Surgical oncology—a surgery that aims to manage cancerous tumours—remains the primary solution for treating cancer.

Your Singapore oncologist may use this cancer treatment method to achieve a number of goals—from diagnosing and completely eliminating cancer cells to relieving you from the symptoms that the disease causes. Cancer surgery may be the only treatment you need, or it could be performed in conjunction with other treatment methods, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biological therapy, and hormone therapy.

Purpose of Surgical Oncology

Cancer surgery is used to achieve certain goals. Common reasons why your Singapore oncology consultants may suggest for a surgery include:

• Prevention. If you have higher risk of developing cancer, perhaps due to genetics or your kind of lifestyle, your doctor may recommend removing the tissues or organs (e.g. breast, cervix, and colon) that are prone to cancer.

• Diagnosis. For most types of cancer, a biopsy is the only way to be able to make a definite diagnosis. To diagnose cancer, the surgeon from http://www.harleystreet.sg/services/cancer/ in Singapore will perform either an incisional biopsy or an excisional biopsy. An incisional biopsy entails removal of a piece of the suspicious tissue, while an excisional biopsy removes the entire suspicious area, such as an abnormal mole or lump, for examination

• Staging. A cancer surgery is also performed to determine the size of the tumour and how much it has spread. The surgery for staging often includes removal of lymph nodes—which are tiny, bean-shaped organs that helps the body fight infections—near the cancer cells to see if the disease has spread there. Alongside the biopsy and results of imaging tests, this surgical treatment helps oncologists come up with a cancer treatment programme for your case.

• Removal of Tumour. One of the main reasons why your doctor may recommend a surgery is to remove cancer tumours and the surrounding tissues that has been infected, which is called ‘the margin.’ This may be the only treatment you need, or it may be combined with other treatment methods, which may be performed before or after the surgery.

• Debulking. If complete removal of the cancer tumour isn’t possible, perhaps because it can cause excessive damage to a certain part of the body, surgery is performed to remove as much of the cancer cells as possible. For this purpose, the surgery is often combined with other treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, to shrink the remaining cancer cells.

• Relieve Symptoms. To relieve symptoms brought by cancer, a surgery can also be done, which is technically called palliative surgery. This surgery plays a crucial role in improving the quality of life for cancer patients with advanced cases. Palliative surgery can help relieve pain, stop bleeding caused by fragile tumours, insert feeding tube(s) that delivers food and medications into the patient’s body, and prevent brittle bones from breaking.

• Reconstruction of Body Parts. After a primary cancer surgery, a reconstructive surgery can be an option to restore the body’s appearance and/or function. This surgery can be performed right after the surgery for removing the tumour; or it may be done later after the patient has healed from the previous surgery. One example of reconstructive surgery is breast reconstruction after a mastectomy.

Minimally Invasive Surgical Oncology

For the purposes mentioned above, major surgeries are required to get the procedure’s full efficacy. However, there are some situations that don’t require large incisions and extensive surgical processes. Here are some of examples of minimally invasive surgeries for treating cancer.

• Laser Surgery. If any suspicious tissues are detected early, the doctor can remove them by using only a high-intensity light. There’s no need for an incision since cancerous tissues that haven’t fully developed yet are still small enough to be eliminated with laser.

• Cryosurgery. Like laser surgery, any abnormal cells that haven’t yet developed into cancer cells can be removed with minimally invasive procedure, like Cryosurgery. During the treatment, your doctor uses liquid nitrogen to freeze and destroy suspicious tissue and cells.

• Endoscopy. In this procedure, the doctor inserts an endoscope, a thin flexible tube with light and camera on its tip, into an opening of your body (such as the mouth, vagina, or rectum) to get a view of your internal organs. As the procedure goes on, the doctor will get samples of any abnormal tissues inside your body for further examination.

• Microscopically-Controlled Surgery. Your dermatologist shaves off a very thin layer of your skin with skin cancer, one layer at a time, until the layer with cancer is completely eliminated and all cells in your skin’s topmost layer appear normal when viewed from a microscope.

• Laparoscopic Surgery. This modern surgical technique only requires small incisions (usually 0.5 to 1.5 cm) somewhere in the body, where it is closest to the abnormal tissue, using a very thin, lighted tube with a camera.

