Lydia Shum
Encyclopedia
Lydia Shum Din-Ha, also known as Lydia Sum (Chinese
: 沈殿霞; 21 July 1945 — 19 February 2008), was a Hong Kong
comedienne
, MC, and actress known for her portly figure, signature dark rimmed glasses and bouffant
hairstyle. She was affectionately known to peers and fans as Fei-fei (肥肥, literally Fat Fat, Fat Sister or Fatty). She appeared in numerous Hong Kong film
s and was an iconic TVB entertainer over forty years. For a brief spell in the 1990s, Shum left TVB to work at rival ATV
.
to Sung Shen Gee (沈賢祺; 1913–1978, with ancestral home in Shanpei, Ningbo) and Sung Tan Sun (沈邱淡素; 1913–2008). She entered the Hong Kong entertainment industry at the age of 13 in 1958. She made her film debut in 1960, joining Shaw Brothers
as a teenage actress at the age of 15. She took some time to adjust to Hong Kong as she found the Cantonese cuisine
very different from that of her native Shanghai
.
While she worked at Shaw Brothers, her popularity grew and she became one of the first stakeholders in the up and coming TV broadcast station TVB
. In 1967, Shum's stardom took off with the popular television variety show
Enjoy Yourself Tonight
. She first sang in the Cantopop
group the Four Golden Flowers
. Later, she played a Shanghai
woman in the 1970s. She also sang as the partner of Roman Tam
from 1971 to 1973.
By August 1972 she was sufficiently regarded to be one of the first Chinese to ceremonially ride through the Cross-Harbour Tunnel
on its opening day. TVB general manager Stephen Chan
has said that there was no substitute for Lydia Shum, and that every person who worked with her professionally eventually became well known in Hong Kong. Her openness to appearing in sport bikini
s and ballet
costumes despite her weight earned her respect in image-conscious Hong Kong.
. She also appeared as Richard Ng's wife in the all-star comedy Millionaire's Express
, as well as a major role in It's a Mad Mad World. Her 1997 film Fitness Tour is utilized her weight for its plot.
She took a leave from her movie career in 1997, and hosted a talk show in Hong Kong, along with numerous telethons and variety shows on TVB. She returned to films in 2004 with the comedy In-Laws Outlaws.
's Channel 5
sitcom Living with Lydia
and Cantonese series like Slim Chances (我要Fit一Fit). Her performance in Living with Lydia won her the "Best Comedy Performance by an Actress" award at the 2003 Asian Television Awards
. It was also the first time she had acted in an English
sitcom with a multi-camera format though a laugh track was used.
in January 1985 after 11 years of cohabitation. Prior to the marriage, in December 1984, Shum was asked by her good friend Lee Xiang Qin to fly to San Francisco for the opening ceremony of Lee's shop. Shum, who was in Taiwan
with Cheng at the time, was reluctant to do so initially, but three days later, Shum left for San Francisco. When she returned to Taiwan, she heard rumors that Cheng was having an affair. Upon being asked about this, Cheng denied having a relationship with another woman and suggested marriage with Shum. Shum believed that a marriage would deter any woman from becoming close to Cheng. On 5 January 1985, Cheng and Shum flew to Vancouver
, Canada
to get married.
Due to the hurried circumstances of their marriage and Shum's size, there was insufficient time to prepare for a wedding gown
, so Shum wore a Chinese cheongsam instead. Shum later said in a 2006 interview in Hong Kong that one of her greatest regrets was to not have put on a wedding gown for her wedding.
was born to Shum and Adam Cheng. Eight months after their daughter was born, Cheng and Shum divorce
d.
Lydia Shum was the sister of fashion designer Alfred Sung
.
diabetes
, and hypertension
. In 2002, she was admitted to the Queen Mary Hospital
(QMH) in Hong Kong and had 36 gallstone
s extracted. In September 2006, Shum was diagnosed with a liver tumor and cancer around the gallbladder
. Doctors immediately removed one third of her liver.
Prior to a cholecystectomy
done in 2002, she suffered bile duct
inflammation
in 1978 and again in 1989. On 22 September 2006, the inflammation recurred. Four days later, it had complicated her liver and she went into a coma until 1 October. Once again, on 29 January 2007, she entered the operating room to remove a liver tumor which weighed 2.7 kg. On 8 March 2007, the tumor was found to be growing so she had another cholecystectomy
.
