I dun know Richard Stanley, the late CEO of DBS.
I had read of his rare cancer which was diagnosed in late January. I was a bit shocked cos he was still quite young and it was a bit too suddenly.
I know people get cancer and all sorts of diseases all the time. But I am still shocked whenever that happen.
And then 2 and a half months later, Richard died. It was much too sudden.
Yeah, healthy young people died all the time but I was still shocked by this facts of life. It was just 2 months plus. So soon? Too soon?
As someone who was quite financially well off, he can afford to have the best treatments and doctors available. And yet, he ended up dead.
Life is so unpredictable.
I dun think Richard or his family would ever think he would die so young and so early in life.
One day, Richard was suffering from flu symptoms and the next few days, he was diagnosed with leukemia. And less than 3 months later, he was dead.
Life is a joke. A cruel bitter joke sometimes. One moment he was at the top of the world and the next, he was just ashes.
That's what life is all about. All fragility. Easy huffed out in just moments! Here one moment and gone the next.
Frankly, if something similar were to happen to SO, I dun think I can handle it.
I dun know how I would react or handle the situation. I would probably collapse and crack. Into many pieces. Or I would probably become stark raving mad.
But then if I would be the one to get a terminal disease, I would not be surprised at all.
My health has not always in the best state.
I have gotten gout and cataracts some years back. Doctors have told me it was quite rare for some one my age but not that impossible. They have seen young patients with similar conditions. But in small numbers.
Anyway, when someone died in their prime, it is very diificult for the family get over, cos it happen so unexpectedly. So suddenly.
It was too unexpected and sudden, even for me. A total stranger.
So, Rest in peace, Rich and goodbye. You have lived a good life.
----------------------------
Straits Times
12 April 2009
DBS CEO dies of cancer
By Gabriel Chen
FRIENDS and family on Saturday night flocked to the wake of DBS Group Holdings chief executive Richard Stanley, who died on Saturday morning after a short battle with leukaemia.
In his nine-month stint as CEO, Mr Richard Stanley not only made his mark professionally by seeing DBS through one of its most trying times, but he will also be fondly remembered for his warm, personable leadership style. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
His body is resting at the Singapore Casket and his funeral will be held tomorrow at the Church of St Teresa in Kampong Bahru Road.
In a statement, the bank said Mr Stanley, 48, died at 8.36am.
His family 'kept vigil all night long and were by his side as he slipped away peacefully', added the statement. He is survived by his wife, Ms Koh Li Peng, and three children.
Mr Stanley was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukaemia in late January and had been responding well to treatment.
After two rounds of chemotherapy, his doctors believed that his cancer was in remission. But his weakened immune system made him susceptible to infection, said the bank. His condition rapidly deteriorated over the last 48 hours and he succumbed to the infection.
DBS chairman Koh Boon Hwee said that DBS staff are deeply saddened by the loss.
'We will miss Rich and our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this time of bereavement,' he said.
DBS also said that Mr Koh will continue to oversee management, a role he took on after Mr Stanley's diagnosis. 'There will be no change in the bank's strategic direction,' it said. 'It will announce succession plans in due course.
Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who spoke to reporters at a constituency event in Marine Parade, said he was very saddened by the death of Mr Stanley, and extended his condolences to his wife and family.
--------------------------
Infection after chemotherapy led to death
HOW do you deal with a cancer that attacks blood?
Early diagnosis and treatment improve the odds of beating this fast-spreading blood cancer, or acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML).
But it was an infection, soon after his latest round of chemotherapy, that led to the sudden death of DBS chief Richard Stanley yesterday.
In fact, doctors had felt that Mr Stanley's AML was treatable when it was diagnosed in late January. Mr Stanley, 48, went to see a doctor when he had flu-like symptoms, including fever and a cough, over the Chinese New Year holidays.
Tests over the next three days confirmed he had AML.
The bad news came just nine months after he became chief executive of Singapore's biggest bank. He took leave, for up to six months, and began chemotherapy treatment at once.
In a staff memo then, DBS chairman Koh Boon Hwee said doctors felt Mr Stanley's condition was treatable and full remission was possible.
Haematologists who spoke to The Sunday Times yesterday explained that AML is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes abnormal white blood cells. These leukaemia cells build up in the bone marrow and blood, so there is less room for healthy cells. The causes of AML are mostly unknown.
