‘I don’t want to die, not yet’: Rapper Sheikh Haikel lost 100kg during stage 4 cancer treatment

Sheikh Haikel broke down several times during an interview with his wife, Anna Belle Francis, at their Hai Ge Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice restaurant in Bussorah Street.

ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Published Sep 05, 2026, 07:29 PM

Updated Sep 05, 2026, 11:25 PM

Rapper Sheikh Haikel revealed his stage 4 colon cancer battle and lost 100kg during treatment, but continues to run his restaurants and stay positive amid pain and fatigue.

He delayed diagnosis despite early symptoms, nearly died from complications, but now undergoes chemotherapy and operations while receiving strong family and public support.

Haikel plans to return to music, remain present at his Bussorah Street restaurant, and clarified #FINALAPPLAUSE means gratitude, not a farewell to fans and supporters.

SINGAPORE – The floor is packed with diners at the Bussorah Street outlet of Hai Ge Ji, the halal Hainanese chicken rice restaurant founded by local celebrity couple Sheikh Haikel and Anna Belle Francis.

It is almost noon on Sept 5 and less than 24 hours after the rapper-foodpreneur went viral with a Sept 4 Instagram video disclosing his year-long battle with stage 4 colon cancer , which had spread to his liver.

Yet, here he is, greeting customers with his trademark warmth and geniality.

Beneath this front of positivity, however, is a gruelling emotional and physical reality.

In an interview with The Straits Times before Hai Ge Ji’s 11am opening time, Haikel says that he is wrestling with pain, fatigue and the haunting knowledge that he is living on borrowed time.

“I’m scared, bro, I’m scared,” the 50-year-old admits, yet also adds that he refuses to hide at home.

His coping mechanism is the signature humour that many fans might remember from his breakout role as a national service recruit in 1996 local comedy film Army Daze.

Recounting how he received his cancer diagnosis in September 2025, he says: “I asked the doctor, ‘Doctor, what is after stage 4?’ And the doctor goes, ‘You die’. I’m like, oh, okay. Since it’s like that, why does this thing only have four parts? It should have more parts.”

The public response to his disclosure has been an avalanche of love, prayers and well wishes from fellow celebrities, local politicians and his many fans. Friends from Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia are also flying in to see him.

The sudden influx of people reaching out sparked a moment of panic as he turns to his wife, former actress-host Francis, 48, and asks: “Am I really going to die like soon? Do you all know something that I don’t know? Why is everybody suddenly rushing to see me?”

Sheikh Haikel says that he wants to be at his restaurant in Bussorah Street every day to meet customers, fans and friends. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Sheikh Haikel says that he wants to be at his restaurant in Bussorah Street every day to meet customers, fans and friends.

Her protective answer is an immediate and firm “no”. Still, the issue of mortality looms large. When asked about his greatest fear at this stage, he is unflinchingly honest, and broke down while saying: “I don’t want to die, not yet.”

Haikel first noticed internal rectal bleeding in late 2023, but convinced himself it was merely piles. When doctors urged him to undergo a colonoscopy, he refused.

In 2024, he had a close brush with death. After wrapping up a commercial shoot, he collapsed in a carpark in front of Francis and their 12-year-old son Juz. The couple have two other children – Triqka, 23, and Abbra, 22.

Paramedics rushed him to the hospital, his heart racing at 273 beats per minute. Doctors later told Francis that it could have been fatal, and that it was a miracle that he pulled through.

In denial, he still refused the colonoscopy. Instead, he tried to manage with what he calls “positive vibes” and an assortment of alternative treatments like tea and soda.

He eventually agreed to the colonoscopy after he and Francis returned from umrah, the minor pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, in September 2025. The procedure took only three minutes, revealing a “bunch of cauliflowers” in his colon and confirming the urgent need to start conventional cancer treatment.

Because the cancer went undiagnosed and untreated for so long, it had already progressed aggressively to stage 4, spreading to his liver. He says the specialist at the Singapore General Hospital told him: “We give you six months if you don’t listen to us.”

