Tagaytay House and Lot for Sale! :D

Yup! :D You read that right! House and Lot for sale in cool and clean Tagaytay City! :D


Location:  Southridge Estates, Tagaytay City


Lot Area:  300 square meters, more or less


Floor Area:  400 square meters, more of less


Features:


     5 Bedrooms
     5 Toilet and Bath
     Family Room
     Maid's Quarters
     Attic Space
     Huge View Deck
     Spacious Roof Deck
     Outdoor Jacuzzi
     Garden with Gazebo
     Tree House


Price:  PHP 12,000,000.00 (furnished)


BROKERS WELCOME!


Agent's Fee:  Five (5) percent


Contact Details:  0923-7366876
                                0922-8868412
                                0926-2241760
                               +63-46-4830616


     

Facebook Viral Article "Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins" is a Hoax

Facebook is peppered with the viral article "Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins" with multiple shares and over 5,000 likes. I find it sad that a lot of people are being tricked into believing that what's written there is true. Though the article encourages a healthy lifestyle, it largely misinforms and misleads the public into believing that simplistic therapies and certain dietary regimens can cure cancer, which is NOT the case. Please take time to read the article below from Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, and spread THIS instead.

STATEMENT: EMAIL HOAX REGARDING CANCER


Information falsely attributed to Johns Hopkins called, "CANCER UPDATE FROM JOHN HOPKINS" describes properties of cancer cells and suggests ways of preventing cancer.  Johns Hopkins did not publish the information, which often is an email attachment, nor do we endorse its contents.  The email also contains an incorrect spelling of our institution as "John" Hopkins; whereas, the correct spelling is "Johns" Hopkins. For more information about cancer, please read the information on our web site or visit the National Cancer Institute's web site at www.cancer.gov.  Please help combat the spread of this hoax by letting others know of this statement.


Another hoax email that has been circulating since 2004 regarding plastic containers, bottles, wrap claiming that heat releases dioxins which cause cancer also was not published by Johns Hopkins.  More information from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.


Mythbusters:  Please help curb the spread of this hoax by sending a link to this page to individuals that forward you this email. 


The Truth about the "Cancer Update" Email


It has become such a problem, that the National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, and individual cancer centers like the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have posted warnings on their Web sites. Emails offering easy remedies for avoiding and curing cancer are the latest Web-influenced trend. To gain credibility, the anonymous authors falsely attribute their work to respected research institutions like Johns Hopkins. This is the case with the so-called “Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins.”


The gist of this viral email is that cancer therapies of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy do not work against the disease and people should instead choose a variety of dietary strategies. 


Traditional therapies, such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, work. The evidence is the millions of cancer survivors in the United States today who are alive because of these therapies.   We recognize that treatments don’t work in every patient, or sometimes work for awhile and then stop working, and there are some cancers that are more difficult to cure than others. These problems are the focus of ongoing cancer research. 


We’ll go through each statement in the email hoax and provide real responses from Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center experts.


Email hoax contentions #1 and 2: Everyone Has Cancer Cells


Cancer is a genetic disease resulting from a variety of mutations and alterations either inherited from our parents or, more commonly, acquired over time due to environmental exposures and behaviors, such as smoking and poor diet. These alterations turn off important cell growth regulators allowing cells to continually divide unchecked, explains Luis Diaz, a clinician-scientist in Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics. This type of cell is called a malignant or cancer cell.  Among the trillions of cells in the human body, inevitably everyone has some abnormal or atypical cells that possess some of the characteristics of cancer cells, most resolve themselves and never result in cancer, says Diaz. 


There is no single or standard test for cancer. There are ways to screen for certain cancers with tests such as colonoscopy for colon cancer, mammography for breast cancer, PSA for prostate cancer, and the Pap smear for cervical cancer, and these tests can detect cancers in a very early and curable stage.  For many cancers, there currently are no screening tests, and they are diagnosed when they begin to cause symptoms.


Diaz and other Kimmel Cancer Center researchers are working on new tests that detect abnormal DNA shed by cancer cells into blood and body fluids and have the ability to find cancers before they cause any symptoms.  Approaches like this could lead to a broad-based screening test for cancer.


Tests like these also are being used to detect cancer recurrences and malignant cells left behind following surgery, and can find cancers that are not detectable under the microscope or in x-rays.


Other researchers are studying cancer stem cells.  They are stealth cells that make up just a tiny fraction of a tumor.  While small in number, investigators believe they may be the cells that drive certain cancers and lead to cancer recurrence. Therapies that target these cells are now being tested in clinical trials.


