An Ordinary Man with An Extraordinary Story

It started out as a high fever that would not subside, so Mr. Najmus Ahmed’s family had him admitted to a hospital in Bangladesh. Thinking it was just dengue, he remained optimistic.
But a few days later, in March 2011, he was transferred to Parkway Cancer Centre (PCC) in Singapore.
“I was very confused,” he said. “My father told me that they just wanted to be sure my body was fine, so they sent me to Singapore for further tests.”
He awoke in a haematology ward and he said recalling, “I was still clueless when I met Dr. Teo.” “But he informed me that I had the ‘best’ type of leukaemia possible as it was the most treatable.”
After a series of tests, Mr. Ahmed was told to return to Bangladesh to settle his affairs before going back to Singapore for chemotherapy over the next six months. It was only after his first round of chemotherapy that reality sank in. “It finally hit me,” he said. “I had leukaemia. It was a shock.”
But Dr. Teo allayed his fears. “Dr. Teo was very open with me. He told me I was strong and that I could fight it. He said at 45 years of age, I would probably survive,” Mr. Ahmed shared. From that point on, Mr. Ahmed regarded Dr. Teo as a partner and a brother from heaven and trusted him implicitly. However, although his treatment was going smoothly, it was not without side effects. Mr. Ahmed suffered from diarrhoea and anal infection that caused him great pain and discomfort. The drugs also caused insomnia. He also developed depression midway through treatment, but with the support of his son and father, both of whom had travelled to Singapore to accompany him for the duration of his treatment, Mr. Ahmed pulled through. In fact, their support was so invaluable that he wrote a book about it, “When Time Stops”, where Mr. Ahmed illustrates his heartfelt gratitude for his family’s support as well as portraits to others that cancer can be beaten; that they should have hope.
When his chemotherapy concluded in August 2011, Mr. Ahmed returned to Bangladesh. Taking the advice of Dr. Teo to lead a less stressful life, he left his previous job in a manufacturing firm and started his own corporate consulting firm where he is now able to have more relaxed hours. Driven by a deep desire to see others battle cancer successfully, Mr. Ahmed started I Beat Cancer.
What prompted the birth of the initiative was a newspaper clipping he had seen on his flight back to his home country.
“There was a small notice in the newspaper,” Mr. Ahmed shared. “A young girl was asking for funds to battle the exact same leukaemia I had just recovered from.” A deeply spiritual man, he did not take it to be mere coincidence. So he began speaking to friends, asking for donations, and finally, he raised enough money to purchase the drugs the girl required for a year’s worth of treatment.
“Now she’s married with her first child!” he said. That’s the start to a cancer survivor turning his weakness to his strength and strength of several underserved cancer patients in need.