THE pressures of work and her peers pushed Claudine Ho to smoke.
Being part of the gang who would gather for frequent smoke breaks meant the two-packs-a-day habit grew into something consistently larger for the events organiser, living a life of constant deadlines and pressure.
When the hit came, Claudine — like many other smokers out there — never thought it could happen to her.
At the recent STORM-ASIA discussion, Vices & Devices — It’s Hard To Put A Bad Habit Down, Claudine was among the panellists — with public policy consultant, Viswa Sadasivan, Public Health Specialist, Dr Matthew Lee and Nicotine Cessation Counsellor, Sean Ang.
She shared her story about how, in 2024, she discovered she had cancer.
What she thought was a muscle ache due to overwork in the gym, turned out to be a grapefruit-sized tumour in her left lung.
She was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer, which, for her, was localised and could be addressed by chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a few other procedures.
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The causes of the tumour were smoking and alcohol; Claudine went cold turkey on the habits immediately.
She talks about the discovery and treatment, and costs in the video below.
Claudine is still undergoing treatment, and including what she has undergone, it is a hefty bill, amounting to more than $650,000. So far.
Not forgetting the amount spent on 2 packs of cigarettes daily for over three decades.
Watch highlights from the discussion Vices & Devices: It’s Hard To Put A Bad Habit Down.
