Health & Living

UMMC’s Increased Charges: What and Why

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The year started with a shocking bit of news for patients of Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, when the teaching hospital announced that it would be i...

Understanding Why Healthcare Costs Money

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fee-for-service versus diagnosis-related groups. Value-based care. National health financing. These terms keep showing up in the current heated discus...

Can We Cure #1: Alzheimer’s Disease?

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What if we could one day cure Alzheimer’s disease? In this mini series, we’ll be exploring the challenges scientists have faced in curing life-cha...

Healthy Ageing: And A Healthy Heart

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Your heart beats non-stop even before you’re born to pump blood around your body. But how does age affect the way it functions? On this episode of H...

Can We Eliminate #4: Childhood Diseases?

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What would our world look like if we no longer had to worry about infectious childhood diseases? In this series, we’ll look at how we can eliminate ...

How T-Cells Help With Tracking Cancer Treatment

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve often heard about the use of immunotherapy when it comes to cancer treatment, and while we’ve seen incredible advances, there remains more t...

Because Feelings Matter #37: Stalked For 8 Years And Fought For Survival

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when your world is violated and you no longer feel safe in your own life? When your places of creativity, your physical environments, and...

NCD Chronicles #25 (Part 1): Living with Type 1 Diabetes

22 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

“The insulin pen is my best friend.” For Nazril Hadani, being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of four means a lifetime of “being poked...

What Is Spina Bifida?

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some babies are born with a gap in their spine, a condition known as spina bifida. But how exactly will it affect them from childhood into adulthood? ...

Can We Eliminate #3: The Flu?

20 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What would our world look like if no one caught the flu anymore? In this limited series, we’re looking at how we can eliminate the public health cha...

Humans of Healthcare: The Emergency Medicine Physician

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

 If you’ve watched a medical drama, you would’ve seen scenes of emergency physicians rushing about trying to save people’s lives - but is t...

Public Health: Alarm Bells Over Medical Insurance Hike

16 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Medical insurance policyholders have received a temporary reprieve from a huge increase to their premiums. But what happens after 2026, when higher pr...

Orphan Drugs As A Lifeline for Rare Diseases

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When speaking to individuals with rare disorders or their families, it’s not uncommon to hear about the diagnostic odyssey they’ve been through ju...

Does Eating Salted Fish Cause Nasopharyngeal Cancer?

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you hadn’t heard of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) before Lee Chong Wei was diagnosed with it, you’re not alone. Although NPC is a very common can...

Can We Eliminate #2: Maternal Deaths?

13 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What would our world look like if mothers no longer died from pregnancy or childbirth? In this series, we’ll look at how we can eliminate the public...

You Can Retract Papers But Can You Retract Misinformation?

10 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Remember that time during the pandemic Trump and many others promoted hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment? Well, the paper that people referred...

How To Help Parents Shed Trauma and Toxic Stress

09 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You can't be a good parent if you're emotionally stressed and dealing with trauma. Where is this trauma coming from? What is the impact of these stres...

Mind Matters: How Gambling is a Public Health Threat

08 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recently, a report by the Lancet public health commission on gambling found that gambling is a growing threat to public health globally, with about 45...

What Physicians Do At Sporting Events

07 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What role do medical teams at sporting events play beyond just treating injuries that happen during the event? How much has sports medicine evolved to...

Can We Eliminate #1: HIV/AIDS?

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What would our world look like if HIV was eliminated? In this series, we’ll look at how we can eliminate the public health challenges that continue ...

Is This The Year To Quit Smoking?

03 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Quitting smoking is probably one of the most difficult goals to achieve. Despite stories of smokers successfully quitting cold turkey, many people wil...

Counsellor’s Corner: Reclaim Your Spark This Year

02 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Are you feeling a little unmotivated and stuck in a rut, even though everybody around you is making resolutions or setting goals for the new year? Lic...

Play! We Need More Of It

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a world where we’re constantly told to study harder, work longer hours, and earn more money, do we still have time to play? Is play just for chil...

Healthy Ageing: We Need To Talk About Loneliness

19 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone can experience loneliness at any age - for older adults, it’s been said that they are often at higher risk of experiencing loneliness and s...

Phages v. Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria: Who Will Win?

18 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve heard about “superbugs” - bacteria that are resistant to multiple types of antibiotics that were previously effective in treating infectio...

Ask A Doctor: How To Lose Weight

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On this month’s Ask A Doctor, we are addressing questions about weight loss, including how much to lose, how to go about it, and how do you know whe...

