Breast cancer at 30 and newly engaged: She’s fighting to put her health first

Shermin Shu was diagnosed with Stage 2B breast cancer at 30 in early 2026.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF SHERMIN SHU, JASON QUAH

Published Oct 03, 2026, 08:55 AM

Updated Oct 03, 2026, 10:12 AM

Shermin Shu, a 31-year-old muay thai practitioner, ignored a breast lump until diagnosed with Stage 2B breast cancer, leading to intensive treatment and lifestyle changes.

She prioritises her health now, balancing chemotherapy with modified training and coaching, supported by her fiance, family and employer.

Shu shares her positive journey on social media to inspire others and warns against delaying medical checks despite busy lives.

SINGAPORE – A year ago, Shermin Shu had everything to look forward to.

At 30, she was engaged to comedian Jacky Ng in June 2025 and won her first muay thai fight locally as an amateur in August.

She brushed aside Ng’s concerns when he noticed a lump in her right breast that month. Probably hormones or a blood clot from her almost-daily training, she thought.

After all, the marketing executive was making her professional debut in Phuket in November, where she would be the first woman from her gym, Tiger Muay Thai (Singapore), to take part.

She lost that fight to a more experienced competitor from the Netherlands, but continued intense training in anticipation of another fight in Singapore.

It was only when she closely examined her body in the mirror in December 2025 that she saw a hard cyst near her nipple. She realised she had lost some weight and the density of her breast “just wasn’t right”.

A breast and endocrine surgeon at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital confirmed her worst fears – she had Stage 2B breast cancer. There is no history of the disease in her family.

“I was young and active. As women, we’re familiar with breast cancer, but we are taught that it happens at a later stage of life,” she says.

Shu broke down while calling her fiance, who was performing in Australia at the time.

“I apologised to Jacky because we just got engaged. There were many hopes and dreams for what we wanted to achieve and the kids we wanted to have. He was very comforting and told me we will go through this challenge together,” she says.

Since January, when her diagnosis was confirmed , she has gone through a whirlwind of cancer-related treatments, starting in March with a nipple-sparing mastectomy with breast reconstruction using a flap of tissue removed from the lower abdomen.

She underwent in-vitro fertilisation procedures to retrieve and freeze eight eggs in May and June – even giving herself IVF injections in the toilet during breaks in the midst of a warehouse sale held by her employer, a wine importer – followed by 16 sessions of weekly chemotherapy from mid-June. Radiation therapy is scheduled for later in 2026.

Breast cancer patient Shermin Shu and her fiance Jacky Ng in March around the time she had cancer surgery. PHOTO: COURTESY OF SHERMIN SHU

Breast cancer patient Shermin Shu and her fiance Jacky Ng in March around the time she had cancer surgery.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF SHERMIN SHU

Her bosses were supportive and allowed her to work mostly remotely, but she recently quit to run her own freelance projects.

As a creative, she says she was always hustling for the next goal.

“Being 31 this year, the biggest change I’ve made is to put myself first and listen to my body,” she says.

“I had always pushed my health and happiness aside in order to bring happiness to other people in the different ways I deliver creativity. Making this decision has made me a lot happier. I feel lighter.”

Muay thai has been a grounding force for her, even though her routine is a fraction of what she was doing 12 months ago.

Her medical team encouraged her to keep fit, which also helps in unexpected ways, such as having veins visible enough for chemotherapy needles, she says.

Shu first picked up the sport about a decade ago to lose weight. In the process, she learnt to love the discipline and resilience muay thai taught her, as well as the community.

Being active and going through fight camps helped her cope with chemotherapy, since she was used to pushing through fatigue from training.

“When the chemo fatigue hit, it wasn’t a completely unfamiliar feeling. I feel like that helped me cope with it better and recover a little faster each time,” she says.

Instead of training six days a week, sometimes twice a day, in the past, she now does at least one 90-minute training session a week.

She also gets a mini workout twice a week coaching kickboxing at KIX Combat Fitness since August.

She usually rests at home on Sundays, when the post-chemo fatigue typically worsens.

“Previously, I would beat myself up if I didn’t train for the day. But now, it’s about learning how to space things out. It’s about how I show up to the gym and make sure that I get a good workout.”

Shu hopes to eventually return to the ring for a few fights before she tries for a baby. Her wedding, originally scheduled for 2027, has been pushed back by a year so that her hair can grow out.

One of the hardest challenges in her journey so far has been dealing with the invisible aspects of being a breast cancer patient because “I don’t look sick”.

She sometimes gets flippant questions on social media, like why she shaved her hair, and responds in a lighthearted manner, joking that it saves on shampoo. At other times, people wonder why she rejects social engagements.

