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SINGAPORE: Singapore's DBS Bank said on Thursday its chief executive officer Richard Stanley has been diagnosed with leukemia.
It added that Mr Stanley, who was hired last May, is expected to take three to six months of medical leave.
Mr Stanley will take leave and commence medical treatment in Singapore immediately.
This comes after the shock diagnosis on Monday that he has acute myelogenous leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
Mr Stanley had sought treatment for what appeared to be ordinary flu-like symptoms after experiencing a cough and high fever during the Lunar New Year weekend.
According to doctors, this type of cancer can present itself in patients across all age groups.
Symptoms of the disease include tiredness, bone pains, fever and bruising. And since it is an aggressive sort of cancer, patients who experience such symptoms should seek treatment as soon as possible.
Chemotherapy treatments are used to bring patients into a state of remission.
Dr Toh Keng Kiat, a haematologist, said: “We would advise the patient to undergo a bone marrow transplant which offers an only hope for a cure in that sense because it removes the disease and replaces his marrow with healthy marrow from the donor.”
However doctors say close to half of all patients do not respond to bone marrow transplants, giving the disease a high mortality rate.
Doctors have confirmed Mr Stanley's form of leukemia is treatable and full remission is possible.
DBS chairman Koh Boon Hwee will cover Mr Stanley's role in his absence.
Mr Koh is not new to the role, having previously acted in a similar capacity. He had taken on an active management oversight role in DBS from September 2007 to April 2008, prior to Mr Stanley's appointment.
Analysts Channel NewsAsia spoke to say they do not expect the bank's business to be affected.
They say there is a good management structure in place and are confident the bank will be able to manage the crisis well.
- CNA/yb/yt
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