Doctor in the House: The Cost of Rising Medical Insurance Premiums

13 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The reports about medical insurance premiums rising between 40 to 70 percent next year has gotten many Malaysians incensed and worried about whether t...

Public Health: Healthcare In A Politically Polarised World

12 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If Senator Robert F. Kennedy Jr becomes the United States’ Secretary of Health and Human Services, America will have a health leader who is a scienc...

Because Feelings Matter #36: “Tak Nampak Macam OKU Pun”

11 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When she was growing up, Insyira never thought her vision problems were a disability. But when she was 17, she was told that her impairment precluded ...

Counsellor’s Corner: Gratitude

10 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As we march towards the end of 2024 and you reflect on the past year, how much do you have to be grateful for? On this episode of Counsellor’s Corne...

Brain Waves: Other Cells Can Have Memory Too?

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We often associate memory as a function of the brain, but what if other cells in our body also have that ability to remember and learn? On this episod...

Doctor in the House: Conversations About Your Illness

06 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What does your doctor say to you when you enter the consultation room, or after delivering the news of your diagnosis? How does the nurse communicate ...

Step Down Care: In Between Hospital And Home

05 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Picture your mother who’s just undergone knee replacement surgery. The surgeon discharges her after several days of recovery in the hospital. Howeve...

Humans of Healthcare: The Audiologist

04 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you have hearing problems, the audiologist is an important healthcare professional who should be involved in helping you to assess and manage your ...

Why Your Cells Glow: The Science You Didn’t Know

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What do glowing animals and nanotechnology have in common? More than you might realise, as, the science behind the concepts of fluorescence and nanote...

Supporting People Living With HIV in Sarawak

02 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There’s no denying that we’ve made significant progress in tackling the stigma against people living with HIV as well as improving support and acc...

Doctor in the House: For Chronically Ill Patients, How Can They Get Financial Help?

29 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For patients with chronic diseases, it’s not just managing their health and treatment to think about, but how the costs could add up over time. Espe...

Can We Break The Cycle of Child Abuse?

28 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It was recently reported that of the 266 children rescued from GISB Holdings Sdn Bhd (GISBH), a third were found to be suffering from anxiety, and ano...

NCD Chronicles #24: Living With A Disease With No Known Cause

27 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How do you come to terms with a diagnosis when you go from leading an active, healthy life, to one riddled with symptoms that even doctors can’t tel...

Because Feelings Matter #35: Finding Balance In The Chaos

26 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Like an abstract painting, there is balance in the chaos of life. But for artist Adli Nazrin, the chaos was overwhelming when he went to the UK to pur...

How Drug Addiction Impacts The Brain and the Body

25 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Have you wondered how much we understand about the impact of drug use on someone’s brain, and thus their behaviour? How far have we come in helping ...

When Antimicrobial Resistance Intersects With Chronic Diseases

22 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most pressing threats we face to human health, because it makes diseases much more difficult, if not impossible...

Healthy Ageing: When To Take Older Adults to Emergency?

21 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How often do older adults need or end up in the emergency department? How different are their medical needs compared to someone younger? Here to unpac...

Finding Your Authentic Self

20 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to live an authentic life? Why does it bother us when we think that someone is not being authentic or genuine? We ask consultant cli...

Mind Matters: How Are Refugees in Malaysia Coping?

19 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Refugees are often at higher risk of developing mental health issues, because of the often traumatic experiences they’ve had fleeing their home coun...

Ask A Doctor: Headaches and Migraines

18 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Are you bothered by headaches, and worried about whether their frequency is cause for concern? Or do migraines significantly disrupt your quality of l...

Helping Ovarian Cancer Patients Break Free!

15 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Being diagnosed with cancer will never be an easy journey. But a lot has changed in the landscape of cancer care. Today, a woman diagnosed with ovaria...

From Testing to Treatment: A Real-Life Experience And An Expert’s Insights

14 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What we know of cholesterol comes from sensational headlines about eggs and santan, or the bewildering numbers that appear on a lab report from a scre...

Public Health: Why Was Pneumonia The Top Cause Of Death in 2023?

13 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2023, pneumonia overtook ischaemic heart disease as the number one cause of death in Malaysia, ranking highest among older adults above the age of ...

What A Liver Cancer Diagnosis Means

12 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Your liver’s biggest role is to remove toxins from your blood, but what happens when that function is impaired by cancer? Consultant general and hep...

Counsellor's Corner: Unpacking Your Emotional Baggage

11 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We all carry it – unresolved hurts, past traumas, and emotional wounds that shape how we see the world and ourselves. But what happens when this emo...