“I have to explain that I’m going through chemotherapy and feeling lethargic. I think it’s hard for people to comprehend that,” she says.

“I could have done muay thai or coaching yesterday, but today could be the day when the treatment starts showing its signs and I need rest. People forget that I need grace sometimes. I’m still a cancer patient.”

Muay thai training has helped Shermin Shu deal better with chemotherapy’s side effects. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

Muay thai training has helped Shermin Shu deal better with chemotherapy’s side effects.

ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

She says her diagnosis has brought her closer to her mother, aged 58, and younger brother, aged 29, who works in sales for a crematorium. They show their love in different ways, such as making sure she has enough eggs and toilet paper, or helping her move furniture. Her father died two years ago.

Shu has been sharing her breast cancer journey on social media, where she has a combined follower count of 19,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram under the handle @caramelprata.

She chose to post positive content after seeing some negative videos on TikTok while searching for what to expect during treatment and the side effects.

“One wrong engagement and suddenly the algorithm was feeding me more of the same. It made me spiral, especially when I was already scared and vulnerable,” she says. “I want to make sure that whoever chances upon my content finds it positive, so that it gives them light through the tunnel and shows them that we have amazing healthcare.”

She also found kindred spirits when she joined the non-profit Breast Cancer Foundation, which has a support group for younger breast cancer patients.

Looking back on the past year, she recalls how she told herself her health could wait because she was busy. But if she had sought treatment a few months earlier, her cancer may not have progressed as far, she says.

“That’s the biggest takeaway – making sure my health is taken care of. In terms of work life and training, I don’t always have to be the strongest fighter in the gym. Just showing up, having the discipline and resilience to still do the sport, it’s a pat on the back already.”

Stephanie Yeo is senior correspondent at The Straits Times’ Life section.

Health and well-being

Sports and recreation

2026年初，30岁的舒雪敏被诊断出患有2B期乳腺癌。

照片由舒雪敏、郭建文提供

发布于 2026 年 10 月 3 日上午 8:55

更新于2026年10月3日上午10:12

31岁的泰拳练习者舒雪敏（Shermin Shu）忽视了乳房肿块，直到被诊断出患有2B期乳腺癌，才接受了强化治疗并改变了生活方式。

她现在把健康放在首位，在未婚夫、家人和雇主的支持下，一边接受化疗，一边进行调整后的训练和指导。

舒在社交媒体上分享了她的积极经历，以激励他人，并提醒大家即使生活忙碌也不要拖延体检。

新加坡——一年前，舒雪敏对未来充满期待。

2025年6月，30岁的她与喜剧演员Jacky Ng订婚，同年8月，她作为业余选手在当地赢得了她的第一场泰拳比赛。

当吴先生当月发现她右侧乳房有个肿块时，她并没有在意。她心想，可能是激素引起的，也可能是几乎每天训练造成的血栓。

毕竟，这位市场营销主管将于 11 月在普吉岛迎来她的职业首秀，她将成为她所在的拳馆 Tiger Muay Thai（新加坡）的第一位参赛女选手。

她在与一位来自荷兰、经验更为丰富的对手的比赛中失利，但她继续进行高强度训练，以备战在新加坡的另一场比赛。

直到2025年12月，她对着镜子仔细检查自己的身体时，才发现乳头附近有一个硬囊肿。她意识到自己瘦了一些，乳房的密度“不太对劲”。

吴廷方综合医院的一位乳腺及内分泌外科医生证实了她最担心的事——她患有2B期乳腺癌。她的家族中没有这种疾病的病史。

“我当时年轻又活跃。作为女性，我们对乳腺癌并不陌生，但我们从小就被教育说乳腺癌通常发生在人生的后期，”她说。

舒在给当时正在澳大利亚演出的未婚夫打电话时情绪崩溃。

“我向杰基道歉，因为我们刚订婚。我们对未来有很多憧憬和梦想，包括想要实现的成就和想要的孩子。他非常安慰我，告诉我我们会一起克服这个挑战，”她说。

自 1 月份确诊以来，她经历了一系列与癌症相关的治疗，从 3 月份开始，她接受了保留乳头的乳房切除术，并使用从下腹部切除的组织瓣进行乳房重建。

她在五月和六月接受了体外受精手术，取出并冷冻了八个卵子——甚至在她雇主（一家葡萄酒进口商）举办的仓库促销活动间隙，她还在洗手间给自己注射了试管婴儿药物——之后从六月中旬开始，她接受了16次每周一次的化疗。放射治疗计划于2026年晚些时候进行。

