Nick Leeson was diagnosed with colon cancer, three years after he was jailed for his involvement in the collapse of Barings Bank in 1995.
The 51-year-old was released after 42 months of his six-and-a-half-year prison sentence and survived stage B cancer following treatment.
Here is everything you need to know about Nick Leeson and his battle with cancer.
Nick Leeson Jail Time
Barings Bank collapsed in 1995 after suffering losses of £827 million resulting from poor speculative investments, primarily in futures contracts, conducted by its employee Nick Leeson.
There was a week-long manhunt as Nick attempted to avoid jail time, although he was eventually caught, convicted and jailed for six years at Changi Prison in Singapore.
Celebrity Big Brother Summer 2018 – Nick Leeson
Nick Leeson Cancer Diagnosis
The prison sentence was cut short, however, when Nick was diagnosed with colon cancer, although he had to deal with a great deal of pain in the lead up to chemotherapy.
Nick’s mother died of lung cancer when he was only 20 and, a week after Nick’s diagnosis, his father was diagnosed with blood cancer.
During this period, Nick also went through a divorce with his first wife, Lisa, as she stopped visiting him in prison.
Nick told Cancer Active: In prison, you really need something to hang on to. That something was my relationship until suddenly I didn’t know what was going on between me and Lisa. Eventually, I wrote offering a divorce and after two weeks she replied, saying yes. Then, at least, I could move on.”
Celebrity Big Brother Summer 2018 – Nick Leeson
Nick Leeson Treatment
The Telegraph reported that Nick was initially offered treatment in Changi Prison but only if he agreed to be handcuffed to his bed.
Having gone through the ordeal of a stomach distension while in prison, Nick refused and called the prison authorities’ bluff.
Adding that he would rather die in jail than receive treatment while bed-ridden in prison, Nick was eventually treated without restraint and released early from his sentence.
Nick headed into chemotherapy with a 60 per cent chance of surviving for five years. The treatment proved a huge success, however, and following six months of procedures the cancer had been eliminated.
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