Surgical oncology, whether invasive or minimally invasive, aims to physically remove the tumour and its surrounding tissues. However, depending on the case, a surgery is often combined with other treatments. To determine the type of surgery suited for you and know whether or not you need more treatment, talk to a certified oncologist Singapore. It is important to work only with the best oncologist in Singapore for dealing with such serious health cases and to ensure you’re getting the best care and treatment plan for your needs.

You are often reminded by your mother, girl friend or maybe the bottle to drink moderately. Despite the reminder, you still manage to get wasted and regret the day after vowing not to drink again. This cycle never ends. If you want to change this, you should find in yourself the will to stop or at least limit it.

Hangovers are made so you will realize what drinking can do to your body. There are however ways to defeat hangover but you have to remember that it will only deal with one or two symptoms – it cannot totally get rid of the whole thing. According to a researcher of Utrecht University, Joris Verster, the problem with hangover is that not all people understand how it works.

Hangover is common here in Singapore especially after a night out. The good thing is that there are things that you can do to help the body cope with hangover. Here are some tips on defeating hangover:

Eat a big fried breakfast

Englishmen deal with hangover by eating a big fried breakfast. That is not a bad start. Actually research showed that eating heavy in the morning may help but not totally get rid of all the symptoms. According to Keele University’s Richard Stephens, hangover has something to do with not having enough blood sugar as well as glucose metabolism.

Fried breakfast composed of eggs, baked beans and sausages actually have lots of carbohydrates which can help defeat hangover because it can restore the already depleted sugar levels.

Drink water

You believe that water can help with the hangover but Dutch research said it can only give relief to your dry mouth and it will help against thirst. It will not magically make things better. The headache and nausea will still be there even if you drink 10 pints of water every day.

Take headache pills

Many just reach headache pills after waking up in the morning. While it can help, it won’t magically get rid of everything. Hangover is actually an immunosuppression response because of the inflammation. The headache pills contain anti-inflammatory elements that can reduce hangover.

Go to bed early

Hangover is intensified in the morning because you didn’t get enough sleep last night. If you want to suffer less in the morning, it is always recommended that you end the session as soon as you can and go to sleep. If you drink at the expense of sleep, it’ll surely get worse.

Avoid dark spirits

Many people think that hangover is caused purely of how much you drink you had the night before. The truth is, the drinks you chose can make a difference. Dark spirits like brandy and whisky contain congeners, a chemical that can make you feel worst.

If you are someone who loves to help in maintaining and beautifying their homes, then you must be familiar with problems with cavity wall insulation. These are the issues that usually occur due to your wall insulation. These are very common nowadays, especially that there are cavity wall insulations that were poorly placed or fitted these days.

Ensuring the Health of Your Family

There are ways that you can do to address these problems. All you have to do is to understand your situation and the things you can accomplish. It is an undeniable fact that many people choose not to take problems with cavity wall insulation seriously.

A lot of us are taking it for granted because we think that it is not a serious problem and we have more important matters, such as our health problems, financial problems and many more. This is one of our mistakes. We underestimate this problem. We should always take this matter seriously as this can affect our daily living.

Why You Shouldn’t Take Cavity Wall Insulation Problems Lightly

What people do not know about cavity wall problems is that it might cause or even worsen our health problems. One of the many illnesses it might cause is asthma. If you have problems with your wall cavity, then it is possible that your house is already a damp house. What does a damp house cause?

It is asthma and other health problems. You do not want your family to be suffering just because of problems with cavity wall insulation, right? Then, you must find ways on how to solve this problem as soon as possible or else worse situation might come.

Are Cavity Wall Insulation Problems Common?

If you think that you are the only one who is suffering from cavity wall insulation problems, then you are wrong. This kind of problem can even be considered as epidemic considering the high number of homeowners who are experiencing this problem. Back to the old days, many people are fond of signing up and installing eco-friendly home improvements for the purpose of reducing their energy bills and saving money.

It was back in April 2008 when homeowners started to get their homes installed with cavity wall insulation. It was also the month and year when the government introduced these green schemes. Due to the promising benefits of these schemes, many homeowners got attracted and trusted these only to bring them more problems in the future.

