Health & Living

The race to get to the first COVID-19 vaccine got a lot more heated last week with news that Russia has approved the world’s first vaccine. We’ll discuss that, as well as whether Malaysia has the capacity to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines domestically, with co-host Dr George Lee, Consultant Urologist, as well as our guests Prof Poh Chit Laa, Head of the Centre for Virus and Vaccine Rese...

While changes in our vision will naturally occur as we age, actual vision loss is not a normal part of ageing. You can, and should, do something to prevent vision loss and blindness as you grow older, so that your ability to be active and productive is not hampered. Consultant ophthalmologist Dr Wong Jun Shyan joins us to discuss how to prevent and treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD),...

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Malaysia. Yet, there has never been a true assessment of breast cancer risk in Malaysian women. Why is it important to know our specific risk? We find out from Associate Professor Dr Ho Weang Kee, Statistician; and Professor Dr Teo Soo Hwang, Chief Scientific Officer of Cancer Research Malaysia, who are both co-lead authors of a ground-breakin...

“Time is brain” is a phrase frequently heard in the care and treatment of stroke. If treatment is given as soon as possible from the time a stroke occurs, it can make a significant difference in saving brain tissue. Dr Hilwani Kaharuddin, Emergency Physician from Ara Damansara Medical Centre, explains more about the diagnosis and treatment of an acute stroke in the emergency phase. Ima...

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the unsung heroes in our country – the doctors, nurses, medical assistants, researchers, laboratory technicians, and other health workers who are waging a war against the deadly virus to protect their fellow Malaysians. We speak to a few of the health workers who are toiling on the frontlines and behind the scenes every day to keep us safe. Image Source: Sh...

If you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, managing your body weight is crucial to managing the disease, especially if you are obese. This is more important than ever, as both diabetes and obesity increases the risk of severe COVID-19 complications if you catch the coronavirus. We speak to consultant endocrinologist Dr Teoh Wei Leng , from Sunway Medical Centre, to find out why these individ...

Poverty, financial instability and social inequalities are intertwined with mental health. With the crushing impact of COVID-19 on the economy, lower-income communities are dealing with the double burden of financial instability and psychological stress. Ellisha Othman, Managing Director of SOLS Health, and Ahmad Faudzi Mohd Nazam, Chairman of Kawasan Rukun Tetangga Shah Alam, share more about the...

If you have haemophilia, your body will not be able to stop bleeding as easily as the average person’s. Haemophilia is a rare genetic disorder, but affects a hidden population of young people and places a significant social and economic burden on them. Dr Veena Selvaratnam, haematologist from Hospital Ampang, joins Azrul Mohd Khalib, CEO of Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy, to dis...

Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. Testing septic tanks, using sniffer dogs and deploying drones – these are among some of the surveillance methods being used in various countries to look for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the community before it becomes widespread. Dr Dale Fisher, Professor of Infectious Diseases fro...

Living with a rare disease can already be challenging, and even more so during a global pandemic. On this Brain Waves episode, we speak to neurogeneticist Dr Azlina Ahmad Annuar and Siti Safura Jaapar who lives with spinal muscular atrophy to find out how people with rare diseases, especially SMA, are coping as well as how the pandemic has affected the advocacy for access to much-needed treatment...

Next generation sequencing (NGS) is a form of DNA sequencing which has various applications, including helping doctors to understand cancer mutations. The use of NGS can then help treating oncologists to decide on targeted therapy for cancer patients. To help us dive into how NGS works is consultant clinical oncologist, Dato’ Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Abdul Wahid. Image Source: AFP See omnystudio.c...

For women, it may seem like fatigue, lethargy and weight fluctuations are par for the course, or simply just something you expect as you get older. However, these symptoms may also mask thyroid problems and such conditions may go undiagnosed because of the unspecific symptoms. We speak to Dr Shamita Sharma, Consultant Endocrinologist, Subang Jaya Medical Centre to find out more about how thyroid p...

