ONE day in 1989, 34-year-old Wong Mei-king put on her best clothes and assembled her family for a series of photographs, resigned to losing her breast to cancer - and maybe her life.
Four years and five operations later, she is smiling, beautiful and full of life. ''The scars still hurt sometimes but I hardly consider myself ill anymore,'' she says.
Every year, 900 women in Hongkong will learn they have breast cancer, according to Department of Health figures. It is the most common cancer to strike women and deaths have increased threefold here since the 60s.
Three hundred and thirty-three women died from the disease in 1991. But breast cancer is not always fatal. Compared to the biggest killer, lung cancer, it is often treatable.
Three women who have survived breast cancer to lead full and active lives are Wong Mei-king, Pong Kam-hing and Mak Yin-ling. The trio met through CanSurvive, a self-help support group for cancer sufferers and their loved ones. Recently, they volunteered to take part in the formation of a group to welcome newcomers, with the hope that more women will be able to benefit from the mutual support they have enjoyed.
Ms Pong, 45, recalled how joining the group helped her to rebuild her life after she underwent a mastectomy nearly two years ago. ''When you first find out about the illness, you think that's it - the end of the world. But once you realise you are not alone and you meet others who have survived, you change your outlook,'' she said.