乳腺癌患者舒雪敏（Shermin Shu）和她的未婚夫吴杰基（Jacky Ng）于三月份拍摄，当时舒雪敏正接受癌症手术。照片由舒雪敏提供。

乳腺癌患者舒雪敏和她的未婚夫吴杰基在三月份舒雪敏接受癌症手术前后合影。

照片：由舒雪敏提供

她的老板们很支持她，允许她大部分时间远程工作，但她最近辞职去经营自己的自由职业项目。

作为一名创意工作者，她说自己总是努力追求下一个目标。

“今年我31岁了，我做出的最大改变就是把自己的需求放在第一位，倾听自己身体的声音，”她说。

“我过去总是把自己的健康和幸福放在一边，以便用我不同的创意方式给他人带来快乐。做出这个决定后，我快乐多了，感觉轻松多了。”

泰拳一直是她稳定情绪的重要因素，尽管她现在的训练量只有 12 个月前的一小部分。

她说，她的医疗团队鼓励她保持健康，这也有助于一些意想不到的事情，比如让血管清晰可见，便于进行化疗针头注射。

舒大约十年前开始接触泰拳，最初是为了减肥。在这个过程中，她不仅爱上了泰拳培养的自律和韧性，也爱上了泰拳社群。

积极参加训练营和格斗训练帮助她应对化疗，因为她习惯了通过训练克服疲劳。

“化疗带来的疲劳感来袭时，那种感觉并不完全陌生。我觉得这帮助我更好地应对，每次都能更快地恢复过来，”她说。

她以前每周训练六天，有时一天训练两次，而现在每周至少进行一次 90 分钟的训练。

自八月以来，她每周还会抽出两次时间在 KIX Combat Fitness 担任拳击教练，进行简短的锻炼。

她通常在星期天待在家里休息，因为化疗后的疲劳感通常会在星期天加重。

“以前，如果当天没训练，我会非常自责。但现在，我学会了如何合理安排时间。关键在于我如何准时去健身房，确保自己能进行充分的锻炼。”

舒希望在备孕前能重返拳台打几场比赛。她的婚礼原定于2027年举行，但为了让头发长长，婚礼推迟了一年。

到目前为止，她人生旅程中最艰难的挑战之一就是应对乳腺癌患者身上那些看不见的方面，因为“我看起来不像生病了”。

她有时会在社交媒体上收到一些轻佻的问题，比如为什么剃光头，她总是轻松地回应，开玩笑说这样可以省洗发水。有时，人们又会好奇她为什么拒绝社交活动。

“我必须解释一下，我正在接受化疗，感觉很虚弱。我觉得人们很难理解这一点，”她说。

“我昨天本来可以练泰拳或者当教练，但今天可能是治疗效果开始显现的日子，我需要休息。人们忘了，我有时也需要体谅。我仍然是一名癌症患者。”

泰拳训练帮助舒雪敏更好地应对化疗的副作用。（海峡时报摄影：JASON QUAH）

泰拳训练帮助舒雪敏更好地应对化疗的副作用。

《海峡时报》摄影：JASON QUAH

她说，确诊后她和58岁的母亲以及29岁的弟弟（弟弟在一家火葬场做销售）的关系更加亲密了。他们用不同的方式表达爱意，比如确保她有足够的鸡蛋和卫生纸，或者帮她搬家具。她的父亲两年前去世了。

舒一直在社交媒体上分享她的乳腺癌治疗历程，她在TikTok和Instagram上的账号是@caramelprata，拥有19000名粉丝。

在TikTok上搜索治疗期间会发生什么以及副作用时，她看到了一些负面视频，之后她选择发布积极的内容。

“一次错误的互动之后，算法就开始给我推送更多类似的内容。这让我陷入了恶性循环，尤其是我本来就感到害怕和脆弱的时候，”她说。“我希望确保所有偶然看到我内容的人都能从中获得积极的影响，让他们看到希望之光，让他们看到我们拥有卓越的医疗保健。”

她加入非营利组织乳腺癌基金会后，也找到了志同道合的人，该基金会设有一个面向年轻乳腺癌患者的支持小组。

回首过去一年，她回忆起自己当时因为忙碌而总是告诉自己健康问题可以先放一放。但她说，如果几个月前就接受治疗，她的癌症或许就不会发展到如此严重的地步。

“最大的收获就是确保我的健康得到保障。就工作和训练而言，我并不总是需要成为健身房里最强壮的拳手。只要我能坚持下来，拥有足够的自律和韧性继续从事这项运动，就已经是一种莫大的肯定了。”

Stephanie Yeo是《海峡时报》生活版的高级记者。

健康与福祉

体育和休闲