A team of our breast cancer researchers has developed a method that could make it possible to detect breast cancer from the DNA contained in a single drop of blood.


But, while evasive cancer cells are a challenge and the focus of ongoing research, it does not mean, as the email contends, that all patients, even those treated successfully for cancer, have cancers-in-waiting—undetectable but still there.  People are treated and completely cured of cancer everyday.


Email hoax contention #3: A Strong Immune System Destroys Cancer


When it comes to cancer and the immune system, it is not a matter of strong or weak as the fictional report contends, but rather an issue of recognition.  "The immune system simply does not recognize cancer. In its complexity, the cancer cell has learned to disguise itself to the immune system as a normal, healthy cell.  Cells infected with viruses or bacteria send out danger signals setting the immune system in action.  But cancer cells do not, explains Elizabeth Jaffee, co-director of cancer immunology and leading expert on cancer and the immune system."   By deciphering the methods cancer cells use to make them invisible to the immune system, Jaffee and team have developed cancer vaccines that have successfully triggered immune reactions against prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, leukemia, and multiple myeloma.


Email hoax contention #4 and #5: Cancer is caused by Nutritional Deficiencies and Supplements Will Correct Them


Dietary habits and lifestyle choices, such as smoking, contribute to the development of many human cancers, says Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson. Our experts recommend a balanced diet (see response #11) as a way of reducing cancer risk.  In terms of supplements, Nelson points out that while they may help mediate vitamin deficiencies, taking doses above what the body needs provides no added benefit.


Email hoax contentions #6, 7, 8, 9, and 10: Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy Harms Normal Cells. Surgery Causes Cancer to Spread


Chemotherapy and radiation therapy kills cancer cells with remarkable selectivity, says Nelson.  There are some temporary and reversible side effects common to cancer therapies, including hair loss and low blood counts.  Limiting and managing these side effects is an integral part of treatment.


Surgery is the first line of treatment for many types of cancer. It does not cause cancer to spread. Cancers spread to other tissues and organs as a tumor progresses and cancer cells break away from the original tumor and travel through the bloodstream to other body sites.


Email hoax contentions #11, 12, 13, and 14: Cancers Feed on Certain Foods


The premise is that cancer cells feed on certain foods, and if a person refrains from eating these foods, the cancer will die. According to our experts, a poor diet and obesity associated with a poor diet is a risk factor for the development of cancer.  However, there is no evidence that certain foods alter the environment of an existing cancer, at the cellular level, and cause it to either die or grow.


While there is such a thing as tumors that produce mucus, the mucus made by a tumor does not result from drinking milk.  And, eating less meat, while a good choice for cancer prevention, does not free up enzymes to attack cancer cells, explains cancer prevention and control expert Elizabeth Platz.


Moderation is key, says Platz. As part of a balanced diet, sugar, salt, milk, coffee, tea, meat, and chocolate—the foods the “Update” calls into question—are all safe choices, she says.  The real concern with many of these, particularly sugar, is that it adds calories to a diet and can lead to obesity, and obesity is a major risk factor for cancer. A balanced nutritious diet, healthy weight, physical activity, and avoiding alcoholic drinks may prevent as many as 1/3 of all cancers. Platz recommends eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day and limiting red and processed meats, like hot dogs.


Several Johns Hopkins experts participated in the World Cancer Research Fund - American Institute for Cancer Research report Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, published in November 2007, which is considered by cancer prevention experts to be an authoritative source of information on diet, physical activity and cancer. Their recommendations for cancer prevention and for good health in general are:


Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight.
Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day.
Avoid sugary drinks. Limit consumption of energy-dense foods (particularly processed foods high in added sugar, or low in fiber, or high in fat).
Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes such as beans.
Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) and avoid processed meats.
If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to 2 for men and 1 for women a day.
Limit consumption of salty foods and foods processed with salt (sodium).
Don't use supplements to protect against cancer.
Our experts recommend that people meet their nutritional needs through their food choices. While vitamin supplements can be helpful in people with nutritional deficiencies, evidence suggests that supplementation above what the body can use provides no added health benefit. 


Email hoax contention #15: Cancer is a Disease of Mind, Body, and Spirit


Cancer is a disease caused by genetic alterations.  Many times, these alterations occur through our own behaviors—cigarette smoking, a poor and unbalanced diet, virus exposures, and sunburns, says cancer prevention and control expert John Groopman. 


