Health & Living

SPM and STPM students for the 2021 academic year will be sitting for their examinations in March, after two years of delays, disruptions, and anxiety. How have students’ mental health been affected by these uncertainties, and what kind of support do they need? Ida Shahira, from the 2020 exam year, shares what she and her friends went through as the first “pandemic” cohort, while school counsellor...

The year 2022 seems set to be dominated by Omicron, which was first identified by scientists in South Africa late last year. With Malaysia in the midst of an Omicron wave, expected to peak at the end of March, we check in with Prof Dr Shabir Madhi, Professor of Vaccinology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, to find out what we can learn from South Africa’s experience, and whethe...

Having a kid fall ill and be hospitalised is a parent’s worst nightmare, especially now that we are hearing of more cases of children with COVID-19 developing severe symptoms and landing in paediatric ICU. In some cases, kids are also developing multisystem inflammatory syndrome or MIS-C, a rare but serious condition linked to COVID-19. Dr See Kwee Ching, Head of Paediatrics at Hospital Sungai Bul...

Our monthly open clinic segment is back, and this month, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Tang Boon Nee joins us to talk all about periods and your menstrual cycle. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’re a smoker, there’s a strong chance you puffed on your first stick at the age of 18 or even younger. According to the US Centers for Disease Control, nearly 9 out of 10 smokers start before the age of 18, and every adult who dies early because of smoking is replaced by two new young smokers. This is why Malaysia’s “Generational Endgame”, which aims to ban the sale of cigarettes for a new g...

What do couples in lockdown, and those who were separated during the last two years, have in common? They’ve all been affected in some way by the pandemic. Rozy Khalid, a counsellor trained in family therapy, joins us to look at how intimate relationships have been strained or strengthened during the pandemic, the impact of relationship problems on our mental health, and how couples can move forwa...

After two years of a continuous battle against COVID-19, the Ministry of Health now finds itself with a backlog of more than 50,000 non-COVID procedures. How will this impact the health of patients and the incidence of non-communicable diseases in our population? How can our healthcare system cope, and what role can private hospitals play? Here to discuss this are Prof Dr Rosmawati Mohamed, consul...

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin recently said that more than a million of senior citizens aged 60 and above have not gotten their COVID-19 booster. With the Omicron wave upon us, older adults remain a high risk group for developing severe COVID, so what’s fuelling this hesitancy? Why is it important for them to get the booster jab? Consultant geriatrician Dr Terence Ong from University Malaya Me...

In 2021, Malaysia recorded the lowest number of dengue cases since the last decade. It’s been a hard-won victory, with dengue proving stubbornly persistent within the community for past decades. However, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has also cautioned that cases may spike again in the next five-year cycle. What do we need to learn from our recent achievements in bringing...

“Every illness is unique, which means that all recoveries must also be, in some sense, unique. There is no one-size-fits-all to getting better,” wrote an NHS GP Dr Gavin Francis in The Guardian. We ask consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Rajesh Singh what recovery means in his discipline, where a person’s process of healing can be eclipsed by physical objective measurements of recovery post-injury o...

For too long, lung cancer has been burdened by its reputation of poor survival and outcomes for patients. But treatment of lung cancer has come a long way since the days when only surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy was available. There are now advancements in diagnostic and treatment methods, which can save more lives than ever. We speak to Prof Dr Pathmanathan Rajadurai, Consultant Pathologist...

This World Cancer Day marks the start of a new 3-year campaign under the theme “Close the Care Gap”, and to realise where the problem lies in the inequities to cancer care. Prof Dr Teo Soo Hwang, Chief Scientific Officer from Cancer Research Malaysia joins us to discuss how cancer research can help to close that gap and what lies ahead for Cancer Research Malaysia in 2022. Image credit: Shuttersto...

Malaysia’s healthcare system has been ranked as among the best in the world, but a great healthcare system means nothing if people can’t access healthcare services. On this first episode of our new series, we go back to the starting point with access to primary care. What does the state of primary care look like in Malaysia? What role can - or should - family doctors and community pharmacists play...

Chinese New Year is around the corner, and the onslaught of festive goodies has begun. Following the previous year of muted celebrations, are we in for some revenge eating as we catch up on two years’ worth of kuih kapit, kuih bangkit and pineapple tarts? Dr George Lee joins us to ask nutritionist Dr Tee E Siong about the calorie count of our favourite CNY cookies, and whether festive eating can e...

The pandemic has robbed people of any sense of control over their lives. Even children are struggling to cope with the uncertainties when it comes to their schooling and other normal routines of childhood. In the UK , thousands of children chose ‘anxiety’ as their word of the year in 2021, which is an indication of how helpless they feel. Consultant developmental paediatrician Dr Rajini Sarvananth...

New year, new me, new fitness goals. It is that time of the year when many people are resetting their fitness goals and pledging to eat healthier or workout more. But what does it really mean to be “fit” or “in shape”? And at a time when we’re finally going back to the office, does that mean we have less time to exercise or play sports? Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Harjeet Singh and personal...

Every mental health struggle has a story behind it. ‘ Because Feelings Matter ’ is a series that brings you the stories of people and their mental health issues. These stories aim to normalise conversations about mental health, and to show that it’s okay to struggle emotionally and psychologically, but more importantly, to reach out for help. In this episode, Meriza talks about how she manages her...

According to Oxford University Press, children in the UK chose ‘anxiety’ as their word of the year for 2021. How will 2022 play out for parents and children in Malaysia, as they face a completely different schedule for the new school year, and numerous challenges related to physical and mental wellbeing? We check in with Aniza Nawawi, a mother, to discuss what parents have been struggling with whe...

Parents can now register their kids aged 5-11 on MySejahtera for the COVID-19 vaccination, which will be rolled out in February. But many parents are worried about the safety of administering the Pfizer mRNA vaccine among children so young, and whether it’s necessary to subject them to any potential risks and side effects. Consultant paediatrician Dr Rakhee Yadav joins Dr George Lee to answer ques...

Any death is devastating - more so an unexpected death that robs people of their loved ones without any warning. Sudden cardiac death accounts for a large proportion of sudden natural deaths, and does not spare even active and productive adults. Consultant cardiologist and electrophysiologist, Dr Gary Lee, from Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara, joins us to spell out the basics of sudden cardiac dea...

For a long time, couples who carried the thalassaemia gene - either in one or both parents - had few options when it came to starting a family, and these options often came with difficult decisions. Preimplantation genetic testing, along with in-vitro fertilisation, has given couples the chance to reduce the risk of having a baby with thalassaemia. We explore how preimplantation genetic testing is...

For an expecting mother, the 40 weeks of pregnancy, impending childbirth, and motherhood is a journey full of unknowns. Pregnancy and childbirth can be fraught with anxiety, especially with the additional stress caused by the pandemic. We speak to Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist Dr Premitha Damodaran, and Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Bharathi Vengadasalam, to find out what women struggle...

The National COVID-19 Testing Strategy was launched late last year to help the country transition  to living with COVID-19 as an endemic disease. The testing strategy is meant to enable safe reopening of the economy and social sectors, empower us to live safely, and reduce transmission of COVID-19. As we ease into the new year with the reopening of schools and workplaces, Dr George Lee joins...

Pancreatic cancer is rare, but it is an aggressive cancer that usually leads to poor outcomes. One of the biggest challenges is diagnosing the cancer early, as it tends to develop silently with few remarkable symptoms. We speak to Dr Rajesh Kumar Paramasivam, Consultant Gastroenterologist & Hepatologist, from Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara, to find out whether pancreatic cancer can be detecte...

Despite decades of public health education on the dangers of smoking, an estimated 21% of Malaysians today - that’s 1 in 5 people - still smoke. On top of that, we now have vaping to contend with as well, with more people picking it up as a new habit or as a way to quit smoking. With the introduction of a tax on e-cigarettes in Budget 2022, does this mean e-cigarettes should be used as an alternat...