Since people normally have a lot of outdoor activities every day, we cannot avoid the bacteria we get from just taking a bath. There are bacteria and viruses that can be transmitted through different ways that may harm our immune system and other internal parts of our body. Aside from making a person sick, we are less able to fight of the germs that can cause infections and worst is, cancer. Before your body gets affected from contagious diseases that we get from viruses, bacteria, and other diseases such as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, be sure to get vaccinated.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or known to be as HIV, is a virus that destroys the human body’s immune system due to germs we get from workplace, public transportation, streets, food establishments, hospitals, and everywhere else. How is HIV spread? This virus is transmitted through blood, semen, vaginal fluids, pre-seminal fluids, rectal fluids, and breast milk.

However, there are medications that would help fight HIV in our body and would help us recover our weak immune system. But HIV has no cure, however, it can only be cured temporarily for only a short period of time. What would happen if you work in a hospital specializes in medical care to patients having HIV? Would you survive?

Stated below are safety precautions on associating HIV-positive persons:

• Wear gloves especially when you are going to have contact with the patient’s blood and other body fluids.
• After having contact with the patient’s blood and other body fluids, wash your hands immediately. Disinfect surfaces that are soiled with blood.
• If you have cuts, sores, or wounded part on your skin, make sure to cover it bandage. This may apply to you and your patient.
• Avoid practices that may let you be affected by HIV, such as the sharing of razors, toothbrushes, spoons, and etc.
• Wear face mask in visiting your patient.
• Get tested by a doctor to see your HIV status.

What to do I need to do if I am infected by HIV?

The very important thing to do if you know that you are infected by the virus is to take medicines that can reduce the amount of virus or viral load present in your body. The Antiretroviral Therapy or (ART) can help you fight off infections in your body. It can keep you healthy for longer years. Visit your health care provider regularly and maintain the medicine given to you as well as the advised therapy for HIV infection. Use condoms in having sex to avoid the risk of transmitting HIV to your partner. If you inject drugs, never share your needles to others. Wear an appropriate face mask when talking to other people.

A lot of countries have high risk of HIV infection, if you are more careful enough, then there will be zero chances of getting infected by persons with HIV. Be mindful of the precautions mentioned above because we don’t know that the person next to you right now is also infected.

Singapore, being a country located near the equator, has a tropical climate. However, most of the year, the weather stays hot and humid.

We wish we could stay at home during these days and enjoy the perks of our air-condition unit but there are times when we have to go to work or run some important errands.

Cooling down seems impossible thanks to our hectic schedules but not to worry, we can do something about this dilemma. Here are some convenient lifestyle tips to stay cool and survive the weather.

The wonders of chrysanthemum tea

You can find chrysanthemum tea in any grocery store in Singapore. It is recognized by Chinese medicine to be able to eliminate indigestion, ulcers and extreme headaches- most commonly caused by a sudden escalation of the body’s temperature.

When consumed hourly, noticeable changes can be observed. Heat rashes and other sun damages will dissipate. Drink hot chrysanthemum tea soaked with chrysanthemum leaves on hot days brings down the temperature of the body.

Natural aloe goodness

Aloe vera is known among individuals who love doing home remedies as a plant with an abundance of health benefits, most of these involving skin care.

Lathering aloe vera to sunburns or sun damaged skin can ease the pain and cool the skin. The plant has menthol properties so applying the gel, which is made up of 96% water, to the skin has a cooling and moisturizing effect.

Cool and fruity

Fruits such as cucumber and watermelon, have natural hydrating properties because of their high water content. Hydrating the body is a great way of bringing down body temperature. Citrus fruits, among them are limes and oranges, are hailed to be the one with the greatest cooling effect.

Snacking on chilled fruits is a healthy and delicious way of cooing down during extremely hot and humid days. Not only do these fruits cool down the body, but they also give the body tons of nutrients that keep the skin healthy and help break down fatty foods. Mix these with chilled veggies and bring them with you as a snack during busy days out.

No to alcohol

People from places that experience winter typically go drinking to help them keep warm. Quite the opposite, in countries experiencing hot scorching weather, people should avoid drinking alcoholic drinks.

Alcohol heightens the body’s blood volume, making more blood rise to the skin’s surface. When this happens, the body feels a lot warmer. This is why some people feel hot and turn red when they drink.

Taking illegal drugs is prevalent around the world. Teens and adults are finding their way to possess drugs despite of it being unlawful. Many people are arrested, many are not. If you know someone who is an addict, it is important that you encourage him/her to stop but it is not the same if you are the addict. Putting a stop to your addiction seems hard, right?

