Comedian Lee Seong-mi. [Lee Seong-mi's Instagram]
Comedian Lee Seong-mi. [Lee Seong-mi's Instagram]

Comedian Lee Seong-mi has moved viewers with a candid account of her breast cancer battle, revealing that the pain from drug treatment once drove her to demand that doctors stop her medication.

Lee appeared Wednesday on a sixth-anniversary special of TV Chosun's "Perfect Life," where she opened up about her experience fighting breast cancer.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013, Lee underwent surgery and was declared fully recovered five years later. Recalling the moment she came out of the operating room, she said, "The instant I opened my eyes, I thought, 'I'm alive.' I told myself I had to live the rest of my life better."

But surgery was only the beginning. Lee said she had to undergo 30 rounds of radiation therapy afterward, describing the ordeal as agonizing. "Throughout the treatment, my body felt as heavy as melting candle wax," she said. "When the radiation finally ended, they told me I would now have to take anticancer drugs."

The medication proved to be another ordeal. "I simply could not take the anticancer drugs. The pain was so unbearable that I thought, 'I'd rather not live,'" she said. "I kept thinking: what's the point of prolonging life like this? I'd rather live happily on one day than suffer through to the next."

She said the experience left her without motivation, brought on depression and made everything feel like a burden — and that she ultimately asked her medical team to stop the drug treatment.

Lee also spoke about the colleagues who stood by her during her illness. Fellow comedian Moon Yeong-mi, who appeared alongside her on the program, grew tearful recounting the experience. "There was nothing I could do for her back then," Moon said. "It broke my heart that all I could do was pray."

In response, Lee expressed her gratitude, saying, "The prayers you offered were a real source of strength for me."

Lee also reflected on friends she had lost to cancer. "Ja-ok (singer Kim Ja-ok) and Yeong-ae (actor Kim Yeong-ae) both passed away from cancer," she said. "Not long ago I heard that Mi-seon (comedian Park Mi-seon) had been diagnosed, and my heart just sank." She added that the experiences had made her resolve to spend her remaining years living each day fully, joyfully and with excitement.

Lee made her debut through the TBC Comedy Contest in 1980 and rose to prominence before abruptly moving to Canada with her three children in 2002. She returned to South Korea seven years later, in 2009, and resumed her broadcasting career.


betterj@heraldcorp.com