Dr. Richard Teo Keng Siang, 40 years old, is a millionaire plastic surgery in Singapore. In March 2011, Richard Teo was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. He died on October 18, 2012 at the peak of wealth and fame.
In the process of struggling between life and death, Richard Teo realizes that money and fame do not bring happiness to people. He shared the story of his outlook on life with dental students in Singapore, 10 months before his death.
However, there is another sharing of his about the path to enlightenment in the process of fighting illness. His second story proves that man is not alone in this world and that life and wealth need to be cultivated with faith.
Here is a summary of Richard Teo's narration:
A model of success
Hello all of you. My voice is a bit hoarse from chemotherapy, so I ask for your understanding. My name is Richard, and I'm a friend of Danny's who invited me here.
I would like to start with the affirmation that I am a typical product of today's society. From a young age, I was always taught and believed that to be happy, one needs to be successful. And to be successful, one must be rich. So I have led my life according to this motto.
Coming from a poor family, from a young age I was very competitive, whether in sports, studying or leading others. I want it all.
A few years ago, I was a trainee ophthalmologist, but I became impatient when I saw my friends working in private clinics and making a lot of money. Plastic surgery peaked a few years ago, and I saw the opportunity to get rich there. So I said, "Forget about the ophthalmology, I'll go to plastic surgery." And so I did.
People complained and regretted paying $30 for a checkup. But they're willing to pay ten thousand dollars for a tummy tuck… So I said, "Stop treating patients… I'm going to be a medically trained esthetician."
And that's what I did – liposuction, breast augmentation, eyelid tattoos… It's really a lucrative career. When I first opened my salon, the waiting time for customers was 1 week, 1 month, then increased to 2 months, 3 months.
My clinic grew, I became overwhelmed. From hiring 1 doctor, I hired 2, 3, then 4 doctors. Nothing is enough, I want more, more and more. So I set up a beauty salon in Indonesia to serve the rich. We opened the center, set up a team there, to get more customers.
So, everything was going well, and my time had come.
Around February of last year, I said 'OK, now that I have a lot of money, it's time to buy a Ferrari.' So I bought my first Ferrari. I also cooperated with a friend who works in a bank to buy land and build a house.
We socialize with the rich, famous and beautiful; Dine at luxurious and classy restaurants. I was also quite overweight at that time thanks to the gym…
I've reached my peak, I'm ready to enjoy. At the same time, my friend Danny came to me, along with some of my close friends. They are going back to the church. They said, "Richard, come here, join us, come back to the church."
I have been a Christian since 20 years ago; I was baptized 20 years ago, but only by movement, then all my friends became Christians. I've never had a scripture and I don't know what it looks like.
At that time, I also went to church a few times. But I'm bored… I have many things to pursue in college, girls, studies, sports… And today, I have finally achieved it all without God, so Who needs God anymore? I can achieve anything I want by myself.
With pride, I told them, “Tell the pastor to change his sermon to 2pm. I will consider going to the church.” I'm arrogant like that. And I said one more sentence, and to this day, I'm still not sure I regret saying it - I said to Danny and my friends, "If God really wanted me to go to church, He'd let me go to church. I'm a sign" . And three weeks later, I was back at church.
Detect disease
In March 2011, I had pain in my back, it was persistent. So I went for an MRI to rule out the possibility of disc misalignment. The day before the shoot, I was still at the gym, lifting heavy weights, doing my weightlifting. And, the next day, they discovered that half of my spine had had a bone marrow replacement.
I had a PET scan the next day, and they diagnosed me with stage 4B lung cancer. It has spread to my brain, half of my spine, my whole lungs are full of tumors, so are my liver, kidneys…
I completely collapsed. My world turned upside down.
I didn't believe I had cancer. Some of my relatives are heavy drinkers, but none of them have cancer. Why did I get lung cancer? I denied that.
Voices from within
The next day I went to the hospital for a biopsy. As I lay on the operating table, staring up at the cold ceiling of the quiet operating room. Suddenly, I heard voices from within; it doesn't seem to come from the outside, it's from the inside. And it said something very special, it said, "This happened at the peak of your life, because that's the only way you'll understand"…
I was surprised, you know, when talking to myself, people don't address themselves like that. At that moment, I couldn't control my emotions, I burst into tears, alone there. And then, then, I understood, why this is the only way.
Because I'm so egotistical, all my life, I don't need anyone else. I have talent, why do I need someone else? I was filled with confidence that there was no other way back to God.
In fact, if I just had stage 1 or 2 cancer, I could find the best thoracic surgeon, remove the tumor, perform preventive chemotherapy measures… Possibility to cure is very high. Who needs God anymore? But I was at stage 4B, no one can help, only God.
A series of events ensued. But I'm still not convinced, by the inner voice. Am I becoming a person of faith, a person of constant prayer? No, not me. To me, it could simply be a voice, or it could be something I say to myself. I don't believe this.
In the next 2-3 weeks, I was given radiation therapy to the whole brain, and at the same time, I was preparing for chemotherapy… One of the things that doctors will do during chemotherapy is to give patients Zometa, with effective effects. can cause osteonecrosis in the jaw. So I needed surgery to remove my lower wisdom teeth… Danny, my friend, who is a dentist, volunteered to help me with this.
As I lay in the dental chair, I wondered, I had endured all the side effects of radiation, now having to undergo surgery to remove my wisdom teeth. As if I didn't have enough to endure. So I asked Danny, “Hey man, is there another way? Can I not have surgery?” . He replied, "Yes, you can pray."
