GALEN WAS AMONG THE FIRST

About four or five years ago my regular personal care physician with a name people found difficult (Indonesian Chinese, ergo more Indonesian-looking than Chinese, although his cards had a regular Chinese surname) quit and went back to school. He was a nice fellow, and as you would expect we had a number of things in common. Indo food. Peculiarities of post colonial culture. Language stuff. Tobacco (him in opposition to, me indulging in).

Given that like many good medical men he kept bring up the subject of tobacco, obsessively, please shut up about it, oh look they have fresh kangkung at the grocers opposite how do you like to prepare it, I would NOT be surprised if he becomes an oncologist.

Every year as part of my physical I have two scans down in the radiology department. Upper torso and thyroid. Because I smoke a pipe. Which I explained to him a number of times is a memory device. Essential for mental well-being.

Precisely like sambal and salt fish.

That is something I think my current regular care physician understands. And in any case, given that the demographic at the hospital includes crusty old codgers who swear in foreign languages (of which I have several, one of which is native to me and another I have spoken since childhood), and who stubbornly reject certain wise words of advice, she doesn't insistently push the matter. It would be somewhat unproductive.

But anyway, I know what they are screening for.
And, being a curious sort, have read about it.

Illustration inspired by an internet search for "cancerous tumors" which
yielded some lovely pictures of various growths viewed microscopically.

And, per Wikipedia thrown into google translate, this pertinent text: 腫瘤學係醫學嘅一個分支，處理癌症嘅研究、治療、診斷同預防。做腫瘤科嘅醫療專業人士就係腫瘤科醫生 ('Jung lau hok hai yi hok ge yat go fan ji, chyu lei ngaam jing ge yin gau, tsi liu, chan tuen tung yiu fong. Jou jung lau fo ge yi liu juen yip yan si jau hai jung lau fo yi sang'). Also, an oncologist is a 'pakar onkologi' or an 'ahli onkologi'.

Basically, 腫瘤學係醫學上面專係研究腫瘤嘅學科 ('jung lau hok hai yi hok seung min juen hai yin gau jung lau ge hok fo').

Oncology: 腫瘤學 ('jung lau hok'). Oncology is the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer.


Don't worry, I've also read several articles in standard English and Dutch about this branch of medicine over the years. And any medical specialist I encounter will, obviously, be able to explain it all completely in English. Dutch, Cantonese, or Malay, probably not.


Whatever the results, it means more interesting stuff to read.
And I am looking forward to my appointments.
So there is definitely that.



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