Health & Living
Episodes
Young Athletes and Weekend Warriors – What Are Their Cardiovascular Risks?
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We all know that exercise is good for our heart. But what explains cardiovascular incidents among those who are fit and athletic? Dato’ Seri Dr ...
Public Health #34: Does Malaysia Encourage Clinical Research?
09 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The current pandemic has made us all aware of the importance of conducting clinical research on vaccines and drugs in order to find safe and effective...
Life-Changing Advancements in Cancer Care
08 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Cancer care has come a long way. Combined with greater awareness about the importance of early detection, we now have better screening technology, adv...
Home Dialysis – The Safer Option for End-Stage Kidney Disease Patients?
07 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
People with kidney disease are at higher risk of more severe illness, and those on dialysis can have weaker immune systems, making it harder to fight ...
Doctor in the House: Tackling Taboos on STIs
04 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. In conjunction with World Sexual Health...
Understanding Signalling Pathways for Cancer Cells
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The cells that make up our body have a life cycle of growth and death, but this cycle changes when the cells become cancerous. Here to help us underst...
Are We Doing Enough to Prevent Suicides?
02 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Suicide has made the news again in recent weeks, with several media reports about sucide attempts being punished with a jail term or fine under the Pe...
Ribs For Walking? We’re Not Ribbing
01 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s all about evolution in this episode with consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Rajesh Singh. First, we look at a new hypothesis by researchers ...
Doctor in the House: Is Malaysia Ready to Manufacture COVID-19 Vaccines?
28 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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&r...
Treating Age-Related Vision Loss
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 pr...
What’s My Risk of Getting Breast Cancer?
26 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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....
Managing Acute Stroke
25 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“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 ...
Merdeka 2020: My Healthcare Heroes at Home
24 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the unsung heroes in our country – the doctors, nurses, medical assistants, researchers, laboratory technicia...
The Link Between Obesity, Diabetes and COVID-19
19 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 mo...
Mind Matters: How Poverty Affects Mental Health
18 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Poverty, financial instability and social inequalities are intertwined with mental health. With the crushing impact of COVID-19 on the economy, lower-...
Public Health #33: Haemophilia – An Unseen Public Health Burden
17 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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, ...
Doctor in the House: Looking for Clues to COVID-19 in the Community
14 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. Testing septic tanks, using sniffer dog...
Brain Waves #37: SMA Awareness Month - Living With A Rare Disease During COVID-19
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 neurogeneti...
Targeted Therapy In Cancer Treatment
12 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Next generation sequencing (NGS) is a form of DNA sequencing which has various applications, including helping doctors to understand cancer mutations....
Thyroid Problems in Women
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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. Ho...
Healthcare in a Pandemic #3: Hospitals & Clinics
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Doctor in the House: Will We See a Third COVID-19 Wave?
07 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Ask A Doctor #12: Skin Health
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On our monthly open clinic series, we bring you the doctors to address your health concerns. On today’s show, consultant dermatologist and derma...
Living With Bipolar Disorder
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you follow American politics, you would have heard of celebrity rapper Kanye West throwing in his bid for the presidency, amid a somewhat controver...
Are Children Today Losing Muscular Fitness?
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Lung Cancer – Why We Can’t Stop Talking About It
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Be Fit Malaysians #20: Training Athletes in the New Normal
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As the movement control order is loosened and various sectors of society are reopened, Malaysian athletes have also been given the green light to rest...
World Hepatitis Day - A Hepatitis-Free Future
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Across the world 290 million people are unaware that they are living with viral hepatitis. To commemorate World Hepatitis Day, we speak to senior cons...
How Alcohol Leads to Liver Disease
28 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Yesterday, the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill 2020 was tabled in Parliament, to address reckless and dangerous driving along with driving under the i...
Healthcare in a Pandemic #2: Funding the System
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Doctor in the House: Cancer – Getting the Real Numbers
24 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. In an April 2020 circular, Health direc...
Going Back To School in a Pandemic
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Bleeding Disorders in Women
22 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While haemophilia largely affects men, women are just equally likely to be affected by other inherited bleeding disorders. Without proper diagnosis or...
Mind Matters: The Hidden Epidemic Among Children in Malaysia
21 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Malaysia’s most recent national health survey found that almost half a million children in the country were found to have mental health problems...
How to Manage Missing Your Medication
20 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Taking your medications can feel like a chore, especially if you're on long-term prescriptions for chronic diseases. But missing your medication could...
Doctor in the House: What If We Can’t Access Life-Saving Medicine For COVID-19?
17 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. It was recently reported that the Unite...
Is Social Media Bad For My Child’s Mental Health?
16 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With increased access to the internet and smartphones, social media has become a normal part of everyday life for children and teenagers of this gener...
Is COVID-19 Sparking Thoughts of Suicide?
15 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There is another epidemic hiding behind the COVID-19 pandemic – a widespread mental health crisis. The economic uncertainties, social isolation ...
Complications of Chronic Kidney Disease
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Kidney disease has become so commonplace in Malaysia that nobody bats an eyelid at the mention of the word ‘dialysis’. However, the Minist...
