The courage to live unapologetically: How cancer changed one NUS graduate’s outlook

As the youngest of five siblings, Joshua Lee grew up surrounded by family members with different personalities. This meant he had plenty of examples of what to do or what not to do, in order to avoid being punished.

“I would learn how to get away with things,” quipped the 26-year-old psychology graduate from NUS. “Eventually… I realised I had a gift for listening to people and observing how they interacted in the world around me.”

Beneath the cheeky admission was a quality that has shaped his academic path: His innate ability to listen to people and understand how they navigated the world around them.

That instinct drew him to psychology, which he studied at both the polytechnic and university level. What appealed to him most about the discipline was the sense of hope it offered — the idea that even in difficult circumstances, people still had the agency to shape outcomes.

“Psychology is very much, ‘Yes, you’re in a dire situation, but you’re in control of yourself,’” he said. “You have some autonomy, some things in your life that you can influence.”

In 2024, while pursuing his psychology degree at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Joshua was forced to put this belief to the test.

After a fall sustained while bouldering left him in such severe pain that he nearly passed out, medical checks revealed that he had stage three testicular cancer, which had already spread to the lymph nodes in his abdominal area.

“I was quite angry about it (the diagnosis) for a couple of weeks,” he said. “It was the first time I had been angry in life, or at God, in a long while.”

The power of purpose

Although the diagnosis threw his future plans into disarray, Joshua kept his diagnosis largely private. He chose to share it only with family and close friends, mostly on a need-to-know basis.

They rallied together to support him, giving him some measure of comfort as he started to undergo the dreadful process of chemotherapy. “I didn’t want to live, but I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to do anything,” Joshua said, describing his darkest moments.

But as he watched his loved ones come together and pray for him, he discovered a new sense of purpose. During treatment, he wrote in his journal that if his ordeal would lead others to renew or find their faith and purpose in life, then his suffering would not be in vain.

Support came not just from family and friends, but also from the community at NUS.

As part of his minor in Community Development and Leadership, Joshua was involved in a year-long project at the Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Centre (CTPCLC), but was not able to complete it due to his health circumstances at that time. When they heard about his diagnosis, they were sympathetic, constantly checking in on him and going so far as to offer to raise funds for him.

Their gestures of support demonstrated that the values they taught at the centre extended far beyond the classroom.

“The people at CTPCLC don’t just teach about community development — they really walk the talk to develop the community, even if it's just one student,” said Joshua.

After a six-month leave of absence to complete his treatment, Joshua returned to school with a different approach to the rest of his university journey.

“The diagnosis… gave me the courage to live a bit more unapologetically,” he said. “Let me ask the questions I want, let me study what I want. That’s the point of university, right? To push the boundaries of what is known.”

An empathetic approach to care

Motivated by his experience with cancer, Joshua took up a psychology module focused on patients and healthcare upon his return. “It was not a module I would have taken if not for cancer,” he said. “It helped me put my experiences in a clinical perspective.”

One such experience was when a fellow patient in his ward passed away during one of his hospital stays. “Every other patient in the ward was thinking, ‘That could have been me,’” he said.

It was a deeply confronting psychological experience, one that exacerbated the sense of isolation that often comes with a cancer diagnosis. “When the diagnosis came, everyone started talking to me like I was already dead,” he said.

It was only when he joined the Adolescent and Young Adults Oncology (AYAO) programme, run by the National Cancer Centre of Singapore, that he found enough breathing room to crack jokes about his condition.

“Having the space in the AYAO clinic to speak as if I was just another person with an experience of cancer was deeply helpful,” he said.

Now, he is bringing his unique blend of clinical expertise and lived experience to his role as Senior Programme Executive at the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS), where he has worked since January 2026, after completing his studies in November 2025, the same month he was declared cancer-free.

At SCS, Joshua runs programmes and support groups for cancer patients or survivors like himself. Beyond providing a listening ear, he connects them with others who may be able to relate directly to their experience.

For Joshua, the journey through cancer has reinforced the lesson that first drew him to psychology. While people may not always be able to choose what happens to them, they can find meaning in how they respond, and eventually offer support to others facing a similar challenge.

“I always tell people when they ask what words I have for other people going through a tough time: You need to find a reason,” he said.

“You need to find who or what you’re living for, and make sure that thing is bigger than yourself.”

This story is part of NUS News’ coverage of Commencement 2026, which celebrates the achievements of our graduates from the Class of 2026. For more on Commencement, read our stories and graduate profiles, check out the official Commencement website, or look up and tag #NUS2026 on our social media channels!