Time in prison passed so slowly that sometimes Nick retreated into the pages of crime thrillers to speed it up. In his exercise hour he ran round the prison basketball court. For Nick, the first indication that something was wrong came early in 1998: "I would get dizzy standing up and have to lean against the wall. The prison doctor just said I was getting old - I was 30 at the time! I then spent a month in solitary having refused to change cellmates yet again, just when the men in with me were getting on. When I came out people started to say how much weight I'd lost: for the first time in my life I could see my stomach muscles. I thought I looked pretty healthy!" A blood test revealed Nick was anaemic. He also started to have stomach pain, which his doctor put down to the iron tablets. It took a minor mutiny, risking more time in the punishment cells, before the doctor acknowledged he didn't know what more to do, and sent Nick to New Changi Hospital.

David Frost Interview for the BBC

Nick's never going to be feted for services to banking: he's the first to own that the Rogue Trader tag will stay with him lifelong. But he deserves due recognition as a master of endurance: coping with cancer is hard enough when you are supported by gentle nursing, soothing surroundings, friends, family, flowers and tic. Nick had none of these — chained to the bed, with nothing to read, he had to appeal to slow-responding armed guards whenever he needed the bathroom.

Surgery was scheduled for August 11th. Ten days later he was back in his cell, sleeping on concrete and struggling to sit up as 38 staples had just been removed from his lengthy incision and his stomach muscles had been severed during surgery. However, his surgeon was one of the best in Singapore and his oncologist had studied at Cornell in New York and reportedly looked after President Lee Kuan Yu.

Nick was told that there was a 60 per cent chance of him surviving for five years. Chemotherapy — Nick was assured — would increase his chances by a further 10 per cent. Chemo lasted six months — five days on, three weeks off — and although he'd been warned he might feel very poorly, Nick weathered it well.

Finally released in the summer of 1999, and despite his return to the UK bringing a realisation that the high life had been swept away — he was effectively homeless and without a job — Nick enjoyed a fairly hedonistic first year seeing friends and family but also continuing his cancer treatment. Nick actually ran the 2000 Marathon against medical advice. But he was determined to raise money for both Colon Cancer Concern and the Linda Jackson MacMillan Centre in Middlesex where his father's myeloma is treated.

Nick Leeson has proved his resilience and has been able to capitalise on his experiences. He was paid a substantial fee for the newspaper serialisation of his book in The Mail. The story was then turned into a film, Rogue Trader, starring Ewan McGregor and Anna Friel (Executive Produced by Sir David Frost). During 2001 he could be found at Middlesex University where he undertook a Psychology degree and Nick now spends most of his time presenting talks to companies on Risk Management and undertaking after-dinner and conference speaking based on his unique life experiences.

In 2005 Nick was appointed Commercial Manager of Galway United FC and June that year saw the release of his latest book Back from the Brink, Coping with Stress, published by Virgin Books.

With a psychology degree and a second marriage to Irish beautician Leona Tormay, (with her own children Kersty (8) and Alex (4)) after trying for a baby they were delighted when, in 2004, Leona gave birth to a baby boy. Nick comments; "I'm of the mindset that cancer must not take you over and control your life. I do believe that the more positive you are, the greater your chance of survival." his advice to others is never to bottle up stress as he himself did: "You need to talk and express yourself as I now do to Leona. With cancer as with other problems, it's amazing how adaptable human beings are, and you will be able to cope provided you keep a strong frame of mind."

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