In our third episode of Healthcare in a Pandemic, public policy specialist Dr Khor Swee Kheng is joining us to discuss how hospitals and clinics have been operating throughout the pandemic, and whether there’s a need to reorganise how the system functions in order to cope with current and future health security threats. Image Source: Pxfuel  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...

In recent weeks, we’ve seen rising concern that Malaysia may be on the verge of facing another wave of COVID-19, as cases have been on the rise based on recent reports. What are we doing (or rather aren’t we doing) to stem the tide? Consultant Urologist Dr George Lee joins us as we speak to epidemiologist Prof Dr Sanjay Rampal and psychologist Dr Eugene Tee to find out more. Image Sour...

On our monthly open clinic series, we bring you the doctors to address your health concerns. On today’s show, consultant dermatologist and dermatological surgeon Dr Adrian Yong is here to answer all your questions relating to skin health. Image Source: Max Pixel See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you follow American politics, you would have heard of celebrity rapper Kanye West throwing in his bid for the presidency, amid a somewhat controversial appearance at a rally. His wife Kim Kardashian has since appealed for compassion towards Kanye for his struggles with bipolar disorder. Consultant psychiatrist Dr Lim Chee Min helps us cut through the celebrity gossip to understand how bipolar d...

The paradox of modern-day children and teenagers is that while many are increasingly involved in sports, there is also a rise in inactivity and being overweight. Amid declines in measures of muscular fitness among youths, the American Academy of Pediatrics has revised its stand on resistance training for youths. We find out from consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Rajesh Singh if this applies to Mal...

World Lung Cancer Day was commemorated on the 1st of August, and it’s a timely reminder that the number of lung cancer cases is still very high in Malaysia, and that survival is poor, despite advances in treatment. As we revisit this disease again, we’ll be asking consultant oncologist Dr John Low why we cannot afford to stop talking about lung cancer. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons S...

As the movement control order is loosened and various sectors of society are reopened, Malaysian athletes have also been given the green light to restart their training last month ahead of next year’s Olympics and Paralympics. But training in this new normal is not the same, especially when there are so many uncertainties ahead. On today’s show, we speak to consultant orthopaedic surge...

Across the world 290 million people are unaware that they are living with viral hepatitis. To commemorate World Hepatitis Day, we speak to senior consultant hepatologist Dr Tan Soek Siem for updates on how Malaysia is doing towards eliminating viral hepatitis, particularly hepatitis B and C, and what strategies should be put in place to achieve that goal. Image Source: Pixnio   See omnystudio...

Yesterday, the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill 2020 was tabled in Parliament, to address reckless and dangerous driving along with driving under the influence of drugs as well as alcohol. Apart from drink driving-related fatalities, alcohol consumption also leads to other harmful and potentially life-threatening consequences, which don’t often make the headlines. Dr Saravana Kumar Karunanath...

This is the second episode of our short series on Healthcare in a Pandemic with public policy specialist, Dr Khor Swee Kheng. On today’s episode, we’ll be looking at how we can ensure sustainable financing for our healthcare system, especially considering the pressures that the system is facing not only in addressing existing health issues among our population but also in its capacity...

Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. In an April 2020 circular, Health director-general Dato’ Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah instructed that all cancer cases, diagnosed in public and private health facilities, are now required to be reported to the Ministry of Health. Dr Feisul Idzwan Mustapha, Deputy Director (NCD), Non-Comm...

Yesterday marked the final phase of schools in Malaysia reopening after several months of lockdown to control the COVID-19 pandemic. We check in with consultant developmental paediatrician Dr Rajini Sarvananthan and educational psychologist Tan Cheng Yi on what parents can do to ensure that children transition well back to school. We’ll also discuss what challenges children may be facing dur...

While haemophilia largely affects men, women are just equally likely to be affected by other inherited bleeding disorders. Without proper diagnosis or management, inherited bleeding disorders can significantly impact a woman’s quality of life, and in rare cases, be deadly. To help us understand this more, we speak to Dr Jameela Sathar, senior consultant haematologist and head of the haematol...