Compassion without knowledge is ineffective
Knowledge without compassion is inhuman
- Victor Weisskopf, physicist
A good dog watches over a hundred homes
A good man benefits everything under the sky
- mother of Sim Wong Hoo, owner of Creative Technology
My personal experiences with Singapore private doctors
1. Father's prostate enlargement (private urologist in Mount Elizabeth) 1998?
On regular visit to heart doctor (after valave transplant), father complain to him about frequent need to go urinate. That doctor introduced us to his urologist friend (in crime?)
Urologist said prostate enlargement. Can be caused by infection, testestrone deficiency (common old man problem) or cancer. Need to monitor
Over the next 9 months, repeat PSI tests and scans showed enlargement, shrinkage and then repeat
One day I decided to go along to see urologist and get his view (before that I had been checking out medical sites like Mount Sinai etc to learn about diagnostics on prostate enlargement)
That fella pretended to act serious and recommended surgery 'to be sure'.
I asked what is probability, he said '50-50'
I scolded that bugger for trying to cheat his patients
- still '50-50' after 9 months of monitoring & tests?!
- cancers do not grow and shrink and re-grow as scans and PSI tests showed
2. My toothache (private dentist in Bedok) 2008
Got toothache in a Chinese new year weekend and regular private dentist was closed.
So went to another one nearby Block 58 market Bedok South.
Dentist took x-ray and said there was hair-line crack and I must decide there and then since shop will be closed for weekend.
Didn't trust that fella & told him I'd think about it.
Saw Sensodyne sensitive toothpaste advert and decided to go buy one and try.
That tooth has no problem till
Late cancer victim's inspiring video goes viral
Yahoo! News 29 October 2012
There are videos, and then there are VIDEOS.
And this one may just end up changing your life.
Singaporean
Dr Richard Teo, a successful opthamologist-turned-cosmetic surgeon, succumbed to Stage Four terminal lung cancer earlier this month at the age of 40.
But since his death, a 22-minute heart-wrenching video featuring his thoughts on life and the ceaseless pursuit of materialism and success is going viral online.
During the talk given to class of medical students, the former Raffles Junior College and National University of Singapore student shares with painful, brutal honesty how his driving ambition since childhood was to be successful at all costs.
And given Singapore's societal and educational context, that meant making lots and lots of money and amassing enough status symbols to last a lifetime.
"I am a typical product of today's society. From young, I was told by the media... and people around me that happiness is about sucess. And that success is about being wealthy," he shared in a voice made hoarse by rounds of chemo.
In the grainy amateur video, which was shot in January, a frail-looking and slightly balding Teo goes on to detail how he ditched public service to become an aesthetic surgeon to "make millions".
That is until his "perfect" life fell apart on the day he learned about his illness and how, in the final months of his life, all his wealth, toys -- supercars, bungalows -- and glam lifestyle meant nothing to him and gave him precious little comfort.
Instead, he found comfort in spending time with family and fellow patients, sharing their pain and suffering. In his final message, he urged the classroom of medical students never to lose their moral compass and never to lose sight of the patients they treated.
The video, which was uploaded last Thursday, has been viewed nearly 70,000 times to date. And his story, which was first featured on
The New Paper on Sunday (TNPS), has got people talking.
His wife, Mrs Teo, who was married to him for six years, told TNPS, "I'm proud of him for leaving a legacy. I wish I could be like him. He is the best teacher God has sent to me."
Compassion without knowledge is ineffective
Knowledge without compassion is inhuman
- Victor Weisskopf, physicist
A good dog watches over a hundred homes
A good man benefits everything under the sky
- mother of Sim Wong Hoo, owner of Creative Technology
My personal experiences with Singapore private doctors
1. Father's prostate enlargement (private urologist in Mount Elizabeth) 1998?
On regular visit to heart doctor (after valave transplant), father complain to him about frequent need to go urinate. That doctor introduced us to his urologist friend (in crime?)
Urologist said prostate enlargement. Can be caused by infection, testestrone deficiency (common old man problem) or cancer. Need to monitor
Over the next 9 months, repeat PSI tests and scans showed enlargement, shrinkage and then repeat
One day I decided to go along to see urologist and get his view (before that I had been checking out medical sites like Mount Sinai etc to learn about diagnostics on prostate enlargement)
That fella pretended to act serious and recommended surgery 'to be sure'.
I asked what is probability, he said '50-50'
I scolded that bugger for trying to cheat his patients
- still '50-50' after 9 months of monitoring & tests?!
- cancers do not grow and shrink and re-grow as scans and PSI tests showed
2. My toothache (private dentist in Bedok) 2008
Got toothache in a Chinese new year weekend and regular private dentist was closed.
So went to another one nearby Block 58 market Bedok South.
Dentist took x-ray and said there was hair-line crack and I must decide there and then since shop will be closed for weekend.
Didn't trust that fella & told him I'd think about it.
Saw Sensodyne sensitive toothpaste advert and decided to go buy one and try.
That tooth has no problem till today
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