It started with stomach pains while he was on a mission trip in Vietnam. When it happened, Gerard S Saverimuthu, 50, did not pay much attention to it.

“Mission trips are very unique because you are eating all kinds of food that are unfamiliar and, of course, the water is different.

“All these different conditions caused pretty much everybody on the mission trip to have some sort of abdominal pains,” Gerard told Salt&Light.

But the pain persisted after he returned to Singapore. Because it was mild, Gerard carried on with life. It was when he went to a church camp in Malaysia and experienced breathlessness that he became concerned.

Gerard (second from left) with church friends at the 2025 church retreat.

“I later learnt that it was called a pulmonary embolism – blood clots from a cancer tumour I had had shot up to my lungs. It could have been fatal.”

A pulmonary embolism requires immediate medical attention because it can quickly lead to heart failure. Because Gerard did not know the severity of his condition, he did nothing. He completed the three-day camp and even returned to Singapore by coach with his church, Bethesda Bedok Tampines Church (BBTC). 

“God protected me throughout the journey and even after I came back.”

When the stomach pains did not dissipate, his wife Karen advised him to see a doctor. Suspecting that it might be kidney stones, the doctor sent Gerard for a CT scan. Instead, they found a tumour.

“It was Stage 3 kidney cancer. I was shocked and nervous because it was a critical illness,” he said.

What followed after the August 2025 diagnosis was nothing Gerard expected, but everything he did not know he needed.

The decision to stay

Gerard and Karen are citizens of the world. He is a native of Sri Lanka and she comes from India. When they got married, they went to Australia and became citizens there. But since 2011, they have called Singapore home.

Karen and Gerard have no family in Singapore. Their church became the family they so badly needed during his cancer journey.

When Gerard was told he would have to begin a two-part treatment for his cancer, husband and wife made the decision to remain in Singapore even though they have no family here.

“We have built friendships here, formed deep relationships and become part of a vibrant and loving church, and a cell group,” Gerard explained.

Because of the tumour’s size and how it sat in the main arteries, surgery was not immediately possible. Instead, he was prescribed pills to reduce the size of the tumour and given an infusion to build up his immune system to fight the cancer cells. The combination therapy took a toll on him.

The treatment came with a lot of side effects.

“The worst part was the side effects like diarrhea and fever. I used to live on spicy food because of where I come from, but I couldn’t eat spicy foot at all. Food became more and more bland.

“I was weak, lethargic and I couldn’t walk because I started getting inflammation on the soles of my feet. But the doctor told me to exercise as much as I could. So I would limp for at least half an hour each day. It was a difficult time.”

Gerard on his regular walks during treatment.

The couple did not know it yet, but their decision to remain in Singapore would be pivotal to Gerard’s cancer and faith journey.

Hands and feet

Gerard’s cell group at BBTC became the family’s “hands and feet” during this time. Neither he nor Karen drives, so cell group members would take turns to ferry them to and from every medical appointment to save them the hour-long travel by train.

Text messages like these from his church friends offering practical help were not uncommon.

Gerard (second from right) and Karen (left) with their cell group.

“I never asked them, but whenever I updated them about my appointments, they would contact me and offer to give me a lift. I am very thankful for all this.”

This extended to rides to and from church on Sundays as well.

“That was how my cell leader and his wife cared for us. So these are small little ways that meant a great deal to us.”

On three occasions, Gerard had to be rushed to the A&E because there was blood in his urine. The condition, known as hematuria, is an indication that the tumour had become so aggressive that it had eroded the delicate blood vessels of the urinary tract. Each time, his cell group friends would send him to the A&E, even at short notice.

“We know for sure that they themselves had their own challenges in their lives, yet they came over and they supported us. So that was huge for us,” said Gerard.

Gerard and Karen (centre in beige) with their cell group after their cell group meeting.

After months of combination therapy, Gerard was ready to undergo surgery to remove the tumour. A cell group friend waited in the hospital throughout the eight-hour procedure, praying for him.

Gerard right after his surgery with an elder in BBTC, Wong Eng Hai, and his wife Valerie.

Support and supplications 

From the moment their church friends were told of Gerard’s cancer, they also supported him and Karen spiritually. The men in his cell group formed an online group that consisted of people from BBTC, Gerard’s Christian friends from his former church in Singapore, and those from his church in Australia. Gerard would provide weekly updates of his treatment and they would pray for him. 

Whether in person or via text, people prayed for Gerard, strengthening his faith, giving him hope and assuring him of God’s love.

Gerard (second from left) with his friends from his previous church Bukit Panjang Gospel Chapel who supported him through his cancer journey.

His mentor in Australia, a missionary who had returned from Zambia, would call monthly as well to talk him through his anxieties and uncertainties.

“There were brothers from my cell group who called me regularly, who checked up on me, and they prayed for me.

“One brother from church would call me, and he would say, ‘Okay, can I pray for you today? 7pm?’ And he would call me and pray for me.”

Gerard’s former cell group leader who was also an elder in the church would pray for him when they met in church. Because Gerard taught primary Sunday school, the children in church also prayed for him. One Pastor called him daily during the early days of his diagnosis to pray and journey with him. The cancer care ministry leader also met him regularly. 

Gerard with Ps Joseph Leo, the former Pastor of the children’s ministry in which Gerard serves.

Another couple helped them with their insurance and financial planning to ensure they could afford all the treatment. The couple had gone through their own cancer journey and knew exactly what it was like.

“The brother walked with me so closely, and he provided all the emotional support. We had special times together praying. I became so close to him, I would share my own personal challenges and spiritual struggles.”

While the men in the cell group rallied around Gerard, the women came alongside Karen and deeper friendships formed.

Karen and Gerard with Karen’s mentor and prayer partner Irene Sng from BBTC.

The church family became family to the couple. After cell group meetings, they would have meals together, making sure there was nothing spicy in the menu. A few months after the August diagnosis, the cell group went for a retreat together in Malaysia.

The couple (left) with their cell group at a retreat in Malaysia.

“All this brought about a sort of family-like environment where we would not only talk about my condition and my situation, but also things in general.

“My wife and I told God, ‘We don’t have immediate family around us, but You put your people around us to care for us.’

“That was a unique part of my journey. Our cell group cared for us so deeply and that meant a lot to us.”

It has been nearly a year since Gerard’s cancer diagnosis. The surgery successful excised the tumour in the kidney and he has been given a clean bill of health. But more than physical restoration, Gerard has experienced spiritual renewal. 

The men from the cell group who had met online to pray with Gerard are now so close to each other that they have become a men’s support group, sharing lives and supporting each other.

The men who met with Gerard to support him in prayer during his cancer journey.

The group now meet on Saturday mornings.

“We not only pray together, we also meet together on Saturdays in the mornings for makan (food). We catch up together and go for walks together. These are all new dimensions for us.”

A newfound love for church

Gerard had always attended church services faithfully. But there was a season in his life when he had to travel frequently, so he began attending church online. Necessity became convenience and before he knew it, watching service online became a norm.

His cancer journey showed him why being part of a church community and attending church physically is so important, he said.

“When I was first diagnosed with cancer, I prayed for healing just like anybody else. But God didn’t just heal, He gave a community of His people who cared for us.”

He told Salt&Light: “This was a revelation to us of what we had read in the book of Acts and in various parts of Scripture where God’s people journeyed together. I saw God’s love in the Body of Christ that I had never witnessed before.”

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