A Wake Up Call

Breast cancer is a frightening disease to women, and while the experts are researching for a cure, many of us have already know that there are many prevention tools we can use to avoid breast cancer. Yet, not many of us bother, some usually think, "it wouldn't happen to me!" Recent incidents at home were a wake up call to me that I need to pay more attention to my health.

Statistics from BCF (Breast Cancer Foundation) show that breast cancer has become a major health problem in women and the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer is climbing. It is a very common type of cancer which hits 1 in 12 women in the course of their lifetime. Breast cancer is rarely found in very young women, it occurs more frequently with increasing age.

Whilst the causes of breast cancer are not completely understood, modern research is making rapid progress in controlling the disease, through earlier and more accurate diagnoses and improved methods of treatment.

What is breast cancer?
Breasts contain many glands that are made up of small building blocks known as cells, which produce breast milk after pregnancy. These cells normally divide and grow in an orderly manner. However, sometimes, for reasons still not known, a few of these cells become uncontrolled and continue to divide and grow causing a lump or tumour to be produced. In some women, this process can take 3 or 4 years or even longer before the lump can be detected.

Breast lumps can be either benign (innocent), which are contained in one area of the breast, or malignant, which means that they consist of cancer cells that can spread to other parts of the body, through either the bloodstream or the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is a network of tiny glands that helps the body produce cells to fight infection. Doctors can tell whether or not a breast lump is benign or malignant by taking a small sample from the tumour (called a ‘biopsy’) and looking at the cells under a microscope.

What causes breast cancer?
There is not just a single cause of breast cancer and it is possible that a number of factors are responsible. Whilst a family history of breast cancer does increase risk, it is far from certain that this factor alone will lead to any woman getting the disease.

Many risk factors have been identified in the search to understand how breast cancer occurs. None of them on its own is considered to be a single risk factor, but taken together they can indicate an increased risk of developing the disease. For example, women who have not had children or had them late in life seem to have an increased risk, as do women whose periods started when they were very young or who had a late menopause. Diet appears to play a role, in that those who have a very fatty diet have a slightly increased chance of getting breast cancer compared with those who eat more healthily. However, despite an increased knowledge of the variety of risk factors for breast cancer, approximately half of the women who develop the disease have no known risk factors at the time of diagnosis.

How women react?
I believe the initial reaction is one of denial, like my sister and sister-in-law. Wishful thinking that the lump is “nothing serious” and that it would somehow go away. As the lump gets bigger, some patients do not dare to see a doctor partly because they realise that this is cancer and they fear the treatment process – surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Others have a fatalistic view that if it is cancer, they are doomed anyway…

Hear what the doctors say: “Early detection saves lives”.

If you are a woman over the age of 40, call your doctor to arrange for a mammogram today. More breast cancers are being detected at an early stage because of greater awareness of the importance of mammography screening. These very early cancers have no symptoms and often cannot be felt even by an expert. The earlier breast cancer is detected, the better are the chances of cure.

With surgery alone, the cure rate is 100% for stage 0, 70-80% for stage 1, 50% for stage 2 and 10-30% for stage 3 breast cancer. These cure rates can be significantly improved by the addition of hormonal therapy, chemotherapy or some newer targeted therapies.

Breast cancer is one of the most treatable and curable of all the cancers. Even at the advanced stage, patients can often continue to live for many years. It is hard to believe but women actually shy away from mammograms because of the stories that it is painful. There is some discomfort when the breast is compressed as flat as possible so that the best images can be taken. However, I think it is worth it if this maximum of two minutes of discomfort can give you a better chance of detecting breast cancer early.

It does not mean that you are safe if you have no family history of the breast cancer. Some women claimed “But I breastfed my children!”. It is believed that breastfeeding offers some degree of protection against breast cancer but it does not guarantee against it.

I have made an appointment for mammogram. I hope that you can remind your mothers, grandmothers, wives and sisters to go for a mammogram.

By the way, my sister-in law and sister are on the recovering route. God bless.

Women’s deadly foe...

