Three-time cancer fighter shares secrets to pushing through fear to survive and thrive


After three tangles with cancer, Aparna Suri finds joy in simple things โ€“ a snail crossing the road, the vibrant colours of a sunset, or the satisfaction of perfecting a new recipe.

These small pleasures and the support of her family and friends have become anchors in a life repeatedly upended by cancer, yet defined by resilience.

Suri was diagnosed with stage 1 triple negative breast cancer in September 2023, her third bout with the disease since overcoming Hodgkinโ€™s lymphoma in 1996 and thyroid cancer in 2015.

โ€œYou donโ€™t have a choice when you have cancer. Being brave is the only way forward. You push through your fear,โ€ says the 50-year-old Singapore resident, whose first diagnosis came at age 21, just 10 months into her marriage.

After her husband noticed a lump on her collarbone, a CAT scan revealed it to be Hodgkinโ€™s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph nodes.

Suri with a shaved head in 2024 after losing hair from undergoing mantle radiation treatment. Photo: Aparna Suri
Suri with a shaved head in 2024 after losing hair from undergoing mantle radiation treatment. Photo: Aparna Suri

โ€œMy first thoughts were โ€˜How can this be possible? I am too young to get cancer. Why me? Will I be able to have children?โ€™โ€ Suri says.

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