Haikel agreed to chemotherapy and had four major abdominal operations to clear the primary tumour in the colon, nearly dying when an internal rupture caused massive post-surgery complications.

Sheikh Haikel and his wife and business partner Anna Belle Francis married in 2002 and have three children. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Sheikh Haikel and his wife and business partner Anna Belle Francis married in 2002 and have three children.

The physical toll was drastic. He lost 100kg, half his body weight, in less than eight months. Ironically, it was his trademark corpulence that kept him alive when he lost his appetite after the operations, Francis notes.

“Let’s just put it this way, his excess weight saved him,” she says. “If he didn’t have anything to hold on to to lose, he would have disappeared.”

Because Haikel was in and out of hospital, the couple overlooked the lease expiry on Hai Ge Ji’s previous North Bridge Road location, which closed in June. Left with only a month to vacate, they had to go through a financially punishing $200,000 relocation to Bussorah Street, which opened in August.

Haikel, however, holds no bitterness towards the former landlord who did not want to let them stay at their previous location. “Business is business, man. It’s not personal. I hold no grudges, but, yeah, it was hard.”

The couple also have two other eateries, Hai Ge Ji Hainanese Beef Noodles in Yishun and Plaza Singapura.

Unwavering support from family

Throughout his medical ordeal, Haikel says his family remains his anchor. His marriage to Francis – the couple tied the knot in 2002 – is defined by an unbreakable bond. “You don’t marry the person who will walk through the rainbow with you,” Haikel says. “You marry the one that will go through hell with you.”

Sheikh Haikel’s marriage to Anna Belle Francis – the couple tied the knot in 2002 – is defined by an unbreakable bond. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Sheikh Haikel’s marriage to Anna Belle Francis – the couple tied the knot in 2002 – is defined by an unbreakable bond.

Their three children have been incredibly strong, they share. Juz, who will sit his Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) in end-September, has been trading cancer jokes with his dad.

Haikel is also protective of his parents, both in their 70s. Blood tests confirm that the cancer is not hereditary. “I didn’t get it from my parents, and I will not give it to my children either,” he says.

He has plans to go back to the one thing that first made him famous back in 1991 – music.

That year, he hit the headlines when Construction Sight, his former duo with fellow rapper Ashidiq Ghazali, won Asia Bagus, a regional televised music competition by Japanese television station Fuji TV.

Despite a 2021 announcement that he was retiring from music, Haikel wants to release another album, and is in talks to collaborate with fellow rappers such as Malaysian hip-hop heavyweight Joe Flizzow.

He also wants to be at the Bussorah Street restaurant every day, to interact with his customers, fans, friends and acquaintances. “I want to take a picture with everyone. I want to shake hands with everybody.”

Whenever he is too physically weak, he will sit in his car parked nearby. He will be undergoing more chemotherapy, with Francis saying he is going to try to push on for as long as he can.

And rather than a fatalistic, morbid farewell, the hashtag #FINALAPPLAUSE that he included in his cancer reveal video is meant to signify him giving props to everyone who has supported him all these years, whether through his music or his food businesses.

“This is me giving (my audience) the final applause. I want to clap for them. I want to say thank you,” he says, getting emotional again. “All of you, from the parents to the children to the next generation, they have allowed me to be me, to express myself, to be the best me possible. You allowed another human being to live.”

