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Let me fight cancer in peace: Anita Mui

Niki Law

Stalked by paparazzi day and night, Canto-pop star Anita Mui Yim-fong told yesterday of being unable to step out of her home for weeks - making it impossible for her to get treatment for her cervical cancer.

Biting her lip, the star pleaded with the media to give her privacy while she tried to defeat the disease. 'I have been deeply bothered by the media speculation about my health. When I looked out of my window each day I saw seven or eight cars,' she said.

'I was so confused and I didn't know what to do. I needed to get treatment but I couldn't go out. I didn't want other patients and their families to be affected by me. It is my duty, as a celebrity, to handle this pressure.'

Mui said she had been hiding the fact she had cancer from her elderly mother and her friends until the media plastered her face on the covers of almost every magazine and newspaper, saying that she was suffering from a serious illness.

The singer found out a little more than a year ago that she had a benign tumour, but a recent check-up revealed it had become malignant. Her elder sister, Mui Oi-fong, died of ovarian cancer in April 2000 after a 15-year struggle. 'I tell you calmly now that I have cervical cancer. It is not terminal and I am not going to die yet. So please stop waiting outside my home - as if you are waiting for me to die,' she said at the Intercontinental Hotel.

She added: 'I hope people do not twist my words today. I don't need [the media's] concern. I just need [them] to tell the truth.'

Cheung Ping-ling, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Journalists' Association, said it would discuss paparazzi techniques and public interest issues at a meeting today.

I get by with friends' help - C1

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