He was given a 5% chance of survival, but this retired SAF captain beat cancer and started a baking business

SINGAPORE: The aroma of freshly baked pastries fills the air as Mr Fuad Fahmi opens the oven door. 

Inside, the light illuminates neat rows of flaky golden-brown croissants filled with chicken rendang. 

Pulling the tray out, he inspects each croissant closely.

Using a small serrated knife, he carefully slices the pastries, and the fragrance of spices wafts out.

He then gently places a fresh kaffir lime leaf on top of each croissant, adding a splash of colour. 

Flitting around the kitchen, the lean and muscular 34-year-old is a picture of health.

It is a stark contrast to six years ago, when he nearly lost his fight to cancer.

BATTLING CANCER

It started with a pain in his lower back pain followed by nausea and significant weight loss.

Two months later, in December 2016, tests confirmed his worst fear: He had stage 4 choriocarcinoma, a germ cell cancer.

“I was only given a 5 per cent of survival,” said Mr Fuad.

“It was aggressive in nature and the cancer had already metastasised to other parts of my body like my lungs, lymph nodes. It was going upwards from the testicular area and was already spreading up to the spinal cord and the concern was that it might reach the brain.”

It came as a shock to the retired-Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) captain, who was an army instructor at the time.

“I've always been a person who advocates for a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Personally, I cultivated good eating habits, was an avid gym-goer and played sports all the time, so it was very difficult to accept it,” he said.

He immediately started chemotherapy, eventually going through eight rounds in total, but this took a heavy toll on his body.

“The treatments were very, very harsh and I had a lot of side effects, like diarrhoea and nausea, and also had to deal with a lot of high fevers because of the treatment itself,” he said, adding that he suffered a lot of bleeding post-surgery and lost strength in his legs.

“Towards the later stage of treatments, I really felt like giving up and I told my dad: ‘I don't want to go for chemotherapy anymore, I'm done with this. Let me be alone and if it’s time for me to go, I’ll go’.”

But his family and wife – then his girlfriend – refused to give up and instead, redoubled their efforts to encourage him to keep fighting.

“They really put up a very united front against cancer and gave me wonderful support, not just encouraging me but also helping to break down problems into something that was more manageable and find solutions to overcome them,” he said.

“They also constantly reminded me that I have to fight for my loved ones and that I'm still young and have so much more to achieve in life.”

Their efforts paid off, and in August 2019 – nine months after he was first diagnosed with late-stage cancer – he was given a clean bill of health.

“When the doctor broke the news that there were no more cancer markers in my body, I couldn’t believe it,” he said.

“I had no words, I just looked at my dad and I just hugged him. I said: ‘This is what we have been fighting for. Let's start a new life.' ... I was so overjoyed.”

A FRESH START

With a renewed focus on health and well-being, Mr Fuad decided to leave the SAF and explore other jobs including sales and logistics.

But it was a short stint at a small curry puff shop in Tampines that would spark his interest, giving him the ingredients to create a new life for himself.

“There was this uncle who was making buns over there. I asked him if he could teach me how to do it, and he gave me a very brief recipe on how to make them and it kind of intrigued me,” he said.

“I loved the idea of making a product with my own hands and sharing food with my family and the community.” 

His interest in the art of baking continued to grow as he taught himself how to bake by watching YouTube videos.

Mr Fuad, who had no prior culinary experience, soon found himself experimenting with more complicated recipes including viennoiserie – Viennese-style baked goods.

In February last year, he started selling his pastries as a side business, on social media under the brand name Captain Roti.

A month later, encouraged by the positive response, he decided to quit his job as a manager in a logistics firm to focus on his baking business.

Today, Mr Fuad sells between 2,000 and 2,500 pastries a month and dreams of setting up his own baking academy in future.

“I never thought I would end up here,” he said. “I always thought I wanted to achieve a good career with the SAF or maybe elsewhere outside. But here I am, doing what I love to do, even though this passion was only discovered recently.

“But it just goes to show that it's never too late and there is always an avenue where you can show your creativity or find your way through – whatever obstacles that stand in your way,” he said.

“When I look back at my whole journey, including my battle with cancer, I feel very thankful and there's a lot of gratitude to be given throughout this journey.”

Read this story in Bahasa Melayu here.

Read this story in Bahasa Indonesia here.