

Wen-lin was part of a popular girl group Feiying Trio with Annie Yi and Donna Chiu in the 1980s, and also released nine solo albums between 1987 and 1998. In the 1990s, her focus shifted to acting, and she won the 2005 Golden Bell for Best Actress (Miniseries or TV film) for her role in Scorpion.

She was married to Taiwanese singer Yu Kuan-hua between 1996 and 2006, and they share two daughters.

drimac@asiaone.com

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