在布梭拉街的“海哥记”海南鸡饭餐厅，谢赫·海克尔在接受妻子安娜·贝尔·弗朗西斯的采访时数次哽咽落泪。

ST 照片：林耀辉

发布于 2026 年 9 月 5 日 下午 7:29

更新于2026年9月5日晚上11:25

说唱歌手 Sheikh Haikel 透露自己患有四期结肠癌，并在治疗期间体重减轻了 100 公斤，但他仍然继续经营自己的餐厅，并在疼痛和疲劳中保持乐观。

尽管早期出现症状，但他却被延误了诊断，险些因并发症丧命，但现在他正在接受化疗和手术，并得到了家人和公众的大力支持。

Haikel 计划重返乐坛，继续经营他在 Bussorah 街的餐厅，并澄清 #FINALAPPLAUSE 表示感谢，而不是向粉丝和支持者告别。

新加坡——由当地名人夫妇谢赫·海克尔和安娜·贝尔·弗朗西斯创立的清真海南鸡饭餐厅海歌记位于武梭街的分店里挤满了食客。

9 月 5 日将近中午，距离这位说唱歌手兼美食企业家在 9 月 4 日发布的一段 Instagram 视频走红网络还不到 24 小时。视频中，他透露自己与 4 期结肠癌抗争了一年，癌细胞已经扩散到肝脏。

然而，他却在这里，以他标志性的热情和亲切迎接顾客。

然而，在这层积极乐观的外表下，却隐藏着令人痛苦的情感和生理现实。

在海歌记上午 11 点开门营业前，海克尔接受了《海峡时报》的采访。他表示，自己正在与疼痛、疲劳以及挥之不去的恐惧作斗争，因为他知道自己是在借来的时间里活着。

“我害怕，兄弟，我害怕，”这位 50 岁的男子承认道，但他同时补充说，他拒绝躲在家里。

他的应对机制是他标志性的幽默，许多粉丝可能还记得他在 1996 年本土喜剧电影《军队生活》中饰演的国民服役新兵这一突破性角色。

他回忆起2025年9月确诊癌症时的情景，说道：“我问医生，‘医生，四期之后是什么？’医生回答说，‘你会死’。我当时就想，哦，好吧。既然如此，为什么这玩意儿只有四个部分？它应该有更多部分才对。”

他公开病情后，公众的反应是如雪崩般涌来的关爱、祈祷和祝福，来自各界名流、当地政要和众多粉丝。来自日本、印尼和马来西亚的朋友也纷纷飞来探望他。

突然涌来这么多人联系他，让他感到一阵恐慌。他转向妻子弗朗西斯（48岁，前演员兼主持人），问道：“我真的要这么快死了吗？你们是不是知道一些我不知道的事情？为什么大家突然都赶来看我？”

海克尔酋长表示，他希望每天都能待在位于武梭街的餐厅里，与顾客、粉丝和朋友们见面。（海峡时报摄影：林耀辉）

海克尔酋长表示，他希望每天都能待在位于布索拉街的餐厅里，与顾客、粉丝和朋友们见面。

她出于保护心理，立刻坚定地回答“不”。然而，死亡的阴影始终笼罩着他。当被问及现阶段他最害怕的是什么时，他毫不掩饰地坦诚，哽咽着说：“我不想死，现在还不想。”

海克尔在2023年末首次注意到直肠内出血，但他坚信这只是痔疮。当医生建议他做结肠镜检查时，他拒绝了。

2024年，他曾与死神擦肩而过。在结束一次商业拍摄后，他突然倒在停车场，当时他的妻子弗朗西斯和他们12岁的儿子朱兹就在旁边。这对夫妇还有两个孩子——23岁的特里卡和22岁的阿布拉。

医护人员迅速将他送往医院，当时他的心跳高达每分钟273次。医生后来告诉弗朗西斯，这原本可能是致命的，他能活下来简直是个奇迹。

他仍然否认病情，拒绝接受结肠镜检查。相反，他试图用他所谓的“积极心态”以及各种替代疗法（例如喝茶和汽水）来应对。

2025 年 9 月，他和弗朗西斯从沙特阿拉伯麦加的副朝（小朝圣）回来后，他最终同意接受结肠镜检查。检查只用了三分钟，结果发现他的结肠里有“​​一堆花椰菜”，证实他迫切需要开始接受常规癌症治疗。

由于癌症长期未被诊断和治疗，病情已迅速发展到第四期，并扩散到肝脏。他说，新加坡中央医院的专家告诉他：“如果你不听我们的，我们只给你六个月的时间。”

