Actor Aaron Aziz delays surgery for tumour, enduring chronic pain

Behind his tough guy persona on screen, Aaron Aziz has been suffering from chronic pain for about a decade.

Since 2013, the Kuala Lumpur-based Singapore actor has been plagued with cervical spondylosis, an age-related degeneration of the spinal bones and discs in one's neck.

Last year, an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) done for his condition revealed that he also had schwannoma, a benign tumour of the nerve sheath that was causing him excruciating back pain.

After a second MRI last month, his doctor advised him to undergo surgery to remove the tumour on his lower spine. But due to back-to-back filming commitments, Aaron, 46, is delaying the procedure until after July.

His commitments include a 40-episode drama series and the film, KL Gangster 3: The Finale.

In the meantime, the father of three children aged 18, 16 and 12 is pushing past the pain with a cocktail of prescription medication such as Lyrica - which is used to treat nerve pain - painkillers and a muscle relaxant.

On why he is choosing work over health, Aaron tells The Straits Times that he simply cannot afford to take the required two-month medical leave.

He says: "My industry is not like others, (where if) you are on medical leave, your salary will still be paid at the end of the month. If I don't work, there's no income."

"During the lockdown in Malaysia, I lost a lot of business and funds, and my projects were all on hold," he says. But his children attend an international school and he needs to pay for their fees, he adds.

"Right now, everything is back on track and jobs are still rolling in, but Covid-19 is another thing to worry about."

Aaron says his current production has already been delayed and shut down several times as seven people on set had tested positive for Covid-19. He had to self-isolate at home on two separate occasions, and also had a Covid-19 scare last week.

He admits to feeling "a bit scared" about the surgery, and says that even if he goes for it now, he will not have peace of mind because of all his pending acting projects.

He says: "With every surgical procedure, there will be risk. What if after the surgery, my condition becomes worse?

"Some people who suffered the same thing have told me they were still in pain - or are even paralysed - after the operation, and they had spent thousands of dollars on it."

As long as walking does not become painful for him and there is no weakness in his legs, he feels there is no urgency to operate.

There is also another option his doctor floated as a last resort if the cervical spondylosis becomes too much to bear - a steroid injection to the neck.

Aaron was administered his first dose in 2013, the year the pain started to intensify, before taking a 22-hour flight to Capetown, South Africa, to film reality television series Fear Factor Malaysia.

He recalls: "It was like a magical potion. The pain did not return for three months."

He calls his ailment the result of accumulative "work hazards".

He suspects it was initially caused by his doing his own stunts on 2011 hit action movie KL Gangster, in a scene where he was fighting on top of a car and had to fall on a passing car.

He says: "The next day, I couldn't get up. An X-ray showed that my neck was crooked.

"I was very stubborn. For eight months, I was busy with work and didn't have time to go to the hospital. I tried acupuncture, massage and chiropractic treatment. I thought it was just a strain that would go away, but it didn't and the pain kept getting worse."

For now, he copes with his condition by being careful to not injure himself when he is working out. He aims to shed 4kg to lighten the load on his body, as well as strengthen his core.

He says: "When the neck and lower back pains come at the same time, then it's really bad. The pains come and go. Anything can trigger them, from sudden movements to sleeping in a bad position to looking down and playing games on my phone for too long.

"So I take my medication, wear a neck brace and rest. I will just leave it to God."