Breast cancer diagnosis sped up Jamie Yeo's decision to move out of Singapore: 'I might not watch my son grow up'
The former radio DJ and actress opens up about her breast cancer battle as a catalyst for a major life change
Life is short but we are usually more aware of our mortality after a life-threatening experience.
For former radio DJ and actress Jamie Yeo, the realisation struck with her breast cancer diagnosis two years ago, prompting a life-altering decision to relocate to the UK in 2022.
Yeo had previously told local media that she had long harboured dreams of moving to the UK and had been planning it with her husband, British consultant Rupert.
Moving to the UK
However, in a CNA Lifestyle article published on 7 November, the 46-year-old shared that her illness was a factor in her decision as well.
She said, “I sat there on the bed. I looked at my son and thought, 'I might not even watch him grow up'.
“I went from being invincible to just 'Oh my god', and that was when I spoke to my husband. I said, 'Baby, let's just do what we've been talking about doing because life is so short'. And so we made the decision to just move and have a better life for everyone with space and fresh air and just a simple life.”
Yeo is a mother of two – she has a daughter, Alysia, with her ex-husband Thorsten Nolte, and a son, Luke, with Rupert.
A new beginning after beating breast cancer
Yeo also revealed that she was a breast cancer survivor in an Instagram post on 1 October to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“I found a lump during a self examination. Long story short, I was extremely blessed that it was an early-stage, less aggressive tumour. A lumpectomy and radiation therapy, and an ongoing regiment of pills was enough,” Yeo wrote.
While life continued as “normal” for her – with an “all-day video shoot” three days after the surgery and taking care of her business Lula J Jewelry, Yeo knew that “nothing was normal anymore”.
Apart from a myriad of emotions, Yeo also felt guilty about her “positive prognosis” post surgery as “friends, acquaintances, [and] the other patients I'd met were not so lucky”.
She added, “The only option was to live life fully, with gratitude, and a fierce motivation to change – to live cleaner, simpler, kinder, better. It was in this period that we decided to move. To start afresh.”
Embracing the present
Yeo told CNA Lifestyle that she is “at the stage where I think about death a lot” and though it might be morbid, she is grateful because she lives life more fully now.
She explained, “That means I want to be happy now. I told my husband back then that I don't want to wait. I don't want to look forward to holidays… I don't want to live life for the weekends. I want to live life every day. I wanted every day to be blissful.
“All I can say is just don't live your life looking forward to something else. You should enjoy every day and not wait till you're old and retired because let's face it, we might never get old.”
Embracing AI
More recently, Yeo is also among the celebrities welcoming the growth of artificial intelligence in the entertainment sector. She told BBC News about her agreement with a financial-technology company to employ AI-altered versions of her image for marketing.
Acknowledging concerns about AI, Yeo expressed confidence in its permanence, saying, "So even if you don't embrace it because you're scared, there will be other people who will embrace it".
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