It is a very serious illness and the cancer can worsen very quickly if not treated. Dr Benjamin Mow, consultant haematologist at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, said: 'If it is not treated, the person can die within three months.'
Patients have even died within two to three weeks of diagnosis due to complications from the disease or during treatment, said Dr Koh Liang Piu, senior consultant at the National University Cancer Institute.
Even with treatment, chances of recovering fully come with caveats. A normal, healthy person might have a 40 per cent to 50 per cent chance of recovery. But the elderly or sickly will have less than a 10 per cent chance, said DrKoh.
A relapse is common, occurring in three or four out of every 10 'cured' AML patients, he said.
In the less serious cases, the patient will have to go through four cycles of chemotherapy as treatment. The more serious and risky cases will need both chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, said doctors.
Because AML patients lack white blood cells needed to fight infection and disease, they have to be isolated during treatment to minimise the risk of infection.
Their single-bed isolation wards are specially cleaned. The few visitors who see them have to wash their hands and wear a face mask before entering the room. Such care is needed because, often, it is infections which lead to death among AML patients - especially after chemotherapy treatment.
Said Dr Koh: 'After chemotherapy, the patient's immunity is very low for the next two to three weeks. This is when the risk of infection is very high. Usually, death happens during this period.'
In a statement yesterday, DBS said Mr Stanley contracted an infection after chemotherapy, after which his condition 'deteriorated rapidly' in the last 48 hours.
Mr Stanley was treated at Mount Elizabeth Hospital. His doctor, consultant haematologist Dr Freddy Teo Cheng Peng, could not be contacted yesterday.
Infections can come from anywhere - from airborne bacteria to the pre-existing bacteria carried by the patients themselves. In very serious infections, such as blood or lung infection, the patient can die within hours, said Dr Koh.
Internal bleeding is also a common cause of death among AML patients, the worst being bleeding in the brain. This can happen suddenly and results from a lack of healthy platelets which help to form blood clots.
Said Dr Mow: 'Usually when the patient no longer responds to chemotherapy or becomes very sick, it might be too late to do anything else.'
I had read of his rare cancer which was diagnosed in late January. I was a bit shocked cos he was still quite young and it was a bit too suddenly.
I know people get cancer and all sorts of diseases all the time. But I am still shocked whenever that happen.
And then 2 and a half months later, Richard died. It was much too sudden.
Yeah, healthy young people died all the time but I was still shocked by this facts of life. It was just 2 months plus. So soon? Too soon?
As someone who was quite financially well off, he can afford to have the best treatments and doctors available. And yet, he ended up dead.
Life is so unpredictable.
I dun think Richard or his family would ever think he would die so young and so early in life.
One day, Richard was suffering from flu symptoms and the next few days, he was diagnosed with leukemia. And less than 3 months later, he was dead.
Life is a joke. A cruel bitter joke sometimes. One moment he was at the top of the world and the next, he was just ashes.
That's what life is all about. All fragility. Easy huffed out in just moments! Here one moment and gone the next.
Frankly, if something similar were to happen to SO, I dun think I can handle it.
I dun know how I would react or handle the situation. I would probably collapse and crack. Into many pieces. Or I would probably become stark raving mad.
But then if I would be the one to get a terminal disease, I would not be surprised at all.
My health has not always in the best state.
I have gotten gout and cataracts some years back. Doctors have told me it was quite rare for some one my age but not that impossible. They have seen young patients with similar conditions. But in small numbers.
Anyway, when someone died in their prime, it is very diificult for the family get over, cos it happen so unexpectedly. So suddenly.
It was too unexpected and sudden, even for me. A total stranger.
So, Rest in peace, Rich and goodbye. You have lived a good life.
----------------------------
Straits Times
12 April 2009
DBS CEO dies of cancer
By Gabriel Chen
FRIENDS and family on Saturday night flocked to the wake of DBS Group Holdings chief executive Richard Stanley, who died on Saturday morning after a short battle with leukaemia.
In his nine-month stint as CEO, Mr Richard Stanley not only made his mark professionally by seeing DBS through one of its most trying times, but he will also be fondly remembered for his warm, personable leadership style. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
His body is resting at the Singapore Casket and his funeral will be held tomorrow at the Church of St Teresa in Kampong Bahru Road.
