Fit & Fab: Judy Vas

Before Judy Vas became one of Asia's most successful women in financial compliance - and even before she was a senior investigator tackling white-collar crime at the Securities and Futures Commission - she was a Hong Kong policewoman. A daily regime of running and swimming helped her maintain a healthy body - and an even stronger mind - to deal with the rigours of fighting crime in Hong Kong.

"In my [police] days, we did all kinds of exercise like self defence and drills. They might give you a tree trunk to pick up in teams. Or you'd be running up hills with extra weight on your back," she says.

"During training, they'd just pick you up on a helicopter and drop you somewhere in Sai Kung and say, 'Make your way back.' We only had a radio, a bottle of water and a few packets of instant noodles."

In 1997, she suffered from Hodgkin's lymphoma and braved rounds of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Throughout the ordeal, she continued to work and eventually made a full recovery.

"Life went on," she says. "It kept me sane."

And just as she'd thought she had been through it all, four years ago Vas discovered she had breast cancer. Surgery revealed further tumours. With a strong faith and an even stronger mind, she endured once again.