Tan had been diagnosed in March 2018 with stage-three nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a cancer that occurs in the nasopharynx, an area behind the nose and above the back of the throat.
Sadly, social media posts have revealed that Tan passed away on May 15. He would have been 40 this year.
Tan was a partner with an established law firm in Kuala Lumpur, which yesterday posted a tribute, calling him “a formidable lawyer and a wonderful human being… a fighter in every sense of the word”.
Author Kimberly Lee, a personal friend of Tan’s, wrote in a Story on Instagram: “You never stopped fighting, right up to the end – and man, did you truly give it your all, my friend.
“The way you lived your life, with courage and spirit and strength, will always inspire. We remember this and honour you always.”
Over the past six years, Tan had had extensive chemotherapy and radiation treatment, which led him to lose his natural voice. He had even undergone open-chest surgery to remove the tumour from his lungs. The procedure was unsuccessful.
Last year, he told FMT Lifestyle he lived from scan to scan and continued chemotherapy treatments; still, he was determined to live his life to the fullest.
This meant earning his jiu-jitsu black belt, participating and winning international tournaments, and even scaling Mount Fuji in Japan!
Tan was also a fan of the HBO series “Game of Thrones”. In a message to fellow cancer patients, he said: “Bran Stark asks his father Lord Eddard Stark: ‘Can a man be brave when he’s afraid?’ And Eddard Stark said: ‘That is the only time he can be brave’.”
The team at FMT Lifestyle wishes to convey our condolences to Tan’s friends, colleagues and loved ones.
Read his inspirational story here.