KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Life was fine for veteran banker Datuk Seri Nazir Razak until one of his banker friends advised him to buy an insurance policy in October 2018 while he was in the UK.
In doing so, he was required to undergo a health screening as part of the procedure.
The basic health check-up then led to a shocking discovery which turned Nazir’s life around.
“I took a blood test and it was discovered that I had a high prostate-specific antigen score, which suggested that there might be a problem.”
Nazir was then advised by the doctor to go for further investigative screenings to get a conclusive result.
He then went for an MRI test and a biopsy over the next few months where he was diagnosed not only with prostate cancer, but it was discovered that it’s an aggressive one.
“It was a scary discovery as I had an aggressive prostate cancer and absolutely no symptoms,” he said.
To determine the aggressiveness of the disease, Nazir did a Gleason score assessment and discovered that his score stood at nine out of 10, which is considered highly aggressive.
He was then told not to waste any time and go for the surgery as soon as possible.
Nazir went for the surgery on February 5 last year to remove his prostate using robotic prostatectomy procedure.
This is where the surgeon sits at a control panel in the operating room and moves robotic arms to operate through several small incisions in the patient’s abdomen.
Nazir, who describes himself as a glass-half-full person, said although he was shocked by the discovery, he remained optimistic to recover from the disease as he was lucky enough to catch it at an early stage.
“The key to survival for prostate cancer patients is to catch it early and treat it before it escapes the prostate.”
He also admitted that he was fortunate enough to have a good support system – his wife, children and friends, who kept him upbeat to fight the disease.
“They kept being very positive although they may have had different thoughts themselves.”
He added that his wife, Datin Seri Azlina Aziz was very good in a crisis and helped him stay focused throughout the treatment.
Following the surgery, Nazir recalled that he went through a smooth recovery process for a few months before he returned to normalcy.
“Prostate cancer is not something to panic about. Those who go through it should remain calm so that they can make the right decision.”
According to the latest Malaysian National Cancer Registry Report 2012-2016 which was published last year, a total of 4,189 cases of prostate cancer were registered from the same period when compared with 3,132 cases between 2007 and 2011.
Of the reported cases, 68.6 per cent were detected at a late stage (III and IV), which was higher when compared to 2007-2011 report (60 per cent).
The report also highlighted prostate cancer as seventh most common cancer in Malaysia and third in males.
Road to recovery
Although the road to recovery was quite smooth for Nazir, the cancer experience was nothing short of a big lesson which changed his life priorities.
“One of the things I realised was that in my younger days I didn’t have the right work-life balance,” he said.
He recalled that he was very consumed by CIMB during his tenure as the chief executive officer and the group chairman with long working hours and a very little break.
“At the end of the day, work is important but it’s not everything.
“There is no point having all the money in the world if you don’t have a healthy body,” he said.
If he could reverse the time and do it all over again, Nazir said he would have chosen to be more disciplined and focus more on his personal life.
However, he now lives a healthy lifestyle by exercising, watching his food and going for regular health check-ups.
“But the biggest change for me is that I quit smoking,” he said with a big smile.
A new adventure
Moving forward, Nazir has taken one of his life’s challenges and is turning it into meaningful advocacy by sharing his experience to help his fellow countrymen gain more knowledge about prostate cancer.
The 53-year-old cancer survivor has teamed up with the Universiti Malaya’s Urological Cancer Trust Fund to run a five-year nationwide campaign dubbed #onlymencan.
The idea came after Nazir realised there was a lack of awareness about prostate cancer in Malaysia.
After he returned home, Nazir met the committee at the trust fund to think of ways to give back to society.
However, he learned that there were capacity limitations when it came to having enough funds to run any sorts of awareness campaigns.
He then went on to raise a minimum of RM5 million from various foundations within his corporate network to fund his five-year campaign.
The first leg of his campaign, which takes place throughout November, will focus on educating people about prostate cancer and emphasising on the importance of early detection.
Citing recent studies he said late diagnosis among Malaysians is much higher than neighbouring Singapore (25 to 30 per cent) and the United States (less than 20 per cent).
As such he said the ultimate goal of the campaign would be to lower the number of newly-diagnosed advanced prostate cancer from the current 60 per cent to 30 per cent by 2025.
To better understand the general sentiment about prostate cancer in Malaysia, Nazir said they conducted a baseline study and interviews.
As a result, they found out that 15 per cent of Malaysians think women have a prostate, while 50 per cent think prostate cancer is something to do with urination.
“The level of understanding and awareness about prostate is very limited.
“We also noted that culturally people are reluctant to discuss prostate, simply because of the nature of the topic.”
Nazir also pointed out that many people may have symptoms such as urinary incontinence or impaired sexual functions but they tend to ignore it simply because they are shy to talk about it.
Apart from educating the society at large about prostate cancer, Nazir said his campaign will also focus on training general practitioners on how to deal with prostate cancer patients.
The campaign will be led by infectious diseases expert and UM medical faculty dean Prof Datuk Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman.
It will also include urology experts Prof Dr Ong Teng Aik and Prof Dr George Lee Eng Geap as well as prostate cancer survivors and key opinion leaders.
When asked why he decided to share his story publicly, Nazir quickly said he wanted to save lives and prevent people from going through pains by encouraging them to do regular screenings.
He also noted that after he opened up about his experience, many of his friends were encouraged to get checked.
“Every man has a 10 per cent chance of getting prostate cancer. The key to survival is early detection.”
He, however, agreed that many people are reluctant to go for regular screenings due to the fear of being diagnosed with a disease.
“I always tell them it’s not just about you; it’s about your family and the people around you.
“I just want everyone to know that in the case of prostate cancer, the chances of survival depends on how early you catch the disease.
“Get checked, detect it early and you’ll be able to survive and thrive,” he added.
Nazir is the youngest son of Malaysia’s second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and also the younger brother of former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
While growing up, Nazir was sent to the UK at the age of 13 to pursue his undergraduate and post-graduate studies in the 80s.
It was there he met Azlina and they both are blessed with twins – a boy and a girl – who both are pursuing their masters in the UK at the moment.
Nazir is a well-known figure in Malaysia for his integral role in shaping and transforming CIMB Group Holdings Berhad into a leading regional financial group it is today.
He spent nearly three decades at the banking group, where he served as a group chief executive officer for 15 years and group chairman for four years before stepping down in 2018.
Despite leaving a legacy behind for turning CIMB Group completely around, Nazir said his venture into banking after he returned from the UK was totally accidental.
“I was initially planning to go into civil service as my late father thought one of us (the brothers) should do that.
“But Malaysia had changed when I came back and I was advised to enter the corporate sector.”
He said he was advised to go into banking as a stepping stone to corporate life.
Nazir then jokingly said as it turned out, his adventure in banking was never a stepping stone as he remained in the industry for 29 years.
Following his resignation, Nazir still has a hand in a few businesses including furniture and food.
He also has a private entity firm in Singapore and does “bits and bobs” in Malaysia.
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