True stories from a cancer clinic
 Some of our closest relatives have been victims of cancer, the deadly
sickness that brings alarm, terror and dismay on the very hearing. But
large hearted medical doctors have been kind enough from time to time to
explain what cancer means and how to defeat it in its primary stages. I
find such a noble medical doctor is the author of an inspiring book
titled as ‘Dcotor, I have Cancer. Can You help Me?” with a subtitle ‘A
book of hope, true stories from the cancer clinic’. Although the book
presumably is widely known in other parts of the world, the Sri Lankan
reader may not have had the chance to have a glimpse of the contents
therein. The intention of the author cum medical doctor is to enlighten
some of the laymen who ask questions they want to know on the subject
without any inhibitions.
Is there hope for cancer patients? What is the role of traditional
Chinese medicine? What is the correlation between stress and cancer? Is
it really true that the cancer is cured if in a few years it doesn’t
come back? These are some of the general questions raised by the
interested parties.
 As the author had been engaged in the research areas linked to the
subject he presented some of his experiences in order to enlighten the
question raised. He says at the outset that cancer is not a death
sentence and there are many stories of victory against it. Thus he
shares some of the genuine experiences. Some unbelievable, but retain a
spirit of inspiration in the process of reading the pages packed with
true to life case studies plus pictures drawn from the medical files.
In 1990 the author cum medical doctor had returned to Singapore with
the qualifications to be a fully fledged practitioner, in 1991 he had
become the founding head of the Department of Medical Oncology at the
Singapore General Hospital. Since then his main mission had been to
train more oncologists. This had been a great success as there are about
40 accredited oncologists today in Singapore.
A winner of the Singapore National Science Award in 1996 for a
medical research project pertaining to the use of gene therapy in the
treatment of cancer, the author Dr Ang has a busy schedule of work, a
time consuming dedication for noble cause.
He says:
“I work Monday to Friday from 7 in the morning to 7 in the evening. I
go the hospital early to do my rounds and then start my clinic at 8.30
am. I try and wrap things up around 5.30 pm and go for another ward
visit. On Wednesday afternoons I spend an hour and a half teaching at
the national Cancer Centre. It is a very practical approach.
I spend the time with the registers, seven or eight of them, who have
decided to be medical oncologists, and we talk over my cases. I tell
them how I am managing them and ask for their opinion and ideas.
Having laid down this busy daily schedule Dr Ang goes step by step to
introduce main topics of interest that rest on the main subject of
cancer. The first chapter titled as ‘A new lease of life’ (17pp) centres
round the doctor patient rapport that Dr Ang had devised as an
anticipatory guidance to calm down the restless moods of a cancer
patient. This is a process by which a medical doctor’s supportive
psychological guidance is envisaged over and above the actual treatments
such as chemotherapy and allied treatments.
Dr Ang in this direction says: “Medical oncology is a rollercoaster,
but doctors have to move on after each high and low. Even if I have lost
a patient I have to be there for the next one. I still have to try and
give each patient every chance he has. If I do a good job, I still may
save him, but if I do a bad one, I will surely lose him.”
Chapter two, titled as ‘Running out of time’ containing some of the
most inspiring case studies of patients who try to respond to the
troubled question “how much time do I have doctor?” at least five
interesting stories are laid down as regards the challenges encountered
success followed by the patient as well as the patient. For me the
reading those pages looked like an exercise in a spiritual journey of
meditation, a continuous doctor-patient rapport. Dr Ang says: “As a
general rule, I shy away from telling a patient how much time h e has
left unless I know how a patient will handle it. I try to give a general
answer. However, if I knew that this information is important in helping
a patient get his affairs in order, I will give a range three to six
months is what most oncologists will say for a serious cancer. For
someone who is on the verge of death we say days to weeks” (29)
A scientific response to the question of can you be born with cancer
is laid in chapter three filled as ‘a risk from birth’ various medical
theories discovered so far are exposed in a simple manner. Dr ang says:
“I believe in the seed and soil theory. For cancer to develop in a
patient the soil must first be fertile. But there must also be a seed a
triggering factor. This triggering factor may be a patient’s infection,
stress or carcinogens like cigarette smoke and pollutants.” (37pp)
We are made to know that the seed and soil theory explains why some
individuals smoke like chimneys but do not suffer from lung cancer
according to Dr Ang, they have the seed, but not the soil somehow
genetically they are protected.
At the same time, as Dr Ang explains there are some families where
two or more members suffer from cancer. In these families, the genetic
predisposition is high, and it takes little to trigger the development
of cancer, as the soil is fertile. Dr Ang gives several examples to
support this view, as selected from the medical files. While further
stories of cancer patients are presented several chapters emphasize on
specific areas like breast cancer and lung cancer.
The chapters titled as ‘Living with Cancer’ (59pp) and ‘Alternative
Therapies’ (65) supply significant insights to the main medical areas of
cancer treatment. The chapter eight which is titled as ‘Miracle Cures
that Harm’ (73pp) should be regarded as an eye opener to the world where
more harm could be done than good to a cancer patient.
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