When a doctor becomes the patient

As a urologist with 37 years' experience, Professor Christopher Cheng thought he knew all about prostate cancer - and then he experienced the condition as a patient

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Sixty-three-year-old Christopher Cheng has devoted his life to preventing and curing cancers, particularly prostate cancer. He has done numerous prostate cancer operations since 1991 and pioneered robots in surgery in Asia, which has helped to speed up recovery.

As a senior consultant urologist, Professor Cheng thought he knew many things. "I thought I knew about prostate cancer, I thought I knew about patients with prostate cancer and I thought I knew about patients with cancers. I even thought I knew my patients as they went through the ups and downs, the elation and the disappointment, and the sufferings."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 03, 2020, with the headline When a doctor becomes the patient. Subscribe