When diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer, sports and being a football coach was what drove her to beat one of life's biggest battles
It's 2016, and we're at the field at Temasek Polytechnic getting ready for football training. The team is joking around — as we always do — and lacing up our boots when someone glances toward the car park across the pitch.
"Oh my god, it's Coach Nik," our teammate announces. And just like that, laughs of joy turn into nervous chuckles. We know what's about to happen — physical training madness.
"You look familiar, were you part of my physical torture?" laughed Rohaidah Nasir, better known as Coach Eda now or Nikita to her football friends, when I had reconnected with her after eight years. Her training sessions were grueling back then, but they gave us treasured memories to laugh about now in adulthood. Coach Eda, who we called Coach Nik back then, was our most frightening coach, but also one of the most respected.
Only she could get us to laugh instead of scowl by grinning at us sprawled on the floor before asking, "so, how was it?" after putting us through what was probably the most intense interval sessions in our young lives. That was, and still is the way she is now, despite the hardships thrown her way.
Rohaidah was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) in October 2023. When she was told the news, her reaction — which bewildered her doctors — was the result of being self-reliant, guarded and a force of nature in sports her whole life.
"Okay! What's the next step? How fast can I recover?" she asked her doctors and nurses nonchalantly.
"I think it shocked my doctor because she didn’t expect that reaction. At that point, I didn’t realise the severity and how hard it was going to be at a later stage. I think to her, I was too positive."
Rohaidah first felt a lump that was neither painful nor uncomfortable. When told she needed a biopsy, the unsuspecting fitness fanatic agreed on the condition that she could work out afterward, much to her doctor's surprise (again). The quiet nature of cancer is something she hopes people will truly recognise.
"I was still able to run, jump, dive and kick around. It’s a silent killer. There were no symptoms. No pain. No other signs except for the lump. It was the aggressive, silent one that hits a lot of young women even in their 20s. It had nothing to do with my genes and it can happen to anyone," she desperately shared.
Rohaidah has a plethora of roles in different sports to her name. She's not only a fitness, football and touch rugby coach, but also a FIFA referee and a personal trainer. The 41-year-old began her refereeing career in 2004 and had officiated as an assistant referee at the 2018 Asian Games women's football finals. Coaching however, is her biggest love. In fact, it's her purpose.
When asked about her biggest motivation during her recovery, the F17 Academy Coach answered without hesitation.
"It’s passion. I miss socialising and I love kids. They bring that innocent smile without a care in the world. I want that. We all should not care about petty things, and just enjoy our lives like these kids do."
"Coaching football not only imparts knowledge but also builds character in the kids I teach. Most of the time my kids are full of mischief but they're just adorable. It brings smiles at the end of the day but most importantly it teaches us to have lots of patience," she added.
Initially diagnosed at stage one, doctors discovered that Rohaida's cancer had progressed to stage two during her eight hour mastectomy, resulting in her surgeons having to remove lymph nodes as well. Since then, she has had to sacrifice a large part of her sporting life. For Rohaidah, who grew up with sports, it was devastating.
"I have dedicated my life and sacrificed so much for football. Football and running are forms of destress for me, my form of caffeine," she explained.
"I kept myself positive, telling myself that I will be back. That's why I kept this diagnosis a secret from a lot of people. I only informed those related to my work where I am unable to perform anymore and that I will be away for quite some time," added Rohaidah, opening up about her difficulties with vulnerability.
Only in September 2024, two months after completing all chemotherapy and radiation sessions, did she reveal publicly in an Instagram post of her diagnosis.
"Since young, I was told to suck it in and that led to me building a wall, but I am grateful for some friends who know of my wall. They didn’t even ask, they just helped. I have kept this a secret for so long that I have finally realised, after being more focused spiritually, that it’s alright to be vulnerable," she said in her post.
Sharing with us about her recovery, Rohaidah was honest in her struggles with vulnerability.
"My recovery is much faster than most people I know. I have more energy but at times, I get too tired or my immune system crashes but nobody sees that. Everyone only sees that I seem to be back to normal. Although, that is what I want them to see so they don’t have to worry about me."
As she went through chemotherapy every two weeks, Rohaidah was not one to sit still, to the concern of her close friends. She did some research on what were the best exercises she could manage and off she was. She walked everywhere.
"Of course I got scolded for not sitting still. My friends called me stubborn and crazy, because I risked falling and falling during chemotherapy would have been dangerous. I tried to make it a point to walk a lot, even to the toilets, around the house and doing housework. Walking outside made me feel even better mentally," she recollected.
"The first seven to 10 days of chemo were tough. Usually after the 10th day of chemotherapy, I would do squats on a chair, heel raises and lots of stretching especially my glutes and back. Even these were hard.
"I had never felt so weak in my life. The hardest part was losing my hair, I never realised how much it meant to me. At that point, I didn’t know how to face the world and was always hiding."
Now slowly making her way back to the life she once had, Rohaidah is once again back with her football family and coaching, having just travelled to Kuala Lumpur with her F17 Academy's girls team for a cross-border match.
Her passion that got her through her toughest of times had waited for her return, and just by looking at her posts on social media, it's clear that her love and passion never wavered one bit.