I said, "What's to lose? Ok, let's pray . " And we prayed. And the X-ray showed that I no longer have any wisdom teeth in my lower jaw. It is truly miraculous. Usually people have 4 wisdom teeth, maybe some people don't have any, but the case of missing 1 or 2, as far as I know, is not that common.
But I still don't care about that. For me, as long as I don't have to pull my teeth, that's fine. Up to that point I still didn't believe in prayer.
I went on to see the oncologist, and asked him, “How long do I have?” He answered no more than 6 months. I said, “even with chemotherapy?”. About three to four months, he said.
I can't stand this…. Even when I only had radiation therapy, I struggled every day, especially when I woke up. I hope it's just a nightmare; When I wake up, it will all be over.
Because I struggled with illness day in and day out, I fell into a state of depression… But for some reason, I don't know why, one day I had to see an oncologist. Around 2 p.m., I suddenly felt a surge of peace, consolation, and indeed, a little happiness. It pervades me. The feeling was so strong that I texted all my friends, “Hey guys, I'm feeling so well! I don't understand why, it just came naturally."
And just a few days later, or a couple of weeks later, Danny revealed to me that he had fasted for two days for me, and he prayed to God. And he ended his fast at exactly 2pm, at the exact moment when a sense of peace came over me for no apparent reason.
Oh, it's all so random. I've begun to believe a little, but I'm still not completely convinced. I completed radiation therapy in about 2 weeks. To prepare for chemotherapy, they gave me a few days off.
Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate. But about 10% of lung cancer patients get better because they have a particular mutation; called EGFR. This only happens to 90% of Asian women who have never smoked in their lives. But I am male, and also smoke. So the oncologist didn't expect me to have this mutation.
I only have a 3-4% chance of meeting that. That's why I was prepared for chemotherapy. But through the intense prayers of friends like Danny, or people I didn't even know, while I was waiting for chemotherapy, the results showed that I was EGFR positive. I exclaimed, “Oh, good news!” Now I don't have to undergo chemotherapy, Because there are now oral drugs to control this disease.
Knowledge of Western medicine can become an obstacle
Before the treatment, my lungs had tens of thousands of tumors, that's why the oncologist told me I only had 3-4 months maximum.
And this is what happened after 2 months of treatment. As you can see, this is something only God can do. And this is why I still have this opportunity to share with you. You can see here, the difference between before and after treatment.
At that point, I said, “Oh, this is to be expected, isn't it? The treatment is very good . ” I still don't believe the story. Yes, people prayed for me and the tumor markers started to go down. 90% of the tumors were gone, and tumor markers were reduced by more than 90% after a few months.
But, you know, once you have medical knowledge, you understand statistics. People live for a year, two years, cancer cells are very unstable, they continue to mutate. They will prevail and become resistant, and eventually there will be no more treatments.
So, living with this knowledge is a huge mental struggle. Cancer isn't just a physical battle, it's limitless mental torture.
Acceptance and peace
And one of those days, when I was in bed, struggling in the afternoon, asked God, "Why? Why do I have to go through this suffering? Why do I have to endure this difficulty, this struggle? Why a child?"
When I fell asleep, in a dreamlike state, an image came, which spoke of Hebrews 12:7-8.
Remember, I've never read the bible. I don't know what the Hebrews are. Absolutely no clue.
But it speaks very well Hebrews 12:7-8, very detailed.
I didn't think much of it and continued to sleep. When I woke up, I said, “What's there to lose? I'll try it out." Danny bought me a bible, it's still very new. I said, "No problem, let's try". I tried scrolling to the Old Testament… no Hebrews there. I was very disappointed.
I said, "It could be the New Testament, try it!" Oh, the New Testament has a Hebrew's section. Hebrews 12:7-8 says, “Suffer hardship as severity, for God treats you like His own child.”
Share sadness, share happiness – that's true joy (photo: richardteo.com)
Yes, I was convinced. And from that day on, I began to trust in my God. And the last time I heard the inner voice was at the end of April. In a dreamlike state, I just heard Him say, “Help those in need.”
It's more like an order than a statement. And that's when I embarked on this journey, helping others in need. And I realized that difficulty is not just poverty. In fact, a lot of poor people are probably happier than a lot of us here. They are very easily satisfied with whatever they have.
Difficulties can happen to the rich; be it physical difficulty, mental difficulty, social difficulty, etc… And also in the last few months, I have begun to understand what true joy is. In the past, I thought the real joy was the pursuit of wealth. Why do I change? As I lay on my deathbed, I found no joy in whatever I owned—the Ferrari, the land I would buy to build a house, or a successful career.
They bring me no comfort, no joy, nothing.
I discovered that true joy comes from human interaction. Sharing joys and sorrows – that is true happiness.
I am a doctor. So I went out to see other cancer patients, to share with them, to encourage them. Because I've been through that, it's easier for me to talk to them.
A few things I've learned from this:
Believe in God with all your heart, this is extremely important.
Don't just love yourself, love and help others.
There's nothing wrong with being rich. But the more we possess, the more we pursue it. Instead of worshiping the divine, we believe in the material.
As you begin to build assets and when opportunities arise, remember that all of this is not ours. We don't actually own them, nor do we have any rights to them. It is truly God's gift to us.
Through this I have come to understand that wealth without faith is nothing. It is important that when building your fortune, build it with your faith.
According to richardteo.com