On 1 November 2006, a 24-year-old Indonesia
n domestic helper
, Triyuliarti Yuyun, was convicted of violating the Hospital Authority Ordinance and sentenced to four weeks in jail. Yuyun entered a ward at the Queen Mary Hospital
(QMH) on 1 October 2006 where Shum had been receiving treatment, and attempted to take photographs of Shum. Later, it was confirmed that Yuyun was a domestic helper to one of the employees of the local magazine, East Week
, but she had not been authorized to take photographs of Shum. East Week's senior management did not approve of the action and offered an apology to Shum. Magistrate Colin Mackintosh determined that Yuyun's actions were premeditated and done for financial gain and that the serious infringement of the patient's privacy warranted a custodial sentence. On that occasion, Shum was discharged from the hospital in July 2007.
On 11 October 2007, Shum collapsed at home with pleural effusion
, and was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital
(QE) for emergency treatment. Later that day, Shum was transferred to QMH. She was discharged from that hospital on 16 October 2007.
Shum was admitted to the intensive care ward at QMH on 22 January 2008 and checked out four days later. Shum's mother died in Canada
, while Shum was in the hospital. She was once again admitted to the intensive care ward at QMH on 2 February 2008, where her condition worsened. On 19 February, at 3am, her family decided that Shum's life support should be withdrawn. It was decided that her breathing apparatus
would be removed and that her family spend time with her by her bedside. Shum died at 8:38 a.m. (local time) on 19 February 2008.
Prior to her death, she was known to be suffering from liver cancer
which she had fought for two years. As part of the treatment for her illness, she underwent chemotherapy
and several rounds of kidney dialysis treatment.
On 24 February 2008, escorted by her daughter Joyce, Shum's body was flown on a Cathay Pacific
passenger flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada
. On 27 February, Shum was buried at Burnaby
's Forest Lawn Memorial Park
in a private ceremony. Video footage of the funeral was played at a memorial event at the Hong Kong Coliseum
on 2 March.
Fei Fei Day was proclaimed for 1 June 2008 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
(which is Shum's lunar calendar
birthday). Mayor Sam Sullivan
proclaimed this memorial day in Vancouver on 26 February 2008, a week after Shum's death.
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 沈殿霞; 21 July 1945 — 19 February 2008), was a Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
comedienne
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, MC, and actress known for her portly figure, signature dark rimmed glasses and bouffant
Bouffant
A bouffant is a type of hairstyle characterized by hair piled high on the head and hanging down on the sides.-History:The bouffant was a mainstream hairstyle in the mid-to-late 18th century in western Europe. It was thought to be created for Marie Antoinette, as she had relatively thin hair and...
hairstyle. She was affectionately known to peers and fans as Fei-fei (肥肥, literally Fat Fat, Fat Sister or Fatty). She appeared in numerous Hong Kong film
Cinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
s and was an iconic TVB entertainer over forty years. For a brief spell in the 1990s, Shum left TVB to work at rival ATV
Asia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
.
Early years
Shum was born in 1945 in ShanghaiShanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
to Sung Shen Gee (沈賢祺; 1913–1978, with ancestral home in Shanpei, Ningbo) and Sung Tan Sun (沈邱淡素; 1913–2008). She entered the Hong Kong entertainment industry at the age of 13 in 1958. She made her film debut in 1960, joining Shaw Brothers
Shaw Brothers Studio
The Shaw Brothers Studio , owned by Shaw Brothers Ltd., was the foremost and the largest movie production company of Hong Kong movies.From their distribution base in Singapore where they founded parent company Shaw Organization in 1924, and as a strategic development of their movie distribution...
as a teenage actress at the age of 15. She took some time to adjust to Hong Kong as she found the Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine comes from Guangdong Province in southern China and is one of 8 superdivisions of Chinese cuisine. Its prominence outside China is due to the great numbers of early emigrants from Guangdong. Cantonese chefs are highly sought after throughout the country...
very different from that of her native Shanghai
Shanghai cuisine
Shanghai cuisine , also known as Hu cai is a popular style of Chinese cuisine. The city of Shanghai itself does not have a separate and unique cuisine of its own, but modifies those of the surrounding provinces, is Jiangsu and Zhejiang coastal provinces. What can be called Shanghai cuisine is...
.
TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited
Television Broadcasts Limited, commonly known as TVB, is the second over-the-air commercial television station in Hong Kong. It commenced broadcasting on 19 November 1967...
. In 1967, Shum's stardom took off with the popular television variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
Enjoy Yourself Tonight
Enjoy Yourself Tonight
Enjoy Yourself Tonight or E.Y.T was a popular variety show in Hong Kong. It made its first broadcast on TVB on 20 November 1967. The show lasted 27 years with its last broadcast on Friday 7 October 1994...
. She first sang in the Cantopop
Cantopop
Cantopop is a colloquialism for "Cantonese popular music". It is sometimes referred to as HK-pop, short for "Hong Kong popular music". It is categorized as a subgenre of Chinese popular music within C-pop...
group the Four Golden Flowers
Four Golden Flowers
The Four Golden Flowers was a TV theme song musical performance group in the early 1970s. They are one of the first all-girl modern music group in Hong Kong. They are mostly notable for performing on the show Enjoy Yourself Tonight.-Legacy:...
. Later, she played a Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
woman in the 1970s. She also sang as the partner of Roman Tam
Roman Tam
Roman Tam, known by the stage name Lo Man , nickname Law Kee , was a renowned Hong Kong Cantopop singer. He is regarded as the "Godfather of Cantopop".-Career:...
from 1971 to 1973.
By August 1972 she was sufficiently regarded to be one of the first Chinese to ceremonially ride through the Cross-Harbour Tunnel
Cross-Harbour Tunnel
The Cross-Harbour Tunnel is the first tunnel in Hong Kong built underwater. It has become one of the most congested roads in Hong Kong and the world...
on its opening day. TVB general manager Stephen Chan
Stephen Chan Chi Wan
Stephen Chan Chi Wan, born 1958, is the general manager of Television Broadcasts Limited .-Early years:Chan studied linguistics and theatre at the University of Hong Kong and graduated in 1981.-Pre-TVB career:...
has said that there was no substitute for Lydia Shum, and that every person who worked with her professionally eventually became well known in Hong Kong. Her openness to appearing in sport bikini
Bikini
The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...
s and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
costumes despite her weight earned her respect in image-conscious Hong Kong.
Film work
Shum has been established mainly as a comic and dramatic actress but is not limited to films in those genres. Kung fu fans will recognize her from her role as Yuen Cheung-Yan's dominating wife in the film Drunken Tai ChiDrunken Tai Chi
Drunken Tai Chi is a 1984 Hong Kong martial arts action film directed by Yuen Woo Ping and starring Donnie Yen in his first major role. Donnie Yen had signed a four-film contract after winning an open talent search hosted by Yuen Woo Ping, and "Drunken Tai Chi" was one of the contracted films...
. She also appeared as Richard Ng's wife in the all-star comedy Millionaire's Express
Millionaire's Express
Millionaire's Express aka. Shanghai Express is a 1986 Hong Kong martial arts action western film written and directed by Sammo Hung. Film starred Hung, Yuen Biao, Rosamund Kwan, Mei-sheng Fan and Hwang Jang Lee.-Plot:...
, as well as a major role in It's a Mad Mad World. Her 1997 film Fitness Tour is utilized her weight for its plot.
She took a leave from her movie career in 1997, and hosted a talk show in Hong Kong, along with numerous telethons and variety shows on TVB. She returned to films in 2004 with the comedy In-Laws Outlaws.
Asia region
Shum starred in SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
's Channel 5
MediaCorp TV Channel 5
MediaCorp Channel 5 or Channel 5 is a 24-hour free-to-air English and Malay language television channel based in Singapore....
sitcom Living with Lydia
Living with Lydia
Living With Lydia is a Singaporean TV sitcom that was produced by MediaCorp and aired on Channel 5 from 2001 to 2005.-Overview:...
and Cantonese series like Slim Chances (我要Fit一Fit). Her performance in Living with Lydia won her the "Best Comedy Performance by an Actress" award at the 2003 Asian Television Awards
Asian Television Awards
The Asian Television Awards is an appreciation to recognize and reward programming and production excellence in the Asian television industry. Held every December, the Awards draws about 1,400 entries each year from a wide range of broadcasters, including free-to-air TV stations and pay-TV...
. It was also the first time she had acted in an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
sitcom with a multi-camera format though a laugh track was used.