How stress, faith, and other factors influence this is largely unknown.  We would like people to be happy, loving, and stress free, simply because it is a nice way to live and can contribute to an overall feeling of well being, says Platz.  There is no evidence, however, that a person prevents or causes cancer based on his or her state of mind.


Still, we understand that a cancer diagnosis can make patients and families feel stressed and anxious, and these are not pleasant feelings.  So, we offer extensive patient and family services, including a cancer counseling center, pain and palliative care program, chaplain services and a meditation chapel, an image recovery center, and the Art of Healing art and music program.


Email hoax contention #16: Oxygen Kills Cancer Cells


Platz recommends regular exercise as a part of any healthy lifestyle, but says there is no evidence that breathing deeply or receiving oxygen therapy prevents cancer.


On its Web site, the American Cancer Society includes the following statement about oxygen therapy, “Available scientific evidence does not support claims that putting oxygen-releasing chemicals into a person's body is effective in treating cancer. It may even be dangerous. There have been reports of patient deaths from this method.”  Read more


Please pass this information on to family and friends.


Questions?


Contact:
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center
Office of Public Affairs


410-955-1287

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel_cancer_center/news_events/featured/cancer_update_email_it_is_a_hoax.html#.TzMNQJQeigh.facebook

The Rights of Physicians

I finally found it. I've been looking all over the internet on the specific Rights of Physicians, but for some weird reason, it isn't anywhere. All I keep seeing are the Rights of Patients. But I finally found it...not on the internet, but in my old book on Medical Jurisprudence by Solis (which, good thing, my dad kept along with his law books collection).

Reason I've been laboring over this is coz I recently had an incident with an American patient who refused to be examined and treated for his eye injuries, and instead kept on insisting that I refract him and replace his broken pair of glasses. I refused to give in to what he demanded, explained the necessity of a complete ophthalmologic examination especially in the setting of a blunt trauma to the eye secondary to mauling, and the possible complications arising therefrom. He became arrogant and belligerent, to the point of making debasing comments against me in my clinic, even debating with me the pharmacodynamics of topical versus systemic antibiotics.  He claims he is also a doctor (which I doubt) and that he knows more than I do...and claims that from what he knows and feels, there was NOTHING WRONG with his eye (even though he had an obvious black eye, and the entire whites of his eye was red). I remained cool, calm and professional, though, deep inside I was seething and felt like giving him another black eye...or worse...given that I'm usually very hot tempered when I'm provoked in a setting where I know I've done absolutely nothing wrong...and considering, too, that I'm definitely not one to back down from a fight. 

So the incident has left me pining for some sort of payback (which of course I won't really do :P). I just have this urge to know what my rights as a Physician are. Though, I know I did the right thing by not giving in to his demands and holding fast to what I knew to be the correct route of management for his case, I still wonder about what other actions I am entitled to. Given the nascent state of my practice, I know I'm bound to meet and experience a host of other patients and situtations, and I need to be prepared to deal with them appropriately.

THE RIGHTS OF PHYSICIANS

 (taken from Medical Jurisprudence by Pedro P. Solis, 1988)

1.  Right to Choose Patients

We are not obligated to accept or render medical treatment to any patient who solicits our service, even when there are no other physicians in the vicinity or area. However, based on the Code of Ethics, we cannot claim on this right in the setting of an emergency, UNLESS the emergency is such that if we were to administer treatment, we ourselves would be put in danger, in which case we are not liable if we refuse to respond to the said emergency. If we did respond to an emergency, the scope of our service would be, at the very least, to initiate First Aid. Referral to a more qualified physician or emergency service can then be done after the patient has been stabilized.

2.  Right to Limit His Medical Practice

We have to right to limit the practice of our profession to our chosen specialty. We cannot be compelled to manage cough and colds when we choose to practice only within our specialty. We have the right to limit our practice to our clinics or the hospital, and thus refuse to make house calls. We have the right to refuse a particular mode of treatment if it goes against our conscience, morals or religion. We have the right to refer to a more qualified physician if the patient's case is unknown to us.

3. Right to Avail of Hospital Sevices

I am not very clear about this, but from what's written, it seems that we can bring patients in need of hospital facilities to any government hospital, even if we're not accredited by the hospital, "...a government hospital may not curtail the right of a duly licensed physician to use the facilities of the hospital provided he complies with the rules concerning internal discipline and those designed to enhance better public service..."

