Cancer survivor prepares for 65km canoe challenge to support patients

Raymond Lo Shu-yuen, a 75-year-old liver-cancer survivor, is preparing for a 65km solo canoe journey intended to raise funds for cancer patients and promote public health awareness. Lo was diagnosed with stage-four liver cancer in 1995, when he was 44. He had no symptoms, but a routine medical examination found a shadow on his liver.

Further scans and blood tests confirmed the disease, and surgeons removed a quarter of the organ. A hepatitis B carrier, Lo said he initially feared that his illness would leave his wife and three school-age children without financial support. He left a logistics job paying about HK$50,000 a month and took work at a smaller company for roughly half that amount.

During his recovery, Lo changed his lifestyle. He adopted a diet based more heavily on vegetables and fruit, grew some of his own produce and took in abandoned and stray dogs. He also returned to canoeing, a sport he had first taken up after secondary school.

Lo said canoeing helped him remain focused, build confidence and enjoy the sea and its surroundings. He now paddles five days a week and works as an instructor, having taught about 100 students. For the planned challenge, he will paddle non-stop from Tung Chung to Ma Wan for more than eight hours across open water.

He expects to set out in mid-October, depending on weather conditions, and has identified heavy rain, strong winds and lightning as potential hazards. Lo said the challenge was inspired partly by friends and former colleagues who had died from cancer. He hopes the event will encourage regular check-ups and healthier habits, particularly among people who believe they are well because they have no symptoms.

He described cancer as a turning point that changed his approach to work, health and enjoyment of life.