Marriage
Shum married actor and singer Adam Cheng Siu-chowAdam Cheng
Adam Cheng Siu-chow is a Hong Kong TVB actor and Cantopop singer.-Career:Cheng started his career in the 1970s, where he gained a reputation for playing the lead roles in TVB Wuxia drama series based on the works of Louis Cha and Gu Long, such as The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber and Chor Lau Heung...
in January 1985 after 11 years of cohabitation. Prior to the marriage, in December 1984, Shum was asked by her good friend Lee Xiang Qin to fly to San Francisco for the opening ceremony of Lee's shop. Shum, who was in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
with Cheng at the time, was reluctant to do so initially, but three days later, Shum left for San Francisco. When she returned to Taiwan, she heard rumors that Cheng was having an affair. Upon being asked about this, Cheng denied having a relationship with another woman and suggested marriage with Shum. Shum believed that a marriage would deter any woman from becoming close to Cheng. On 5 January 1985, Cheng and Shum flew to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to get married.
Due to the hurried circumstances of their marriage and Shum's size, there was insufficient time to prepare for a wedding gown
Wedding dress
A wedding dress or wedding gown is the clothing worn by a bride during a wedding ceremony. Color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants.- Western culture :...
, so Shum wore a Chinese cheongsam instead. Shum later said in a 2006 interview in Hong Kong that one of her greatest regrets was to not have put on a wedding gown for her wedding.
Family
On 30 May 1987, Joyce Cheng Yan-YeeJoyce Cheng
Joyce Cheng Yan-yee with family root in Taishan is a Hong Kong singer, writer, actress and performer. She is the daughter of Hong Kong comedian Lydia Shum and actor Adam Cheng....
was born to Shum and Adam Cheng. Eight months after their daughter was born, Cheng and Shum divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d.
Lydia Shum was the sister of fashion designer Alfred Sung
Alfred Sung
Alfred Sung is a Chinese-born Canadian fashion designer, producing apparel, fragrance, accessories and home fashions for women and men. He was born in Shanghai and raised in Hong Kong. Sung is the brother of late Hong Kong actress Lydia Shum.-Early life:Sung aspired to become a fine artist...
.
Health problems and subsequent death
Shum suffered from several serious chronic ailments: cholangitis,diabetes
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...
, and hypertension
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
. In 2002, she was admitted to the Queen Mary Hospital
Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong
Queen Mary Hospital , located in Pok Fu Lam on Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong, is the flagship teaching hospital of the Faculty of Dentistry and Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong...
(QMH) in Hong Kong and had 36 gallstone
Gallstone
A gallstone is a crystalline concretion formed within the gallbladder by accretion of bile components. These calculi are formed in the gallbladder, but may pass distally into other parts of the biliary tract such as the cystic duct, common bile duct, pancreatic duct, or the ampulla of...
s extracted. In September 2006, Shum was diagnosed with a liver tumor and cancer around the gallbladder
Gallbladder
In vertebrates the gallbladder is a small organ that aids mainly in fat digestion and concentrates bile produced by the liver. In humans the loss of the gallbladder is usually easily tolerated....
. Doctors immediately removed one third of her liver.
Prior to a cholecystectomy
Cholecystectomy
Cholecystectomy is the surgical removal of the gallbladder. It is the most common method for treating symptomatic gallstones. Surgical options include the standard procedure, called laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and an older more invasive procedure, called open cholecystectomy.-Open surgery:A...
done in 2002, she suffered bile duct
Bile duct
A bile duct is any of a number of long tube-like structures that carry bile.Bile, required for the digestion of food, is excreted by the liver into passages that carry bile toward the hepatic duct, which joins with the cystic duct to form the common bile duct, which opens into the intestine.The...
inflammation
Inflammation
Inflammation is part of the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. Inflammation is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli and to initiate the healing process...
in 1978 and again in 1989. On 22 September 2006, the inflammation recurred. Four days later, it had complicated her liver and she went into a coma until 1 October. Once again, on 29 January 2007, she entered the operating room to remove a liver tumor which weighed 2.7 kg. On 8 March 2007, the tumor was found to be growing so she had another cholecystectomy
Cholecystectomy
Cholecystectomy is the surgical removal of the gallbladder. It is the most common method for treating symptomatic gallstones. Surgical options include the standard procedure, called laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and an older more invasive procedure, called open cholecystectomy.-Open surgery:A...
.