The best way to prevent drug addiction is not to take the drugs at all. But if you are too deep, you need to get out of that hellhole as soon as you can before it takes a toll on you. There are many people who died because of overdose. If you do not want that to happen, you should consider treatment. Granting that you undertake treatments, you should know that there’s still a high risk getting back to your addiction pattern. It is possible that you will lose control again. Here are some tips that you can do to prevent taking drugs again:

1. Avoid any situation

It would be best to stay away from places that remind you of drugs. Do not go near the crowd or the neighbourhood where drug is rampant.

2. Seek help immediately

If you are using again, it is time to ask for help again. You have to talk to your doctors right away and discuss treatments again.

3. Stick to your treatment

You may think that you recovered but that is not quite true. It is advisable that you stick to your treatment even if you feel better. Do not stop seeing your psychotherapists and your support group because they can help you.

It is important that you practice positive thinking and patience apart from your treatments so you can endure and survive.

Katinka Hosszu is in Singapore for the short course of the 2013 Fina Swimming World Cup. Her reputation started way back in 2009 when she won the World Championship held in Rome. To date, she has 39 gold medals, eight silver medals and six bronze medals. She is an epitome of the good benefits of swimming. Many people should consider swimming as an exercise.

We are encouraged to perform at least 150 to 200 minutes of exercise per week. You can go to fitness centres or you can simply exercise in your immediate vicinity. Many people prefer jogging or biking, but if you want something different and fun, you should consider swimming. There are many reasons to swim. Here’s a list of its benefits:

Low Impact

When you hear low impact, it means that there are less or no ground impact. This is best for people who are thinking about protecting their joints from strains and stress. Since it is low impact, many people are considering this. If you jump, you will not be injured or hurt because you are buoyant. If you put on a floatation device, the impact will be even lesser.

Cardio Respiratory Fitness

Like any exercise, swimming can enhance stamina. If you swim, your oxygen consumption as well as your stroke volume (quantity of blood pumped with every beat which signifies the strength of the heart) will improve.

Burn Calories

You should know that swimming burns calories. Regardless of the stroke you use, swimming can efficiently burn calories. This is the best way to maintain your weight. Based on duration alone, swimming burns more calories than jogging or biking.

Hobby

If you want to continue swimming, you can do so. Even if you are old, you can still swim. Swimming as a hobby will be good for the body.

One of the common condition in which the senior citizens in Singapore are dealing with is the dryness of the eye. Thus, right after getting to Lasik eye surgery, elderly are simply encouraged for taking additional care to make sure that the eyes are hydrated well and being lubricated by simply using eye drops. The lubrication of the eyes right after the procedure is not just essential for people who would be having the surgery done for their senior years.

Keeping up their eyes moist and keeping it from drying out is merely an essential part of the aftercare for those who have undergone the surgery in Singapore. The only thing is that, it would be more crucial for the elderly and even those who tend to have dry eyes in a natural manner. Making use of eye drops routinely right after the Lasik surgery is quite simple, yet they are an efficient way of avoiding problems and future complications. The clinic would surely provide the patient having the appropriate lubricating drops for the eyes for the post surgery usage.

One of the main reasons why Lasik or Epi Lasik in Singapore is safe for seniors is that, it is all because of the general procedure, which has proven to have only few complications and low risk. With such, the eye surface would not be cut by the traditional lasik surgery singapore surgical instruments causing damage into the eye’s cornea. Instead, the small cut, which has to be made, will then be accomplished with the laser beam. It only means that the incision would be tiny, clean and accurate. These factors would then result into lesser infection risks and other future complications.

The only thing is that, though there is a clean record of success reports, it is not a general proof. The corrective Lasik surgery patients simply experience complications from the procedure or mainly disappointing results at about 5% of the time. Whenever the procedure doesn’t go successfully, a senior patient would simply end up with having a fluctuating vision, seeing some sort of lines on the light sources, increased sensitivity from the glaring light and experiencing more of eye dryness.

However, most of the eye-laser surgeons in Singapore simply agree that Epi LASIK and Lasik surgery for the seniors is not merely the perfect procedure for each of them. Some conditions like the presbyopia and glycoma could not be corrected for using Epi LASIK and LASIK eye surgery. Actually, with glaucoma, these procedures could only worsen the condition. So, for any elderly in Singapore who intend to take the LASIK procedure, consider your situation first.