Shintaro Ueda

Shintaro, together with his wife, operates a specialty sake shop in Tokyo’s Nerima, focused on local craft sake. His journey has been marked by significant health challenges: a congenital heart defect, heart surgeries in 2003 and again in 2015 following a heart attack, a diabetes diagnosis, and multiple cancer battles, including malignant tumors in his duodenum. At one point, he was given just three months to live, and a biopsy later confirmed malignant lymphoma. After six months of R-CHOP chemotherapy and radiation, he achieved remission.

Now managing follicular lymphoma, Ueda-san receives regular check-ups at three different hospitals every three months. Despite his rigorous schedule and health concerns, he is committed to his work and lives each day with purpose and resilience. Through reading others’ experiences, he finds comfort and hopes that his own story brings a sense of understanding and support to those facing similar battles. Cancer is often difficult to understand for those who haven’t experienced it firsthand, and Ueda-san wishes for even one more person in a similar situation to find hope and encouragement.