In a statement, the bank said Mr Stanley, 48, died at 8.36am.
His family 'kept vigil all night long and were by his side as he slipped away peacefully', added the statement. He is survived by his wife, Ms Koh Li Peng, and three children.
Mr Stanley was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukaemia in late January and had been responding well to treatment.
After two rounds of chemotherapy, his doctors believed that his cancer was in remission. But his weakened immune system made him susceptible to infection, said the bank. His condition rapidly deteriorated over the last 48 hours and he succumbed to the infection.
DBS chairman Koh Boon Hwee said that DBS staff are deeply saddened by the loss.
'We will miss Rich and our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this time of bereavement,' he said.
DBS also said that Mr Koh will continue to oversee management, a role he took on after Mr Stanley's diagnosis. 'There will be no change in the bank's strategic direction,' it said. 'It will announce succession plans in due course.
Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who spoke to reporters at a constituency event in Marine Parade, said he was very saddened by the death of Mr Stanley, and extended his condolences to his wife and family.
--------------------------
Infection after chemotherapy led to death
HOW do you deal with a cancer that attacks blood?
Early diagnosis and treatment improve the odds of beating this fast-spreading blood cancer, or acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML).
But it was an infection, soon after his latest round of chemotherapy, that led to the sudden death of DBS chief Richard Stanley yesterday.
In fact, doctors had felt that Mr Stanley's AML was treatable when it was diagnosed in late January. Mr Stanley, 48, went to see a doctor when he had flu-like symptoms, including fever and a cough, over the Chinese New Year holidays.
Tests over the next three days confirmed he had AML.
The bad news came just nine months after he became chief executive of Singapore's biggest bank. He took leave, for up to six months, and began chemotherapy treatment at once.
In a staff memo then, DBS chairman Koh Boon Hwee said doctors felt Mr Stanley's condition was treatable and full remission was possible.
Haematologists who spoke to The Sunday Times yesterday explained that AML is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes abnormal white blood cells. These leukaemia cells build up in the bone marrow and blood, so there is less room for healthy cells. The causes of AML are mostly unknown.
It is a very serious illness and the cancer can worsen very quickly if not treated. Dr Benjamin Mow, consultant haematologist at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, said: 'If it is not treated, the person can die within three months.'
Patients have even died within two to three weeks of diagnosis due to complications from the disease or during treatment, said Dr Koh Liang Piu, senior consultant at the National University Cancer Institute.
Even with treatment, chances of recovering fully come with caveats. A normal, healthy person might have a 40 per cent to 50 per cent chance of recovery. But the elderly or sickly will have less than a 10 per cent chance, said DrKoh.
A relapse is common, occurring in three or four out of every 10 'cured' AML patients, he said.
In the less serious cases, the patient will have to go through four cycles of chemotherapy as treatment. The more serious and risky cases will need both chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, said doctors.
Because AML patients lack white blood cells needed to fight infection and disease, they have to be isolated during treatment to minimise the risk of infection.
Their single-bed isolation wards are specially cleaned. The few visitors who see them have to wash their hands and wear a face mask before entering the room. Such care is needed because, often, it is infections which lead to death among AML patients - especially after chemotherapy treatment.
Said Dr Koh: 'After chemotherapy, the patient's immunity is very low for the next two to three weeks. This is when the risk of infection is very high. Usually, death happens during this period.'
In a statement yesterday, DBS said Mr Stanley contracted an infection after chemotherapy, after which his condition 'deteriorated rapidly' in the last 48 hours.
Mr Stanley was treated at Mount Elizabeth Hospital. His doctor, consultant haematologist Dr Freddy Teo Cheng Peng, could not be contacted yesterday.
Infections can come from anywhere - from airborne bacteria to the pre-existing bacteria carried by the patients themselves. In very serious infections, such as blood or lung infection, the patient can die within hours, said Dr Koh.
Internal bleeding is also a common cause of death among AML patients, the worst being bleeding in the brain. This can happen suddenly and results from a lack of healthy platelets which help to form blood clots.
Said Dr Mow: 'Usually when the patient no longer responds to chemotherapy or becomes very sick, it might be too late to do anything else.'
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment