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.
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Yang Lina (L) and younger sister Yang Libing (R)
in an earlier photo
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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."
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