VETERAN actress Yang Lina died suddenly last Saturday night. She
had been suffering from cervical cancer.
The 47-year-old, who was last seen in The Perfect Cut 2, a 2009
Channel U television series, had apparently been diagnosed with the
illness three or four years ago but kept the news from the public,
said a report by Lianhe Wanbao.
Yang was admitted to the hospital for treatment shortly after
filming for the show wrapped, added the report, as her condition
had worsened.
The show's producer, Mr Liu Jian Cai, told the paper that he had
an intuition that she was not feeling well, but the crew did not
probe further because they wanted to give her privacy.
They did not know how severe the illness was. Yang did not show
any signs of discomfort, and her work was not affected, Zaobao
reported Mr Liu as saying.
Last Saturday night, her illness took a turn for the worse, and
she died at the house of her younger sister, Yang Libing.
Yang, who owned a hair salon with fellow actress and sister
Libing, 45, entered the acting industry in 1983. She was in and out
of the acting circle after giving birth to her two daughters, aged
18 and 13. She left behind her daughters and husband, make-up
artist Chau Kim Wa.
The report also said that the former actress had undergone a
minimally invasive procedure to treat the cancer, but the operation
was not successful.
Her body took another beating when she had to undergo surgery
last February her second of this nature to remove part of her large
intestines after they developed abnormalities.
She had to remove 25cm on each occasion, according to the
report. She lost over 3kg after the operation, it said.
However, industry sources said that Yang remained optimistic,
telling others that she had to face challenges head on.
Actress Hong Huifang, 50, told Shin Min Daily that she was
shocked to hear the news. She had spoken to Yang over the telephone
in August last year, and Yang had told her she was better, said
Hong.
Hong also bumped into Yang last year at a shopping mall, and she
did not look like she was sick, said Hong.
On online forums, netizens have been expressing disbelief at the
news of the actress' sudden death.
"Omg.. RIP. This news is so sudden," wrote 19-year-old xhkuek on
one local forum.
Another netizen, autowil, said: "So sad... Never knew she had
cancer... She'll be missed."
