The disease has left the 67-year-old, who played in 13 World Cups, bed-ridden, with drastic physical changes, and on a diet of porridge.
Initial diagnosis revealed the legend has probably either stage four spinal cancer or kidney cancer.
He will undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) today to allow doctors to provide better diagnosis and treatment.
The results of the MRI are expected on Feb 22, and his brother-in-law, M Ramasamy, is anxious about the medical bills should Ramayah be hospitalised.
Ramasamy said he was struggling with the medical bills while Ramayah’s savings had dwindled to almost nothing.
“His condition has rapidly deteriorated since he first suffered pain in his back last December, and had moved into my two-room flat in Cheras.
“He is scrawny, bed-ridden, has difficulty speaking, eats only porridge and is down to wearing diapers.
“Ramayah requires specialist care, but we can only wait, and cry,” said Ramasamy, 59, who will retire soon as a driver with Kuala Lumpur City Hall.
“It doesn’t look like it may go away. We have been pushed to despair. Maybe there’s a miracle.”
Ramasamy drew reference to Ramayah having had previously cheated death three times – in a plane crash, a car accident and a shooting mishap between 1983 and 1993.
FMT, the National Athletes Welfare Foundation (Yakeb) and MySportsFlame, a group of former sportswriters, have joined hands to rally public aid for Ramayah.
Professional Golf Association of Malaysia general manager Faridil Atras Othman said a charity golf event was being planned to raise funds for Ramayah.
Yakeb chairman Noorul Ariffin Abdul Majeed said the foundation will, in the meantime, bear the cost of the MRI, help provide diapers and give a monthly allowance to Ramayah.
“We want the family to know they are not alone in their time of need,” said Noorul, who visited Ramayah yesterday and registered him as a national athlete with Yakeb.
George Das, the co-founder of mysportsflame.com, a website that endeavours to immortalise athletes and officials for their sacrifices and glory, said Ramayah’s plight needed national attention.
He said: “A self-taught golfer, who went on to great moments on his journey, Ramayah has done the nation proud at the top level of the sport.
“He, together with his small band of 70’s pros, placed Malaysia on the golfing map.
“It is only right for all sports loving enthusiasts to return the favour when he is in dire need of assistance.”
Hard work and amazing luck
Ramayah was Malaysia’s No 1 and a regional force from 1976 to 1997.
Like many players of his era, he began as a caddie before becoming a player at 14. By the time he reached 18, he turned professional.
A year later, he shocked a group of established players, including then golf stars Bobby Lim and Zainal Abidin Yusof, to clinch the Malaysian PGA championship.
He made his World Cup debut in Athens in 1979, partnering Nazamuddin Yusoff to finish 13th, both in the team event and in the individual category.
At the 1994 World Cup in Puerto Rico, Ramayah and the late P Gunasegaran stormed into the final round in third place, but faded to finish ninth – the best placing yet in the championships for Malaysia.
Five years later, he played alongside Tiger Woods in the same flight when Malaysia hosted the 1999 World Cup that the American and his partner, Mark O’Meara, won with a five-shot victory over Spain.
Another highlight in his career was winning the Marcos Invitational tournament in the Philippines in 1981 after overcoming the brilliance of Bernhard Langer, Gary Player and Sandy Lyle.
He has played in the Dunhill Cup at St Andrews, Scotland, and was part of the 1998 Johnnie Walker Super Tour with Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Jesper Parnevik.
As a boy, Ramayah, together with the late V Nellan and K Selaruas, would follow their mothers after school to pick balls for 10 cents a day at the Royal Selangor Golf Club (RSGC) tennis courts, and then run off to watch the leading club golfers play.
All of them lived in the housing quarters provided by the club as their parents worked for RSGC.
They were in the same plane that crashed into a swamp, 2km from Subang International Airport, on their way home from a tournament in Singapore in 1983.
All on board MH684 fled to safety before the raging fire licked the crashed plane. Ramayah, then 28, developed a fear of flying.
His second brush with death came six years later when his car crashed into a divider and overturned in Ipoh. He suffered cuts on his head while the car was written-off.
The third close shave occurred in the Malaysia-Thailand border town Golok in 1993 when Ramayah was almost shot by a friend during dinner.
His friend thought the gun belonging to a police officer was not loaded with bullets, and fired in the direction of Ramayah. The shot missed Ramayah and hit the wall behind him, but the incident did not deter him from winning a tournament in Kelantan the next morning.
Will Lady Luck smile on the man who won the hearts of many, or will cruel fate gang on him in his fight against cancer?
Let’s show Ramayah some love and contribute to his cancer treatment by making a donation to: Ramasamy Muthusamy, Maybank account 114048549258.