On 1 November 2006, a 24-year-old Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n domestic helper
Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong
Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong are foreign domestic workers and housemaids employed by Hongkongers, typically families. They make up approximately 3% of the population of Hong Kong and an overwhelming majority of them are women...
, Triyuliarti Yuyun, was convicted of violating the Hospital Authority Ordinance and sentenced to four weeks in jail. Yuyun entered a ward at the Queen Mary Hospital
Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong
Queen Mary Hospital , located in Pok Fu Lam on Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong, is the flagship teaching hospital of the Faculty of Dentistry and Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong...
(QMH) on 1 October 2006 where Shum had been receiving treatment, and attempted to take photographs of Shum. Later, it was confirmed that Yuyun was a domestic helper to one of the employees of the local magazine, East Week
East Week
East Week is a Hong Kong-based weekly Chinese language magazine which was established by Oriental Group on October 29, 1992 and sold to the Emperor Group in September 2001...
, but she had not been authorized to take photographs of Shum. East Week's senior management did not approve of the action and offered an apology to Shum. Magistrate Colin Mackintosh determined that Yuyun's actions were premeditated and done for financial gain and that the serious infringement of the patient's privacy warranted a custodial sentence. On that occasion, Shum was discharged from the hospital in July 2007.
On 11 October 2007, Shum collapsed at home with pleural effusion
Pleural effusion
Pleural effusion is excess fluid that accumulates between the two pleural layers, the fluid-filled space that surrounds the lungs. Excessive amounts of such fluid can impair breathing by limiting the expansion of the lungs during ventilation.-Pathophysiology:...
, and was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong
Queen Elizabeth Hospital , QE in short, is a hospital at King's Park in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was named after Queen Elizabeth II. The hospital is a major hospital in southern Kowloon. This hospital has around 1,800 beds. It has more or less 350 physicians and surgeons...
(QE) for emergency treatment. Later that day, Shum was transferred to QMH. She was discharged from that hospital on 16 October 2007.
Shum was admitted to the intensive care ward at QMH on 22 January 2008 and checked out four days later. Shum's mother died in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, while Shum was in the hospital. She was once again admitted to the intensive care ward at QMH on 2 February 2008, where her condition worsened. On 19 February, at 3am, her family decided that Shum's life support should be withdrawn. It was decided that her breathing apparatus
Rebreather
A rebreather is a type of breathing set that provides a breathing gas containing oxygen and recycled exhaled gas. This recycling reduces the volume of breathing gas used, making a rebreather lighter and more compact than an open-circuit breathing set for the same duration in environments where...
would be removed and that her family spend time with her by her bedside. Shum died at 8:38 a.m. (local time) on 19 February 2008.
Prior to her death, she was known to be suffering from liver cancer
Liver cancer
Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...
which she had fought for two years. As part of the treatment for her illness, she underwent chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
and several rounds of kidney dialysis treatment.
On 24 February 2008, escorted by her daughter Joyce, Shum's body was flown on a Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport, although the airline's registered office is on the 33rd floor of One Pacific Place...
passenger flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. On 27 February, Shum was buried at Burnaby
Burnaby, British Columbia
Burnaby is a city in British Columbia, Canada, located immediately to the east of Vancouver. It is the third-largest city in British Columbia by population, surpassed only by nearby Surrey and Vancouver....
's Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Burnaby, British Columbia)
Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a cemetery in Burnaby, British Columbia. The burial park was founded in 1936 and the funeral home was established in 1965.-Notable interments:* Lydia Shum, Hong Kong actress who died on February 19, 2008...
in a private ceremony. Video footage of the funeral was played at a memorial event at the Hong Kong Coliseum
Hong Kong Coliseum
Hong Kong Coliseum is a multi-purpose indoor arena, in Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.It was built by the Urban Council and inaugurated on 27 April 1983....
on 2 March.
Fei Fei Day was proclaimed for 1 June 2008 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(which is Shum's lunar calendar
Lunar calendar
A lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the lunar phase. A common purely lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar. A feature of the Islamic calendar is that a year is always 12 months, so the months are not linked with the seasons and drift each solar year by 11 to...
birthday). Mayor Sam Sullivan
Sam Sullivan
Sam Sullivan, CM served as the 38th mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and has been invested as a Member of the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian award...
proclaimed this memorial day in Vancouver on 26 February 2008, a week after Shum's death.