Doctor in the House: Treating Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

08 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Malaysia, breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women, and the risk tends to rise with age. However, breast cancer is not ...

Humans of Healthcare: The Cardiologist

07 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What is it like being the person who looks after people’s hearts? On this episode of Humans of Healthcare, consultant cardiologist Dr Raja Ezman Far...

Innovations In Assisted Reproductive Technology

06 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) has made significant strides in recent decades, expanding the possibilities for individuals and couples experie...

Rheumatological Disorders

05 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rheumatological disorders are a broad category of diseases caused by inflammation in the joints and connective tissues.Together with consultant orthop...

Your Guide To Hearing Aids

04 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Currently more than 1.5 billion people worldwide live with hearing loss. For some of these people, hearing aids may improve their hearing, so that the...

Doctor in the House: Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer

01 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What does genetic testing have to do with breast cancer? What can a genetic test tell you, and does every woman need it in order to know her risk of d...

Menopause Hormone Therapy: Myths and Facts

30 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The word ‘menopause’ conjures up images of greying, elderly women, while menopause hormone therapy (MHT) continues to be the bogeyman that frighte...

Ageism in Healthcare

29 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Although we pride ourselves on being a society that is filial and respectful to the elderly, we also embrace a lot of age-related biases against older...

NCD Chronicles #23: Eczema, The Itch That Disrupts Everything

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Asyraf has struggled with eczema since he was in preschool, growing up with the constant skin redness, persistent itching, and unpredictable flare-ups...

Are Southeast Asian Countries Prepared for the Next Outbreak?

25 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The COVID-19 pandemic might feel like a distant dream, but the possibility of humankind facing another pandemic is very real. But are countries prepar...

Gifted Children: Raising Child Prodigies and Geniuses

24 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In October, twelve-year-old Izz Imil made news headlines when he became the youngest student to enrol at Universiti Malaya, pursuing a Bachelor of Sci...

Because Feelings Matter #34: Dealing With Duality Of Work And Personal Lives

23 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

About 15 years ago, Herman Jorgensen seemed to be winning at life, so why was he also having panic attacks, feeling a sense of emptiness, turning to a...

Ask A Doctor: Exercise & Fitness

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On this month’s Ask A Doctor, it’s all about getting your body moving! Whether you’re still figuring out what exercise works best for you, or hi...

Budget 2025: Breaking Down Health Allocations

21 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What did Budget 2025 deliver for Malaysia’s healthcare needs? For an analysis of the healthcare allocations in next year’s budget, we have Dr Mura...

Brain Waves: When Misconduct Happens in Scientific Research

17 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Eliezer Masliah is a well-known neuroscientist in his field, having carried out and led research of neurological conditions over the past few decad...

Budget 2025: What Do We Need For The Future of Our Healthcare Workers?

16 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From burnout to brain drain, the wellbeing and future of our healthcare workers has been a long-standing issue that continues to plague our public hea...

Mind Matters: Mental Health Goes Beyond Healthcare

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In conjunction with World Mental Health Day in October, we explore a broader perspective to mental health, challenging the notion that mental healthca...

Budget 2025: A Budget for Digital Health Records?

14 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Health Minister Dato’ Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad has said that within the next four to five years, the Ministry of Health plans to introduce a “One P...

Autoimmune Disease Community Asks For RM20mil In Budget 2025

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Autoimmune rheumatic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis pose a lifelong burden for people diagnosed with these conditions. Acc...

Public Health: Could Private Wings in Public Hospitals Work?

10 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Recently, the Minister of Health Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad proposed expanding “private wings” in government hospitals to raise revenue for the...

How HIV Impacts Brain Health

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For people living with HIV, the presence of the virus means they are often at risk of certain infections and health conditions. This includes the impa...

Humans of Healthcare: The Music Therapist

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Music has the power to heal, but it’s not just about how you feel after listening to your favourite music. Music therapy might not be familiar to ma...

Healthy Ageing: We Now Have A Dementia Action Plan, So What Next?

07 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, Health Ministry Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad launched two action plans for elderly care: the Elderly Healthcare Services Action Plan and t...

Doctor in the House: Understanding DSDs and Sex in Sports

04 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This year’s Paris Olympics was not without controversy - most infamously for the gender row in boxing. Algerian Imane Khelif and Taiwanese Lin Yu-Ti...

Health & Living 2024 Panel 2: High Cholesterol, Lowdown on LDL

03 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We all know about the dangers of cholesterol. But it’s not just a simple matter of having high or low cholesterol. Enter: LDL (or bad) cholesterol, ...