It was a tiring and a very stressful week. Work, by default, was one of the culprits, so what were the other causes? First, it was my sister-in-law and now my own sister - they were diagnosed with breast cancer!

My sister-in-law had a surgery and is undergoing chemotherapy and observation. My sister is waiting for some further tests before a surgery could be performed. Though they were the victims but this has affected the rest of us in the families. There was something I found about these two women – they knew about this earlier but chose to delay treatments. When the rest of us found out, we only know to reprimand them. What was more important to them than getting treated? It was the thought of their young children! Who would take care of them when mums were not around? Now you see, aren’t WOMEN great?

I have read psychology and couselling as this has been my passion. Since then, I’ve been conducting counselling sessions for children at a FSC on a voluntary basis. Turning “bad apples” into “not so bad apples” and eventually become “good apples” have been my greatest satisfactions. What more fantastic are more and more of these “good apples” become our ambassadors.

However, when it comes to talking to my own next of kin, I was like, kind of “lost of words”. They would laugh if I say, “everything would be fine”, even doctors don’t assure their patients 100%! But I know I have to say something. After pondering for a while, I told my sister “go for your surgery, your children will be in good hands, I’ll be there for them, wherever, whenever and whatever…” She nodded in confidence... So, I’ve got another task for the next few months – “kids sitting”!

Thanks Gary, you’ve been a great pal. Although you are already very tight-up juggling among work, attending briefings for the coming F1 and doing up your new apartment, yet you’ve never failed to call and check the status. I'll take care of myself and will try not to miss your calls anymore.

Good foods are to be shared (12) - bak chor mee vs bak chor mee

Bak Chor Mee is Hokkien for Minced Pork Noodle (肉挫面 in Chinese). Most bak chor mee in Singapore are topped with generous amount of bak chor (minced pork), slices of mushroom, pork slice, pork liver slice and lettuce. Some stalls give a tiny piece of salted fish and/or one fish/pork ball and/or a pork dumpling (depends on whether the tau kiu (hawker) is a Teochew, Hokkien or …) For $5 and above, you may even get 1 or 2 slice of abalone, depends.

I usually order my bak chor mee with 'you mee' (the thinner yellow wheat noodles). The cooking process usually consists of blanching the noodles in hot and cold water a few times, this increase the "springiness" of the noodle. The noodles are then drained substantially and placed into the sauce. Small amount of vinegar is added to give it an aroma. Don’t underestimate this small amount of vinegar, it determines the right balance of savoury and sour of a bak chor mee. Beside vinegar, another break factor is the chilli sauce.

If the chilli sauce and vinegar blend together well, it will make the noodles very tasty and thus a good bowl of bak chor mee. This noodle is usually served dry and it would be advisable to eat it immediately once it is served, so as to avoid getting the noodles too soggy.

Tried the following stalls of bak chor mee, few of these were highly-rated by bloggers. You may have your own favourite stall.

Tai Hwa Bak Chor Mee, $4 & above, Blk 466 Crawford Street.
Many rate this as one of the most famous Bak Chor Mee in Singapore so it’s a die, die must try lor. The noodles are real Q, good chilli, fresh lard with the right amount of black vinegar which just get you going back again and again. But be prepared to queue. Rating: 8/10

Teo Kee Mushroom Minced Pork Noodle, $3 & above, Blk 137 Tampines Round Market and Food.
Been to this stall many times. What I love about this stall, something different from the rest, is the braised pork soft bone. The braised pork soft bone was cooked till you can bit every bit of it in your mouth, leaving nothing behind. Coupled with special egg noodles which are nice and Q. There is no regret travelling from the west to the east of Singapore for this bowl of mushroom minced pork noodle. Rating: 8/10.

Ah Kow Minced Pork Mee, $3.50 & above, Hong Lim Food Centre.
A good characteristic of this bak chor mee is “chnee” (in Teochew) or fresh. The noodle was nice and Q and complemented very well with the sauce and the special china manufactured black vinegar. Rating: 7/10.