4.  Right to Determine the Appropriate Management Procedure

We, as physicians, are given full authority to determine the diagnostic and treatment procedure to be administered. In a physician-patient relationship, the Doctrine of Superior Knowledge is in effect, which establishes that the physician has superior knowledge over his patient, and thus, the patient just follows the instructions or orders of the physician. These management decisions are, however, subject to the patient's enlightened, informed consent. If, after careful explanation of the necessity of treatment, its benefits, as well as its possible adverse effects, the patient refuses to give consent, we may politely terminate the relationship, and we should not be held liable for doing so.

5.  Right of Way While Responding to the Call of Emergency

6.  Instruments and Library in the Practie of the Profession May Not be Subject-matters of Execution of Judgement

7.   The Right to Hold Certain Public or Private Offices Which Can Only be Filled by a Physician

8.  Right to Certain Services Which Can Only be Performed by a Physician

9.  Right to Membership in Medical Societies

10.  Right to Compensation

"The right of the physician to demand compensation for his services is based on the physician-patient contractual relationship...if a physician renders service to a patient, there is presumption that it is for reward and to rebut the presumption, the patient must prove that the physician agreed that his services would be gratuitous."

"Unless there is a specific contract to cure, a physician is entitled to be paid for his services irrespective of the result.  Payment of a medical fee is, as a general rule, not contingent on the result. Mere dissatisfaction with the result of treatment will not defeat the demand for compensation of physician."

***

I hope this helps my fellow MDs avoid getting cornered by manipulative, belligerent patients. We need to know our rights as physicians so we can act and defend ourselves adequately and appropriately should a situation arise. 

Learn Ultimate Frisbee!!

Learn to play Ultimate Frisbee, the greatest sport ever invented!

Where: Meralco Field, Ortigas Avenue


When: Mondays, 8 to 10 pm


How Much: PHP 80.00 field fee


What To Wear: Comfortable sports clothes, good traction shoes (trail shoes, cleats, turfs)


What To Bring: Your own supply of water; light and dark colored shirts for the pick-up


This year's series of Beginner's Nights begins TONIGHT, January 2, 2012!


Start the year right and burn off all those holiday calories with a new awesome sport! 


SEE YOU!! :D

For more information, go to:
Facebook Page of the Beginner's Night Afficionados

New Year's Day Ride

I rode off in the scorching New Year afternoon sun yesterday in Nuvali. We started off from the parking lot of Robinson's Supermarket at Solenad 2, headed off to the future site of Miriam College Nuvali, and along the way we saw a herd of cows and we just couldn't resist taking pictures with them :P

Grazing Cows :)

Long road in the scorching afternoon sun

Missy communing with the cows

More cows...

Future site of my Alma Mater, Miriam College

We went around the entire area, and headed back to the rotunda, where we went to a different fork, all the way to the Marcos Twin Mansion on top of this really steep hill. I probably only made it to 10 meters or so uphill...then I had to walk the entire length up :P Too steep for me :) The walk up was difficult, too, even on foot...and my companion had to push my bike up along with his. Reward on top was the old yet magnificent Twin Mansion of the Marcoses...and a Cornetto drumstick :)

Entrance to the Twin Mansion

If you look closely, those are paintings of the Marcos family :D

The ride back was easy. I don't know why. For some reason, going down the road up to the point where we had to go up the steep hill was very tiring for me. And the road seemed to be sloping a bit down. So I was wondering why I was having a hard time riding. Going back the same road, which seemed to be sloping a little up, was much easier. Maybe because the wind was stronger and I felt cooler, more refreshed.

We had dinner at Domo Tomo. Lot of people in Nuvali, good thing the resto wasn't full at all. Most everyone was going about, sightseeing, etc. Had a huge bowl of Beef Ramen. Yummy way to end a yummy ride! :D

Ahhhh!! :D

Ali

Whence in life your path seemed dry and long...
and rocks beneath your feet they cut and stung
Your skin it burned, scorched by the unforgiving sun
You trudged alone on a lonely song.
The day seemed endless...no rest, no shade
Your body weak, your spirit frayed
No wind, no rain...had mercy gone?
You trudged along on a lonely song.
And as you walked, the night it came...
A blanket of rest...it shall remain
Where once you were, now just a song
of your journey short...and it shall linger on.


So now you've gone to sleep in night's sweet embrace
Your toil has ended...rest now in God's boundless grace!


I will remember you, Ali.