Counsellor's Corner: Work and Your Mental Health

02 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Are you struggling with a conflict with your colleagues or boss? Working in a toxic environment? Or feeling stressed and burnt out from work, but don'...

Heartburn Or Heart Attack: When To Worry?

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you have a heart attack, early recognition of your symptoms is a major life-saving factor. But what does a heart attack really feel like, and how d...

NCD Chronicles #22: The Lonely Journey of Living With Spina Bifida

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What is it like living with a chronic condition from birth and to have a lifetime of managing health complications that would never go away? That’s ...

Doctor in the House: Why Your Community Pharmacist Should Be Your New Friend

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

World Pharmacists Day is observed on 25 September annually, to recognise and celebrate the crucial role that pharmacists play in building healthier co...

The Role of SCAN Teams in Preventing Child Abuse

26 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Barely a day seems to go by without a news report about an incident of child abuse or neglect. While the shocking discovery of physical and sexual abu...

Health & Living 2024 Panel 1: When Your Heart Skips A Beat

25 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

 Did you know that atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm condition, is more likely to develop as people get older, have uncontrolled hyp...

Because Feelings Matter #33: Breaking The Silence On Sexual Violence Against Males

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2023, 3,361 sexual harassment and assault cases were recorded by the police. Of this number, 4 percent of the victims were male. Joshua - a survivo...

Understanding Diabetes and CKM Syndrome

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over 15% of the Malaysian adult population have diabetes and almost half of that number are undiagnosed. That should be a wake-up call for all of us b...

The Silent Signs of Heart Failure

20 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Your heart works day and night to keep blood pumping throughout your body, but what happens when your heart begins to fail? Would you even notice? We ...

Ask A Doctor: Kids’ Dental Health

19 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ask a Doctor is back and this month it’s all about kids’ dental health and hygiene with Dr Tengku Maryam Fatimah, a consultant paediatric dentist....

Empathy For People With Epilepsy

18 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Epilepsy is a complex condition, affecting people profoundly, not only in terms of the medical aspects but also the social challenges that often accom...

Mind Matters: Creating A Safe Space For Connections

17 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 Sept kicks off the triennial theme for 2024-2026, "Changing the Narrative on Suicide" with the call to action, "Sta...

Doctor in the House: Facing Mpox in 2024

13 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern. This doesn’t make it a pandemic like COVID...

Iconic Institutions #4: The Institute for Medical Research

12 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This Merdeka and Malaysia Day, Health & Living celebrates iconic institutions of healthcare, from institutions of education, to research and healt...

Are Southeast Asians Better At Dealing With Heatwaves?

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For us Southeast Asians, dealing with the heat and humidity is part and parcel of our everyday lives. But with climate change causing more intense and...

Humans of Healthcare: The Interventional Radiologist

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Have you had a procedure where you didn’t require open surgery, but had a catheter, needle or tube inserted into your body with the help of imaging ...

Iconic Institutions #3: UNIMAS’s Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences

09 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In conjunction with Merdeka and Malaysia Days, here on the show we’re running a mini-series to celebrate iconic institutions of healthcare, from ins...

Doctor in the House: Let’s Talk About Sexual Health

06 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It was World Sexual Health Day earlier this week (4th Sept) and in conjunction with that, consultant urologist Dr George Lee is joined by consultant o...

Counsellor’s Corner: Regrets and What-Ifs

05 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On Counsellor’s Corner, licensed counsellor Lakshumy Kumar joins us to answer your questions on regrets and what-ifs, from missed career opportuniti...

Does Back Pain Come From The Mind?

04 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Could back pain be caused by repressed emotions? That was the theory put forth by the late Dr John Sarno - an American rehab physician who split opini...

Iconic Institutions: Malaysia’s Oldest Hospital

03 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This Merdeka and Malaysia Day, Health & Living celebrates iconic institutions of healthcare, from institutions of education, to research and healt...

Women, Power and Cancer

02 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How does cancer affect women’s lives? Not just as patients, as you might assume, but also as health professionals, researchers, policymakers and as ...

Pregnancy Ultrasound Packages: Scan or Scam?

30 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Not too long ago, pregnant celebrities were boasting about their at-home ultrasound machines. Then, vanity ultrasound places became a thing, offering ...

Iconic Institutions: Pioneering Medical Education in Malaysia

29 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This Merdeka and Malaysia Day, Health & Living celebrates iconic institutions of healthcare, from institutions of education, to research and healt...