Minced Pork Noodle, $3.50 & above, Sim Lim Food Court.
Because of my work nature, I go to Sim Lim Square quite often. I remember I saw some bloggers’ recommendations and decided to try this stall at the building’s food court. Honestly, my opinion, nothing great but just blogged it. Rating: 3/10.

Capitol Puay Heng bak chor mee, $4 & above, Wisma Republic at Wisma Atria.
Capitol Puay Heng was famous for its special made noodles and a 40-year old secret chilli sauce mix. A stall that goes way back to 1968 when it first opened in Toa Payoh, then shifted to Capitol Hill. The noodles were nicely timed, and the pork tasted sweet and fresh. Ratings: 6/10.

Good foods are to be shared (11)

Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice, $4, Thomson Road.The rice is fragrant with just enough flavour and not oily. Chicken is the tender non-kampong type, juicy and good for those who enjoy tender chicken but are concerned about their waistline. Rating: 6/10.



Fried Kway Teow, $3, Golden Mile Food Centre. When you mention Char Kway Teow, most of us will connect it with pork lard and then clogged arteries, heart disease…! Thus Char Kway Teow is often viewed as unhealthy. I belong to this group and when I know about this version of healthier Char Kway Teow, I was super delighted. Besides not using pork lard to fry his Kway Teow, they also topped the plate of Kway Teow with generous servings of green vegetables and ikan bilis. Despite the absence of pork lard, the Kway Teow is as fragrant and flavourful, complementing well with the juicy cockles and crispy ikan bilis. Rating: 8/10.



Chilli Noodle, $3, Golden Mile Food Centre. If you are a chilli lover, then you should try this noodle. The chilli is a combination of belachan, dried shrimps plus some other secret ingredients that produce delightful and unforgettable sensation lingering on the your taste buds for the rest of the day. I like the pork ribs which are really soft, tender, sweet and tasty. Rating: 8/10.



Yong Tau Foo, $3, Chinatown Food Centre.They knew people will ask, so they prepare the answers first: "我们的酿豆腐全由手工制作，因此非常的新鲜、爽口。汤底则以江鱼仔、鱼骨细熬，口感清甜、芳香。最独特的地方是在米粉、面里撒了香脆的江鱼仔，因此吃起来就有另一种风味。" Good foods are worth queuing so be prepared to queue. Rating: 8/10.

Hai Sing Ah Balling, $2.50, Chinatown Food Centre. Ah Balling is also known as tang yuan (stuffed glutinous rice flour dumplings) Here, the Ah Balling are handmade. The skin is super smooth and soft and the 5 Ah ballings here have 5 different types of fillings: crushed peanut, crushed black sesame, red bean paste, green bean paste, lotus paste and mashed durian. My favourites are the peanut and sesame. Rating: 7/10.

RUN NUS 2008

Not many people know about this run, even my ex-classmates or alumni. This was my first participation in this run. A friend dragged me into it and I kind of 'regretted'.

This was organised by the NUS Students’ Sports Council. Probably that explained why many issues were overlooked. Roads were not blocked thus when you came to a traffic light, you have to slow down or stop, wait for the marshal to stop the traffic, then you crossed the road and continue the run. I can understand this, probably the number of participants (just more than 500 participants in 2007) could not warrant the organizer to request for road close.

There were no water point along the 10km or even 5km route. Next, there were free Cool Rhino Drink at the finishing point in the morning however when we returned from the run, the stock ran out and runners need to buy their own water/drink. This was my first of such thing. The event organiser should know that water supply is the most important item of such event. In most other runs I have participated, water was ample and runners were coaxed to keep drinking and drinking.

What makes a Champion?

A champion does not compete with others for the gold.

Instead, he compete against his own personal bests.

Congratulations Singapore...

Purposely rushed home to watch the live telecast of Olympic women's table tennis semi-final – Singapore vs. Korea. And my effort was paid off.

Yes, our Singapore women's table tennis team made it to the final! The team won 3-2 in their semi-final against a skilful and tenacious South Korean team. Singapore is now guaranteed a medal, either a gold or silver. They will next meet the victor of the other semi-final, China or Hong Kong in the final. Jia you, Singapore!