海克尔同意接受化疗，并进行了四次大型腹部手术以清除结肠中的原发肿瘤，手术后因内部破裂导致严重的术后并发症，他几乎丧命。

海克尔酋长与妻子兼商业伙伴安娜·贝尔·弗朗西斯于2002年结婚，育有三个孩子。（海峡时报照片：林耀辉）

海克尔酋长和他的妻子兼商业伙伴安娜·贝尔·弗朗西斯于 2002 年结婚，育有三个孩子。

身体上的打击非常巨大。不到八个月的时间里，他减掉了100公斤，相当于他体重的一半。弗朗西斯指出，具有讽刺意味的是，手术后他食欲不振时，正是他标志性的肥胖体型救了他一命。

“这么说吧，是他的超重救了他，”她说。“如果他没有什么可失去的，他早就消失了。”

由于海克尔频繁出入医院，这对夫妇忽略了海歌记原址（位于北桥路）的租约即将到期，该店已于六月关闭。他们只剩一个月的时间搬离，不得不花费20万美元搬迁至布梭拉街，新店于八月开业，这对他们来说是一笔不小的经济负担。

然而，海克尔对那位不愿让他们继续住在原址的前房东并无怨恨。“生意就是生意，伙计。这无关个人恩怨。我并不记仇，但，是的，那段日子确实很艰难。”

这对夫妇还有两家餐馆，分别是位于义顺的“海哥记海南牛肉面”和位于狮城广场的“海哥记海南牛肉面”。

来自家人的坚定支持

海克尔说，在与病魔抗争的过程中，家人始终是他的精神支柱。他和弗朗西斯于2002年喜结连理，他们的婚姻牢不可破。“你不会嫁给那个会陪你走过彩虹的人，”海克尔说，“你会嫁给那个会陪你一起经历地狱的人。”

海克尔酋长与安娜·贝尔·弗朗西斯的婚姻——两人于2002年喜结连理——以牢不可破的纽带为标志。（海峡时报摄影：林耀辉）

谢赫·海克尔与安娜·贝尔·弗朗西斯的婚姻——两人于 2002 年喜结连理——以牢不可破的纽带为标志。

他们说，他们的三个孩子都非常坚强。即将于九月底参加小学离校考试（PSLE）的Juz，一直和爸爸开玩笑说起癌症。

海克尔也很保护他七十多岁的父母。血液检测证实，他的癌症并非遗传。“我不是从父母那里遗传的，我也不会把它遗传给我的孩子，”他说。

他计划重拾1991年让他一举成名的事业——音乐。

那一年，他与说唱歌手 Ashidiq Ghazali 组成的二人组合 Construction Sight 赢得了日本电视台富士电视台举办的地区性电视音乐比赛 Asia Bagus 的冠军，他因此登上了新闻头条。

尽管 Haikel 在 2021 年宣布退出乐坛，但他仍想发行另一张专辑，并且正在洽谈与马来西亚嘻哈巨星 Joe Flizzow 等说唱歌手合作。

他还希望每天都能待在武梭街的餐厅，与顾客、粉丝、朋友和熟人互动。“我想和每个人合影，我想和每个人握手。”

每当他身体虚弱到无法继续治疗时，他就会坐在停在附近的汽车里休息。他将继续接受化疗，弗朗西斯说他会尽力坚持下去。

与其说是宿命论式的、病态的告别，不如说他在癌症公开视频中使用的标签 #FINALAPPLAUSE 代表着他对多年来支持他的所有人的感谢，无论他们是通过他的音乐还是他的食品生意支持他。

“这是我最后向（我的观众）鼓掌。我想为他们鼓掌。我想说声谢谢，”他再次哽咽道。“你们所有人，从父母到孩子，再到下一代，是你们让我成为我自己，表达我自己，成为最好的自己。你们让另一个生命得以存在。”