Actress Lum May Yee On Battling Breast Cancer As A Mum Of Two Young Children
Effortlessly ageless, former model and actress Lum May Yee opens up about her experience with breast cancer when her children where young
Known for her roles in local movies such as 12 Storeys and Chicken Rice War, May Yee has zero plans to return to acting (“I enjoyed modelling much more, and still do,” she shares). Now, the former model and actress does sales and marketing for a jewellery business instead.
Cool, calm and effortlessly elegant, May Yee is nonetheless passionate about this month's big topic – cancer. As a cancer survivor herself, she shares her story.
On a seemingly normal day in September 2015, Lum May Yee, who was 42 then, woke up from what she thought was a straightforward surgery, only to be told that she had breast cancer.
The first inkling that something was wrong happened three months earlier in June, when the mother-of-two discovered a tiny lump on her chest. “It was not even on my breast, it was actually just here, see?” She points to a small scar located just slightly above her right breast. “It was very tiny, but it was hard and smooth.”
She assumed that it was a blocked milk duct as she had just stopped breastfeeding her son, but decided to book an appointment with her gynaecologist when the lump didn’t disappear. After a mammogram – which could not detect the cancer as the lump was on her chest – her gynaecologist concluded that it was likely a small fibroid cyst. To be certain, she sent May Yee to a breast surgeon specialist, who echoed her sentiments, saying that while it was “nothing suspicious”, it should still be removed.
May Yee felt reassured that the second medical opinion confirmed the benign diagnosis. “In my mind, everything was okay,” she recalls. “I even went on a family holiday first. When I came back, we scheduled a day surgery in September to remove it.”
During the operation, the surgeon removed the lump and did a biopsy on the spot. Alarmingly, they found traces of cancer in the lump. After notifying May Yee’s husband (“He was shocked, of course,” she says dryly about his reaction. “Nearly fell off the chair.”) and getting his consent, the surgeon then went on to remove 13 lymph nodes for further analysis, while May Yee was still under anaesthesia.
It was only when she woke up from surgery that she was informed that she had breast cancer. “It was frightening. My whole world came crashing down. I went in for a simple day surgery, but it became a cancer diagnosis.”
The next 48 hours were a blur. When the results finally came in, she was diagnosed with stage 2A slow-growing breast cancer. “The cancer only travelled to one lymph node, thankfully. Thinking back, I must have had it for years. It just didn’t show itself because it was a very slow growing thing,” she says.
May Yee spent the following four months with bags of chemicals dripped into her body as she had to undergo four rounds of chemotherapy and 30 days of radiation. “Chemotherapy was really horrible, but it was necessary, so I kept telling myself, ‘You just have to do it. There’s no way out, and the harder you fight it, the worse it feels. So if you stay positive, the chances of you getting out of it will be better’,” she says.
At the same time, her father was also battling acute myeloid leukaemia. She decided not to tell him about her cancer, and he passed away after her first session of chemotherapy.
“It was a very dark time for a while,” she admits. “It was painful, the most horrible thing anyone would ever have to go through, but looking back, I’m glad I pulled through it.”
There’s no way out, and the harder you fight it, the worse it feels.
She kept herself busy by forcing herself to exercise in order to regain her strength. Yoga sessions and gym workouts with a personal trainer filled her days throughout the four months of chemotherapy. Exercising was familiar and comfortable; she had always loved working out – whether it was kick-boxing or running – but she could barely find the time to exercise after giving birth.
Eating was also a struggle, but she pushed herself to swallow every bite. “I had no appetite due to chemotherapy and because of the drugs, my sense of taste was off. But I had no choice, because if I did not eat, I would not have the strength to fight back,” she explains.
Her mother-in-law, who lived in the same building, would often swing by with double- boiled soup, while her own mother would whip up nourishing comfort food like fish soup. “It took a whole village to get me well again,” says May Yee.
Her husband was there for her every step of the way, and her friends would help her with her son’s school runs so that she could rest. “I’m eternally grateful, and I would do the same for them, if they should ever need it.”
Her children, who were only four and one then, were the driving force behind her will to get better. “I wanted to make sure that my children could grow up with their mum around,” her voice quivers as she holds up her left wrist, where a gold bracelet engraved with her children’s names – Aiden and Kinley – hangs delicately.
“This bracelet was given to me by a very good friend of mine when I was going through cancer treatment,” she chokes out her words, before taking a moment to compose herself. “She would tell me that if I have doubts, to just look at my hand, for these are the two people that I live for. I haven’t taken this bracelet off ever since.”
This particular source of comfort helped anchor her through the darker days, including the moment when she experienced a very real fear of relapse.
In April this year, she went for a mammogram that identified two little dots on her left breast. She had to undergo a painful needle aspiration biopsy, and she describes the wait as “a week of horror”. Fortunately, her results were clear.
“It was terribly traumatising, and I’m very grateful that it cleared, but it really gave me a scare. Once you have breast cancer, the fear never goes away. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t think about it, at least for a couple of seconds.”
Although her journey has not been an easy one for her to recount, she hopes that sharing would help others.
“Every year, I get messages asking if I could do an interview or front a campaign. In the beginning, I was not willing to do so, because it was just too painful for me to remember,” she says.
She makes it a point to help anyone who comes calling, whether it’s a friend of a friend, or a cold contact through Instagram and Facebook. “I try to help ease their fears and to tell them to keep going,” she explains. “I tell them that they have to be strong, to push through and to look at what’s worth living for.”
Through the different business ventures she manages, including jewellery brands The Canary Diamond and its younger offshoot ByCanary, she also raises funds for different cancer- related charities.
Does she view herself as a fighter after going through such a battle? “Yes, I am a fighter,” she answers resolutely. “A really big one.”
PHOTOGRAPHY: Joel Low, assisted by Eddie Teo
CREATIVE DIRECTION & STYLING: Windy Aulia, assisted by Joanzine Lee, Jeon Jae Won & Elrica Tan
ART DIRECTION: Ray Ticsay
HAIR: Edward Chong/ Evolve Salon, using Oribe & Manisa Tan, using Anticollectivepro.sg
MAKEUP Toni Tan, using MAC Cosmetics & Zoel Tee, using Dior Beauty
Text: Cheryl Lai-Lim/HerWorld