A Cancer-Fighting Role Model: Lee Hsien Loong, Who Led Singapore as Prime Minister for 20 Years Despite Two Cancers

Lee Hsien Loong traces his ancestry to Dabu County, Meizhou, Guangdong Province, China; he was born in Singapore on February 10, 1952. He is the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding Prime Minister, and became Singapore's third Prime Minister.

Lee Hsien Loong studied at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. After graduating from secondary school, he entered the National Junior College and later went on to further study at Cambridge University, majoring in mathematics and computer science. In 1974 he received a first-class honours degree in mathematics and a distinction in computer science from Cambridge; he flawlessly solved 33 difficult mathematical problems, 12 more than the runner-up, demonstrating a superior IQ.

When Lee Hsien Loong was 30, his first wife, Huang Ming Yang, died of heart disease, leaving behind a young son and daughter who still needed to be fed. Three years later Lee Hsien Loong married for the second time, wedding Ho Ching, an engineer at Singapore's Ministry of Defence, and had two more children. At the age of 40, he was diagnosed with lymphoma. In 2004, at 52, he became Singapore's third Prime Minister and later held this important post for many years. In January 2015 he was again diagnosed, this time with prostate cancer, which was surgically removed. In March of the same year, his father, Lee Kuan Yew, passed away.

In 2024, Lee Hsien Loong submitted his resignation to the President of Singapore, deciding to hand Singapore over to the team led by the fourth Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong, and stepping back to become a Senior Minister. Appearing before the media, Lee Hsien Loong looked vigorous, optimistic, and humorous, in markedly better physical and mental health than most of his peers.

Lee Hsien Loong developed two cancers over his lifetime, also suffered major life upheavals and blows, and, while in the post of Prime Minister, labored for Singapore's development for twenty years. Under his governance, Singapore achieved rapid development and its international standing and influence rose markedly. His life was one of active striving; he never collapsed from the pain of losing his wife or the torment of cancer.

That Lee Hsien Loong survived cancer for so long is due to several factors. First, Singapore's medical conditions made an important contribution to his recovery; second, the lymphoma and prostate cancer he had are not as lethal as cancers such as lung, liver, or pancreatic cancer; third, Lee Hsien Loong himself maintained a positive and optimistic mindset and did not break down under repeated blows, remaining dedicated to his work and laboring tirelessly for the nation.

One might even say that Lee Hsien Loong's own mental state played the leading role in his cancer recovery. His IQ and psychological fortitude are out of the ordinary. As the top mathematics student of his year at Cambridge, he possessed well-developed powers of reasoning and judgment; he is a very rational person and did not choose his cancer treatment blindly. His psychological resilience was also strong: he did not break down upon falling ill, and could face his cancer calmly rather than obsessively devoting all his energy to it. He kept his career, health, and family in good balance, which laid an important foundation for his recovery.

Having treated many cancer patients over the years, I have rarely seen anyone as rational and composed as Lee Hsien Loong. Judging from his many media interviews since taking office, Lee Hsien Loong is a resolute yet calm political leader. He is affable, humorous, peaceful, sincere, and candid in conversation; he handles social crises with composure and shows not the slightest anxiety. This extraordinary quality determined that Lee Hsien Loong would excel in every respect, including on the road of fighting cancer.

Difficulties are faced by everyone, and in this life one encounters many upheavals and blows. As living beings, none of us can escape birth, aging, illness, death, and the pain of separation from loved ones. Darwin's idea of “survival of the fittest” may seem cruel, but it is a natural law widely present in the biological world, and it is no exception for cancer patients. It is precisely because of his outstanding adaptability that Lee Hsien Loong could, through his eventful life, face every storm and ultimately weather every crisis safely.

In 2024, Lee Hsien Loong, though already 72 when deciding to retire, remained keen to keep learning. He decided that after retirement he would draw on his strengths in mathematics and programming to learn the latest artificial-intelligence technology. This spirit of growing strong in old age and this undying passion put many young people to shame. I wish Mr. Lee Hsien Loong health and longevity and greater contributions to the world, and hope his story will inspire more cancer patients to face their illness positively and optimistically.