KUALA LUMPUR: Senior actor Kamal Bakar has been placed in a medically-induced coma after doctors administered the strongest antibiotics to help with his lung infections.
In a news report today, the 62-year-old veteran artiste had also been diagnosed with cancer but doctors have yet to determine its type.
According to his wife Sarina Shariff, 56, Kamal is currently being treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Melaka Hospital.
"Although there were signs that he was about to wake up (on Tuesday), doctors decided to continue to put him at rest, so that he wouldn't be consciously fighting against the medications.
"They said if the infections had been caused by a virus or bacteria, there's a chance for him to recover.
"But if it is caused by cancer, we have to be prepared for any eventuality," she said.
Kamal's health deteriorated since Hari Raya Aidilfitri when he develped a chronic cough and started to have difficulty to walk.
Worried for his health, Sarina brought him to several hospitals before he ended up at Selayang Hospital where doctors conducted detailed tests and confirmed that he has cancer.
Kamal began his acting career in the 1970s and he has acted in films and dramas such as Andai Itu Takdirnya, Orang Minyak, Suami Aku Ustaz, Pendekar, and Ratu Ten Pin.
Kamal married Sarina in 1988 and they have five children, including actor Hanis Kamal.