Couples with colorectal cancer prompt study by Singapore team

Research to look at whether genetic or environmental factors are to blame, following discovery of such patients

Madam Phang Yoke Fah and her husband Lie Tjoen-Jong, both colorectal cancer survivors, with Dr Tan Ker Kan (middle) of the National University Cancer Institute, Singapore. The couple said their brush with cancer underscores the importance of early de
Madam Phang Yoke Fah and her husband Lie Tjoen-Jong, both colorectal cancer survivors, with Dr Tan Ker Kan (middle) of the National University Cancer Institute, Singapore. The couple said their brush with cancer underscores the importance of early detection. ST PHOTO: TIMOTHY DAVID
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Married couple Phang Yoke Fah and Lie Tjoen-Jong have shared the same meals and exercise routines over the past five decades or so, and they now have something else in common - beating cancer.

Madam Phang, 69, and Mr Lie, 73, discovered they had early stage colorectal cancerwithin a year of each other. Thankfully, the couple have successfully battled the disease, but that is only half the story.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 02, 2018, with the headline Couples with colorectal cancer prompt study by Singapore team. Subscribe