Goh Chok Tong pats himself on the back for having a positive attitude through radiation treatment

Being very vocal about his health issues on social media, Goh Chok Tong wrote about his first two radiation therapy sessions on Wednesday (Dec 23) and Thursday (Dec 24) on his Facebook account.

In a photo he uploaded on Wednesday, it showed “the custom-made mask to hold my head absolutely still while the machine zapped the bad spot on my larynx. No swallowing as it zapped. I focused on my breathing and the present – a little bit of mindfulness.”

The procedure did not last very long, and Mr Goh said it was “all over in a matter of minutes.”

“One down, 19 more to go,” he added. He wrote in another Facebook post last week that he has to have 20 radiation therapy sessions all in all.

In a Facebook post on Thursday (Dec 24), the former Emeritus Senior Minister gave himself a pat on the back for his attitude. He wrote on social media: “Ten minutes was all it took for my second radiation session. Thank you all for your concern, affection and well wishes. They mean a lot and “jia you” to my positive attitude”.

Mr Goh’s radiation sessions are because after a biopsy of a suspicious nodule in his larynx, squamous cells had been found in the nodule in his larynx, but, “Fortunately, after excision, the MRI of the neck and the CT scan of the chest showed no trace of these bad cells.”

Despite this, however, he still needs radiation therapy to ensure that no cancer cells remain in his body.

“Merry Christmas and a Very Happy and Healthy New Year to all of you and your loved ones”, he wished his followers on social media. /TISG