As he was gearing up for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), Azaan Khan Mohamed Rafi Khan seemed to have it all \u2014 rugby captain, student councillor and a math whiz.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But it all came crashing down when the 12-year-old was diagnosed with leukaemia, a cancer of the blood, in May.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, the Primary 6 student beat all odds to score 14 points for his PSLE.<\/p>\n
Speaking to AsiaOne after receiving his results on Tuesday (Nov 25), Azaan and his parents shared about his cancer journey and his aspirations for the future.<\/p>\n
Although Azaan expressed slight disappointment with his results, as he was aiming for a top school in the east, his parents comforted and praised him for doing his best.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia had shattered his hopes of applying for a direct school admission based on sports. He was also looking forward to competing in the national school rugby championships.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While his parents had considered letting Azaan take his PSLE next year, they were concerned about how it would affect his future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Azaan was the captain of Bedok Green Primary School’s rugby team and represented his school at the National School Games Senior Boys \u2014 League 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He also competed in prestigious Mathematics competitions in 2025 \u2014 including the Asia-Pacific Mathematics Olympiad, the Raffles Mathematical Olympiad, and the Singapore and Asian Schools Math Olympiad.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Ultimately, Azaan decided to take his PSLE instead of deferring it by a year. His form teacher, June Lee, held hybrid lessons while he underwent chemotherapy.<\/p>\n
As he recalled the times he had to study in hospital during treatment, Azaan broke down in tears.<\/p>\n
Asked what scared him the most during treatment, he said: “Needles, because I can’t stand the pain.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Azaan is currently undergoing chemotherapy, which is scheduled to be completed in March 2026. Thereafter, he would be put on oral medication, shared his mother.<\/p>\n
Azaan’s father, Mohamed Rafi Khan, a 37-year-old technical officer, said when his son first started showing signs of fatigue, he had assumed it was because of his studies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But as the boy’s health did not improve over time, his mother, Siti Noraini, a 38-year-old senior staff nurse at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, suggested getting a medical exam.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A trip to the emergency department at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and a few blood tests later, the family received the shocking diagnosis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aside from changes in his diet and daily routine, Azaan also lost more than 10kg, weighing around 38kg at his lightest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To accommodate Azaan’s condition, the family bought a wheelchair and also installed handrails in the toilet, shared Rafi.<\/p>\n
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When asked what he missed most about school, Azaan chose his recess time as “that is a time I can play with all my friends, have meals with them and play sports.”<\/p>\n
Azaan also shared that he is excited to begin secondary school. But instead of continuing with rugby, he plans to try his hand at a new sport: Badminton.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Results aside, Azaan had little time to celebrate this milestone and mingle with his friend as he had to rush off for his chemotherapy appointment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We have been telling him days before the results, ‘No matter what it is, you are already a winner to us. You going through the treatment itself, we are already happy because you did it willingly’,” said Noraini.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Based on the situation … I believe this is good enough. We are proud of you.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
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