Veteran radio DJ Belinda Sunshine opens up about her breast cancer battle and her hopes for the future

For radio fans in Singapore, Belinda Yeo – or Belinda Sunshine, as she’s more commonly known – is a voice many have listened to while growing up.

In 1989, she was one of the pioneer DJs of 987FM (then called Perfect 10) and dazzled listeners with her upbeat personality. Following her stint at Mediacorp, Yeo spread her wings and pursued various roles, including being a lecturer, a trainer and a consultant.

Vinyl fans, on the other hand, will know her as the owner of The Attic – one of Singapore’s oldest record stores before the closure of its physical store in 2021.

In October 2023, Yeo, who declined to reveal her age, discovered that she had a lump in her right breast. Following multiple check-ups, doctors determined that she had Stage 2 breast cancer with a tumour that was 3.5cm in length. 

“Everything went so fast, so they agreed that I must go for chemotherapy to shrink my tumour. They said that I would then need to go for surgery to complete the clearance of the [cancer] cells,” she revealed in a call with CNA Lifestyle on Tuesday (Nov 26).

“When I had to undergo treatment, it was really horrible because chemo really sets you off your strength and immune system.

“Even my weight went down… Now, I’m only 35kg,” she shared.