Healthcare in a Pandemic #1: Essential Workers
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout the pandemic, our healthcare frontliners have been hailed as heroes for their work in caring for COVID-19 patients. We’ve all seen th...
Doctor in the House: How COVID-19 Will Impact Sexual and Reproductive Health
10 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. The COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably af...
Brain Waves #36: What If You Never Felt Pain?
09 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Almost every one of us has experienced pain, whether it’s a simple paper cut or a more serious injury from an accident. But what if you never fe...
Public Health #32: Why Should You Care About the Health of Migrant Workers?
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are rippling through the lives of many migrant workers in Malaysia – and those of their families. Migrant w...
All About The Ankle
07 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The ankle is the body’s unsung hero. It supports all lower body movements we use in daily life, like walking, running, climbing up and down the ...
Building Fire-Safe Hospitals
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Fire safety is important in any building, but it is especially crucial in hospitals because of the vulnerability of patients as well as the sheer numb...
Doctor in the House: COVID-19 vs NCDs - Which Is More Important?
03 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. COVID-19 might be at the forefront of o...
Ask A Doctor #11: ABCs of The Lungs
02 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We are back for our monthly open clinic segment, where we get our doctors to address your health concerns. On today’s show, consultant respirato...
Be Fit Malaysians #19: Speeding Up The Healing Process
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a perfect world, exercise and sports wouldn’t cause you any aches and pains, but any strenuous physical activity does come with a risk of inj...
Sexual Health Education for Children with Autism
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For parents of children with autism, one of the more difficult issues they face is how to talk to children on the spectrum about puberty and sexual de...
Doctor in the House: How Do SMEs Prioritise Their Staff’s Health & Safety?
26 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. Running a micro, small or medium enterp...
Parents’ Guide to Surviving Special Needs Therapy
25 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you are raising a child with special needs, there’s never a dull moment. Every day is a new challenge of learning with your child. Most of yo...
How Health Charities Have Been Affected by COVID-19
24 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In Malaysia, non-profit and charitable organisations contribute significantly to health services for the community. We speak to Dr Hj Azriman Rosman, ...
Injuries and the MCO
23 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For most of us, it was tough to keep up with our exercise regimes at home during the MCO, whether it was due to lack of space, equipment, or even moti...
Rethinking Health Systems in a Post-COVID World
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The COVID-19 pandemic has tested the resilience and capacity of national health systems worldwide. We speak to Dr Shahid Jameel, CEO, Wellcome Trust/D...
Rethinking Health Systems in a Post-COVID World
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The COVID-19 pandemic has tested the resilience and capacity of national health systems worldwide. We speak to Dr Shahid Jameel, CEO, Wellcome Trust/D...
Doctor in the House: Nutrition in Malaysia – Rhetoric or Action?
19 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. There is an epidemic killing hundreds o...
Less Invasive Treatments to Help Patients Breathe Better
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Interventional pulmonology is a growing field which uses minimally invasive endoscopic techniques to get around the respiratory system. We speak to co...
Can Ovarian Cancer Be Found Early?
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Based on the National Cancer Registry, ovarian cancer is the fourth most common among Malaysian women. But ovarian cancer is often difficult to detect...
Mind Matters: Impact of Domestic Violence During COVID-19
16 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the last few months, we have heard about cases of domestic violence, abuse and harassment increasing during the COVID-19 lockdowns around the globe...
Elder Abuse in the Time of COVID-19
15 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve read and heard the reports of a spike in cases of domestic violence as a consequence of lockdown measure...
Doctor in the House: On The Road to Recovery with Rehab Medicine
12 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. Malaysia is facing several important he...
Brain Waves #35: Bioethics of Human-Animal Chimaeras
11 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Recently, it was reported that a group of scientists have created what they call the “most human” chimaera yet - a mouse embryo that&rsquo...
Public Health #31: New Priorities For 12th Malaysia Plan
09 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The 12th Malaysia Plan is due to be tabled in Parliament this August, but the various changes in government since the 11th Malaysia Plan has led to so...
Overcoming Hand Trauma
09 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
From tapping on your smartphone and keyboard, to driving and doing household work, you are putting your hands to work every waking moment of the day. ...
Doctor in the House: Should We Worry About The Coronavirus Mutating?
05 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. With COVID-19 now found across the worl...
Brain Bank Singapore: Boosting Neurological Research
04 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, Singapore’s first brain bank was launched by Nanyang Technological University Singapore’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. Do...
Dealing With Stubborn Kids
03 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Your child has said ‘no’ to you for the umpteenth time. You’ve tried every method, from reasoning with your child, to coaxing, and f...
Pictures in Medicine
02 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today, technology has granted us ways of looking into our bodies that we could not have imagined before. Wilhelm Röntgen’s discovery of the...
Fighting a Pandemic Without Sufficient Intensive Care Specialists
01 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Intensivists are among the key specialists needed in treating COVID-19 patients, especially those who have severe symptoms and require intensive care....
Doctor in the House: The Impact of COVID-19 On Elective Surgeries
29 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. A study projected that if Malaysian hos...
Are Contact Tracing Apps Effective?
