{"id":14767,"date":"2026-07-21T16:07:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T08:07:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/?p=14767"},"modified":"2026-07-21T16:07:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T08:07:07","slug":"the-courage-to-live-unapologetically-how-cancer-changed-one-nus-graduates-outlook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/2026\/07\/21\/the-courage-to-live-unapologetically-how-cancer-changed-one-nus-graduates-outlook\/","title":{"rendered":"The Courage to Live Unapologetically: How Cancer Changed One NUS Graduate\u2019s Outlook"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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As the youngest of five siblings, Joshua Lee (Arts & Social Sciences ’26) grew up surrounded by family members with different personalities. This meant he had plenty of examples of what to do or what not to do, in order to avoid being punished.<\/p>

\u201cI would learn how to get away with things,\u201d quipped the 26-year-old\u00a0psychology\u00a0<\/a>graduate from NUS. \u201cEventually\u2026 I realised I had a gift for listening to people and observing how they interacted in the world around me.\u201d<\/p>

Beneath the cheeky admission was a quality that has shaped his academic path: His innate ability to listen to people and understand how they navigated the world around them.<\/p>

That instinct drew him to psychology, which he studied at both the polytechnic and university level. What appealed to him most about the discipline was the sense of hope it offered \u2014 the idea that even in difficult circumstances, people still had the agency to shape outcomes.<\/p>

\u201cPsychology is very much, \u2018Yes, you\u2019re in a dire situation, but you\u2019re in control of yourself,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cYou have some autonomy, some things in your life that you can influence.\u201d<\/p>

In 2024, while pursuing his psychology degree at the NUS\u00a0Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences<\/a>, Joshua was forced to put this belief to the test.<\/p>

After a fall sustained while bouldering left him in such severe pain that he nearly passed out, medical checks revealed that he had stage three testicular cancer, which had already spread to the lymph nodes in his abdominal area.<\/p>

\u201cI was quite angry about it (the diagnosis) for a couple of weeks,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was the first time I had been angry in life, or at God, in a long while.\u201d<\/p>

THE POWER OF PURPOSE<\/strong><\/p>

Although the diagnosis threw his future plans into disarray, Joshua kept his diagnosis largely private. He chose to share it only with family and close friends, mostly on a need-to-know basis.<\/p>

They rallied together to support him, giving him some measure of comfort as he started to undergo the dreadful process of chemotherapy. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to live, but I didn\u2019t want to die. I didn\u2019t want to do anything,\u201d Joshua said, describing his darkest moments.<\/p>

But as he watched his loved ones come together and pray for him, he discovered a new sense of purpose. During treatment, he wrote in his journal that if his ordeal would lead others to renew or find their faith and purpose in life, then his suffering would not be in vain.<\/p>

Support came not just from family and friends, but also from the community at NUS.<\/p>

As part of his minor in Community Development and Leadership, Joshua was involved in a year-long project at the\u00a0Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Centre\u00a0<\/a>(CTPCLC), but was not able to complete it due to his health circumstances at that time. When they heard about his diagnosis, they were sympathetic, constantly checking in on him and going so far as to offer to raise funds for him.<\/p>

Their gestures of support demonstrated that the values they taught at the centre extended far beyond the classroom.<\/p>

\u201cThe people at CTPCLC don\u2019t just teach about community development \u2014 they really walk the talk to develop the community, even if it’s just one student,\u201d said Joshua.<\/p>

After a six-month leave of absence to complete his treatment, Joshua returned to school with a different approach to the rest of his university journey.<\/p>

\u201cThe diagnosis\u2026 gave me the courage to live a bit more unapologetically,\u201d he said. \u201cLet me ask the questions I want, let me study what I want. That\u2019s the point of university, right? To push the boundaries of what is known.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Joshua, pictured with his peers at NUS, looks back on his undergraduate years as a time of friendship, growth and discovery.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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AN EMPATHETIC APPROACH TO CARE<\/strong><\/p>

Motivated by his experience with cancer, Joshua took up a psychology module focused on patients and healthcare upon his return. \u201cIt was not a module I would have taken if not for cancer,\u201d he said. \u201cIt helped me put my experiences in a clinical perspective.\u201d<\/p>

One such experience was when a fellow patient in his ward passed away during one of his hospital stays. \u201cEvery other patient in the ward was thinking, \u2018That could have been me,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>

It was a deeply confronting psychological experience, one that exacerbated the sense of isolation that often comes with a cancer diagnosis. \u201cWhen the diagnosis came, everyone started talking to me like I was already dead,\u201d he said.<\/p>

It was only when he joined the Adolescent and Young Adults Oncology (AYAO) programme, run by the National Cancer Centre of Singapore, that he found enough breathing room to crack jokes about his condition.<\/p>

\u201cHaving the space in the AYAO clinic to speak as if I was just another person with an experience of cancer was deeply helpful,\u201d he said.<\/p>

Now, he is bringing his unique blend of clinical expertise and lived experience to his role as Senior Programme Executive at the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS), where he has worked since January 2026, after completing his studies in November 2025, the same month he was declared cancer-free.<\/p>

At SCS, Joshua runs programmes and support groups for cancer patients or survivors like himself. Beyond providing a listening ear, he connects them with others who may be able to relate directly to their experience.<\/p>

For Joshua, the journey through cancer has reinforced the lesson that first drew him to psychology. While people may not always be able to choose what happens to them, they can find meaning in how they respond, and eventually offer support to others facing a similar challenge.<\/p>

\u201cI always tell people when they ask what words I have for other people going through a tough time: You need to find a reason,\u201d he said.<\/p>

\u201cYou need to find who or what you\u2019re living for, and make sure that thing is bigger than yourself.”<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Joshua will be tying the knot with his fianc\u00e9e Josephine next year.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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This story was\u00a0first published<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0NUS News<\/a>\u00a0in their coverage of\u00a0<\/i>Commencement 2026<\/a>, celebrating the achievements of our graduates from the Class of 2026. For more, read NUS News\u2019 stories and graduate profiles, check out the official\u00a0<\/i>Commencement website<\/a>, or look up and tag #NUS2026 on social media!<\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now celebrating his Commencement, this NUS Class of 2026 psychology graduate reflects on his battle with cancer and how he is bringing his experience and expertise to his role at the Singapore Cancer Society<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":14768,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14767"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14779,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14767\/revisions\/14779"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}