Former ENHYPEN Singer Evan Reveals Childhood Cancer Diagnosis

Former ENHYPEN singer, Evan, revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer as a child. The 24 year-old, whose real name is Lee Hee Sung, shared on global fandom platform Weverse, that he was diagnosed with lymphoma as a child.

Evan rose to fame in 2020 when he competed in the South Korean reality competition I-Land, after which he debuted with the K-pop boy group ENHYPEN. In March 2026, Evan announced that he would leave the group to pursue a solo career. He made his solo debut in June 2026, releasing a single Ride or Die.

Evan publicly revealed that he was diagnosed with a malignant lymphoma when he was a child during the release of his latest EP Death of Me.

“I think it’s time I talked about this. I haven’t brought this up since I became a singer, but in fourth grade, I was diagnosed with malignant lymphoma. I kept coughing, and at first I just figured it was a cold and didn’t think much of it, but then when I was playing soccer, I took four or five steps and suddenly couldn’t breathe. I found out at the hospital later that it was cancer,” he shared.

Evan also shared that “the treatment process wasn’t easy”. Besides having to deal with the physical effects, he also had to”be brave”.

“I’d watch my friends pass away and kept thinking, ‘I want to live so badly, I want to go home.’” he recalled.

Fortunately, Evan recovered fully after undergoing treatment. However, he shared that he had difficulties adjusting back to normal life. He struggled to make friends and felt that he could not fit in with his peers.

“I had a lot less energy, and since my hair was still growing back from chemo, I got teased a lot for it. My friends would be like, ‘What is that, grass? You’re like a monk.’ But I just took it because I wanted to fit in. Once I got to middle school, I had some good friends, but I wasn’t as outgoing as before. I became more of an introvert,” he recalled. “I haven’t thought about that in a long time. It hurts to bring it back up.”

Evan shared that his cancer journey had inspired his latest EP, The Death of Me.

“When I sing on ‘Death of Me,’ the lead single, that this ‘ain’t the death of me,’ it comes from a place of having actually gone right up to the edge of death myself. No matter how far down I went, I felt over and over that it was never really the end. I hope EVER hears that message and finds some hope in it,” he shared.