The 56-year-old was diagnosed with liver cancer and was given three days to decide whether to undergo major surgery to save his life.
"I could not believe it," Mr Woo recalls, adding that his wife made the doctor's appointment after she noticed he had lost his appetite.
"I tried to bargain with the doctor. Give me one month. Give me two weeks," he laughs.
His surgery went well, and although Mr Woo had a large chunk of his liver removed, he remains healthy.
In Asia, this makes him extremely lucky, not least because three-quarters of the world's liver cancer cases in males and two-thirds in females occur in the region.
With a fatality rate of 93%, it is a particularly Asian disease that has a high human and economic cost.
Deadly diseaseAccording to the World Health Organization, liver cancer kills 700,000 people every year, which makes it the third most common cause of death from cancer worldwide.
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