Mr Wong, 71, had spent decades working as a toy factory worker and sailor. After years of toil, he finally retired and could enjoy life at a leisurely pace with few worries. His daughter had grown up and married and was working as a nursing officer at a local hospital, and he enjoyed good health.
The first hint of trouble, however, surfaced when he noticed a red tint to his urine. Wong (whose full name has been withheld for reasons of confidentiality) was worried, but tried to ignore it since he felt no pain. When the reddish hue did not go away after a few weeks, he mentioned it to his daughter.
Although blood in the urine, or haematuria, is a fairly common condition and could be indicative of many conditions, Wong's age was a risk factor for more serious ailments. His daughter insisted he see Professor Anthony Ng Chi-fai, a urologist from Chinese University's department of surgery.
Ng put Wong through a series of tests, including urine screening, computed tomography (CT) scans and a cystoscopy, where a narrow tube with a light and camera on the end is inserted into the bladder through the urethra. Ng found multiple tumours, the largest being four centimetres in diameter, in Wong's bladder. He had bladder cancer. His history of working with plastics at the toy factory may have been a predisposing factor.
Ng performed a minimally invasive procedure on Wong - a transurethral resection of bladder tumour, where the lesions were removed using a cystoscope. Wong suffered minimal discomfort and healed fast. The cancerous tissue showed that Wong had grade-three superficial transitional cell carcinoma - that is, the cells forming the innermost lining of the bladder had become abnormal and multiplied too rapidly. The cell abnormality was considered high, and such cancers can be aggressive.
Another cystoscopy a month later found that the bladder was free of any further sign of cancer, and the operation was considered a success.