28 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
MySejahtera, MyTrace, and SELangkah are among the apps that are available to help manage the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia. They each work in differen...
Fighting COVID-19 With Data
27 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Every day, the Director-General of the Ministry of Health Malaysia stands behind a podium and presents us with numbers – numbers of COVID-19 inf...
Doctor In The House Check-up
22 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Doctor in the House is back! Today, we’ll be catching up with consultant urologist Dr George Lee and consultant respiratory physician Dr Helmy H...
Boosting Our Kids’ Self-Esteem
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As parents, you want your children to grow up to be confident adults with a healthy dose of self-esteem. But how do you nurture these qualities in you...
Public Health #30: Vaccine R&D – A Health Security Threat for Malaysia (Part 2)
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Several candidates for the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine have entered clinical trials, and the results are eagerly anticipated. While scientists envision a globa...
Mind Matters: How Young People Get Addicted to Smoking
19 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“If your product killed 8 million people each year, you’d also target a new generation” – that’s the tagline for World N...
How COVID-19 Has Changed Palliative Care
18 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted issues faced by various healthcare specialties, not much has been discussed when it comes to palliative ca...
A COVID-Safe Environment for Childcare Centres
15 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Many parents send their young children to kindergartens and other childcare centres knowing that they are in a safe and secure environment. But how wi...
Brain Waves #34: How We Sense Touch
14 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We use our sense of touch to make sense of the environment around us, but it is also essential for our emotional well-being. But during the COVID-19 p...
Public Health #30: Vaccine R&D – A Health Security Threat for Malaysia (Part 1)
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 is reminiscent of the race to the moon during the Cold War in the 1960s. The country that gets there first,...
Dealing with a Miscarriage
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A miscarriage is a physically and emotionally painful experience. While miscarriages are relatively common in pregnancies, every woman’s recover...
COVID-19: Test, Test, Test!
08 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Testing for COVID-19 is key in our efforts to curb the spread of the virus. However, with all the different types of tests available, it is important ...
Can Our Relationships Survive the Pandemic?
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For the past seven weeks in Malaysia, our Movement Control Order has placed restrictions on our movements. For better or for worse, we’ve been s...
Medical Training in The Time of COVID-19
05 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How are medical students being trained during the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdowns have forced universities to shutter and lessons to be delivered vi...
Has COVID-19 Disrupted Cancer Research?
04 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The global COVID-19 pandemic has affected clinical research in many universities and research centres worldwide. How are research institutions coping ...
Immunisation Priorities in a Pandemic
30 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
World Immunisation Week falls on the last week of April every year, and this year, the theme is #VaccinesWorkForAll. We speak to Prof Datuk Dr Lokman ...
COVID-19: Rethink Your Smoking Habits This Ramadan
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Now more than ever, smokers have been urged to quit smoking due to the possibility of increased risk of COVID-19. But how have smoking habits changed ...
How To Take Care of Your Back While Working From Home
28 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Back pain is a common problem and has been on the rise over the last few decades. With many of us working from home and exercising less during the COV...
Will COVID-19 Cause a Mental Health Crisis?
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The COVID-19 pandemic itself and measures taken to mitigate its spread has upended our lives for the past few months, and is expected to continue to i...
Be Fit Malaysians #18: Athletic Performance Amidst A Pandemic
24 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The 2020 Olympics has been postponed to next year and many other sporting events and tournaments have also been cancelled or put on hold. Gyms and tra...
Ask A Doctor #11: How to Parent in a Pandemic
23 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Due to COVID-19, parents everywhere are stuck at home with their increasingly restless and bored children. Everything has gone out the window: routine...
How COVID-19 Increases the Vulnerability of People with HIV
22 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
COVID-19 can affect the lives of people living with HIV. We’ll look at how some people may be more vulnerable to being infected by COVID, as wel...
Mind Matters: Struggling to Survive – What Mental Health?
21 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The low-income communities are the hardest hit by the restriction of economic activities under the Movement Control Order. Their lives are threatened ...
Malaysia in Global Trial for COVID-19 Treatment
19 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone is on the hunt for a drug that can effectively treat COVID-19. Will Malaysia find the answer when it participates in the global Solidarity tr...
Pregnant During The COVID-19 Pandemic
17 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Expecting a newborn is a joyous time for most families, especially if you’re first time parents. But what is it like to be pregnant and to care ...
How COVID-19 Affects People With Autoimmune Diseases
16 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we often hear that people with underlying health conditions are at higher risk of developing severe symptoms. So what ar...
How Will COVID-19 Affect Those With a Chronic Condition?
15 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
People with chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease are more vulnerable to becoming severely ill if they get COVID-19. We spe...
On the Frontlines of COVID-19
15 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What do frontline health workers face on a daily basis? How are they coping with their risk to exposure, as well as the daily stress and exhaustion? W...
Reconstruction Surgery for Breast Cancer
14 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After a woman undergoes surgery to treat breast cancer, one of the biggest concerns is how the breast looks after that. Breast reconstruction surgery ...
Home Care for the Elderly During COVID-19
13 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With the country under the Movement Control Order, many families have been separated, for instance elderly parents living apart from their adult child...