Lung cancer survivor, a skateboarding fanatic, has anti-smoking message for fellow boarders and others
- In 2017 Warren Stuart was diagnosed with stage one lung cancer. Smoking was part of skating culture in the 1980s, and he was a smoker for 30 years
- After quitting the habit and beating cancer, the 51-year-old Hongkonger is out to warn fellow skaters young and old about tobacco’s dangers
Warren Stuart, who celebrated his 51st birthday this month, is well aware of how lucky he is to be alive.
In July 2017, Stuart went to his doctor with a nagging cough. He was diagnosed with bronchitis, but when a couple of rounds of antibiotics failed to clear it, an X-ray — followed by more tests and scans — confirmed his fears: he had stage one lung cancer.
“I remember the day the doctor gave me the bad news,” says Stuart. “Nothing prepares you for it and it’s tempting to be in denial, but the prospect of having a disease that in many cases becomes terminal is too real to ignore.”
In October that same year Stuart checked into the Hong Kong Baptist Hospital for surgery to remove the midlobe on his right lung.
Three weeks after surgery the avid skateboarder – Stuart is head coach for the Hong Kong skateboarding team, judges at overseas competitions and played a role in the 2019 opening of the Lai Chi Kok Park Skatepark – was back on his board.
