Actor Tay Ping Hui mourns mother, who died of cancer: 'Life without you will never be the same'

On Instagram, the Singaporean actor opened up about his mother's battle with cancer and why he had stepped back from social media in recent months.

Actor Tay Ping Hui is mourning the death of his mother, who recently died of cancer.

In an Instagram post on Thursday (Aug 13), Tay shared a montage of photos of his mother through the years, including images from her younger days. He explained that he had taken a break from public appearances and social media as the past few months had been “challenging physically, mentally and emotionally”.

Tay said his mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about a year ago. Her condition had initially improved after treatment, but about two months ago, the cancer spread to her liver. She died a little more than a week ago.

Describing the experience as a “painful and heartbreaking journey”, Tay said his mother had “fought hard with everything she had”. The ordeal had made it difficult for him to share anything that appeared happy or upbeat on his social media, which had prompted some fans to express concern about him online.

In his post, Tay also said that his mother had dementia. As the family was concerned that staying in an unfamiliar hospital environment might make her anxious or unsettled, they took turns staying by her bedside at home so that someone familiar was always with her.

Reflecting on his mother's life, Tay said that if he had to sum it up in one word, it would be “love”.

He recalled that she enjoyed cooking, playing mahjong, and adored her grandchildren, children and husband.

“But most of all,” Tay wrote, “she loved life.”

He ended his tribute by writing: “My sweet mummy. Life without you will never be the same. I miss you calling me ‘ah boy’ and I will miss you until we finally meet again. Goodbye, my dearest Mum. I love you.”

He also ended the post with the Chinese words: “Mum, wait for me.”