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KOTA BHARU: A former heavy smoker from Kelantan is rebuilding his life after losing his voice to stage four thyroid cancer.

Ismail Mahmud, 68, said his smoking habit began in his teenage years and eventually reached four packs a day before doctors discovered symptoms linked to cancer and referred him to Raja Perempuan Zainab Hospital II, where he was diagnosed with the disease, according to Says.

He said the diagnosis came as a shock and that doctors informed him his condition was linked to his heavy smoking habit.

As the cancer spread to his voice box, he underwent a 13-hour emergency surgery to remove it, leaving him permanently without a voice, followed by 30 radiotherapy sessions and regular hospital check-ups every three months.

To communicate, he now uses an electronic speech aid placed against his neck to produce sound, sharing that although the device sounds unusual, it allows him to speak to others despite the quiet he feels without his own voice.

The widower, whose two wives died of uterine and pancreatic cancer respectively, said that as a father of 13 he never expected to become a cancer patient himself and is now grateful to be cancer-free while remaining committed to maintaining a healthy lifestyle to prevent a recurrence.