Taiwanese singer Yu Tian's second daughter dies of cancer at 39

Yu Tian told the media that his daughter had signed papers consenting not to be treated further for her condition. Photos: Screengrab from Appledaily.com and Yu Yuan-chi/Facebook

Yu Yuan-chi, the second daughter of Taiwanese singer Yu Tian, has died of cancer at the age of 39.

Yu Tian, 74, and his son Ken Yu broke the news to the Taiwanese media around 5.20pm on Sunday (Aug 21).

Yuan-chi had been hospitalised since last Thursday at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital when her condition worsened.

She was diagnosed with Stage 3 rectal cancer in 2014 and successfully fought the cancer after 12 chemotherapy treatments.

However, she discovered that the cancer had returned after she gave birth to her son in October 2019, with the cancerous cells spreading to her liver and lungs.

In 2017, Yuan-chi married her husband Gary Chen, who is four years younger than her and is not from the entertainment industry. They also have a four-year-old daughter.

She managed to bring her condition under control after undergoing 18 chemotherapy treatments, but cancerous cells were found in her liver and lymph nodes in February 2021.

Yu Tian, who is also a legislator from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, was originally scheduled to attend a political event on Thursday morning.

He left the event after receiving news from the hospital that his daughter's condition had worsened. He had been accompanying his daughter alongside family members in the last few days.

Yu Tian, who suffered a mild stroke late July, told the media on Saturday that his daughter had signed papers consenting not to be treated further for her condition.

The singer, who rose to prominence with the song Under The Banyan Tree (1977), also has an elder daughter with his wife, singer Li Ya-ping, who is 72. - The Straits Times/Asia News Network