Journal Highlight - Heart Longevity Code

Written by Dr Chrystal Fong Chern Ying

(MBBS Melb (Aus), FRACGP)
Family Physician

Location: Singapore
Date of publication: 10 April 2024

Ten tips for promoting cardiometabolic health and slowing cardiovascular aging

Dr Chrystal’s vision is to educate and motivate the individual and population towards better health outcomes.

Her mission is to help make sense of the rich science articles that are important to health to the everyday person through her articles.

This article published in this month’s European Health Journal is worth sharing on the research and recommendations to enhance our heart longevity.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year. CVDs are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels and include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease and other conditions. More than four out of five CVD deaths are due to heart attacks and strokes, and one third of these deaths occur prematurely in people under 70 years of age.

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期刊亮点 - 心脏长寿密码

作者: Chrystal Fong Chern Ying 邝珍莹 博士

(MBBS Melb (Aus), FRACGP)
家庭医生

发表日期：: 10.4.2024

促进心脏代谢健康和延缓心血管衰老的十大秘诀

邝博士的愿景是教育和激励个人和人群获得更好的健康结果。

她的使命是通过她的文章帮助理解对普通人的健康很重要的丰富科学文章。

这篇发表在本月《欧洲健康杂志》上的文章值得分享，关于延长心脏寿命的研究和建议。

心血管疾病（ CVD）是全球主要死亡原因，估计每年夺走 1790万人的生命。心血管疾病 是一组心脏和血管疾病，包括冠心病、脑血管疾病、风湿性心脏病和其他疾病。超过五分 之四的心血管疾病死亡是由心脏病发作和中风引起的，其中三分之一的死亡发生在 70岁 以下的人群中。

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World Health Day

Written by Dr Chrystal Fong Chern Ying

(MBBS Melb (Aus), FRACGP)
Family Physician

Location: Singapore
Date of publication: 7 April 2024

7 April marks the anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948.

The World Health Organization is an agency of the United Nations that focuses on the public health of the world at large.

Theme for World Health Day 2024 is 'My health, my right’

This year’s theme focuses to highlight the right of everyone, everywhere to:

1. Have access to quality health services
2. Education
3. Information
4. Safe drinking water, clean air
5. Good nutrition
6. Quality housing
7. Decent working and environmental conditions
8. Freedom from discrimination

How can we celebrate World Health Day?

1. Care for your own personal health and your family’s health
   • Attend regular health screening, eating a nutritious balanced diet, maintaining regular exercise, avoidance of smoking, alcohol and addictive substances, sleep 7-8 hours a night, managing stress levels with mindfulness and maintaining social connections.
2. Learn more about local health
   • Being aware of the current local health issues. For example, being aware of the news reports of dengue cases in Singapore.
   • By eliminating all possible sources of standing water as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, we are doing our part in preventing and reducing dengue outbreaks.
3. Get Involved with World Health Day Events
4. Share World Health Day with Others
5. Organise World Health Day Fundraisers

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世界卫生日

作者: Chrystal Fong Chern Ying 邝珍莹 博士

(MBBS Melb (Aus), FRACGP)
家庭医生

发表日期：: 7.4.2024

4月 7日是世卫组织于 1948年成立的周年纪念日。

世界卫生组织是联合国的一个机构，专注于整个世界的公共卫生。

2024年世界卫生日的主题是“我的健康，我的权利”

今年的主题侧重于强调每个人在任何地方的权利：

1. 获得优质卫生服务
2. 教育
3. 信息
4. 安全的饮用水，清洁的空气
5. 良好的营养
6. 优质住房
7. 体面的工作和环境条件
8. 不受歧视的自由

我们如何庆祝世界卫生日？

1. 关爱自己和家人的健康
   • 定期进行健康检查，营养均衡饮食，保持定期运动，避免吸烟、饮酒和成瘾物质，每晚睡眠 7-8小时，用正念管理压力水平并保持社交联系。
2. 了解有关当地健康的更多信息
   • 了解当前的当地健康问题。例如，了解新加坡登革热病例的新闻报道。
   • 通过消除所有可能的死水源作为蚊子的滋生地，我们正在为预防和减少登革热疫情尽自己的一份力量。
3. 参与世界卫生日活动
4. 与他人分享世界卫生日
5. 组织世界卫生日筹款活动

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Towards a healthy strong back

Written by Dr Chrystal Fong Chern Ying

(MBBS Melb (Aus), FRACGP)
Family Physician

Location: Singapore
Date of publication: 5 April 2024

Back pain is a common problem.

According to WHO 19.6.2023

Key facts

• In 2020, low back pain (LBP) affected 619 million people globally and it is estimated that the number of cases will increase to 843 million cases by 2050, driven largely by population expansion and ageing.
• LBP is the single leading cause of disability worldwide and the condition for which the greatest number of people may benefit from rehabilitation.
• LBP can be experienced at any age, and most people experience LBP at least once in their life.
• Prevalence increases with age up to 80 years, while the highest number of LBP cases occurs at the age of 50–55 years. LBP is more prevalent in women.
• Non-specific LBP is the most common presentation of LBP (about 90% of cases).

Prevention of back pain

• Avoid heavy lifting.
• Lift correctly when lifting something heavy. Bend your knees, keep your back straight.
• Aim for a healthy weight.
• Aim for good posture.
  • Stand tall with your head and shoulders back
  • Sit up straight with your back against the back of your chair and your feet flat on the floor. If possible, keep your knees slightly higher than your hips.
  • Avoid sitting in the same position for too long
• Do muscle- strengthening and stretching exercises at least twice a week.

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迈向健康强壮的背部

作者: Chrystal Fong Chern Ying 邝珍莹 博士

(MBBS Melb (Aus), FRACGP)
家庭医生

发表日期：: 5.4.2024

背痛是一个常见的问题。

根据世界卫生组织 19.6.2023

主要特点

• 2020 年，全球有 6.19 亿人患有腰痛 LBP），据估计，到 2050 年，病例数将增加到8.43 亿例，这主要是由于人口扩张和老龄化。
• 腰痛是全世界唯一主要的残疾原因，也是最多人可能从康复中受益的疾病。
• 腰痛可以在任何年龄经历，大多数人一生中至少经历过一次腰痛。
• 患病率随着年龄的增长而增加，直到 80 岁，而 LBP 病例的数量最多发生在 50-55 岁。腰痛在女性中更为普遍。
• 非特异性腰痛是腰痛最常见的表现（约 90%的病例）。

预防背痛

• 避免提重物。
• 举起重物时正确举起。弯曲膝盖，保持背部挺直。
• 以健康的体重为目标。
• 以良好的姿势为目标。
  • 站直，头和肩膀向后
  • 坐直，背部靠在椅背上，双脚平放在地板上。如果可能的话，保持膝盖略高于臀部。
  • 避免长时间坐在同一个位置
• 每周至少做两次肌肉强化和伸展运动。

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What is magnesium good for

Written by Dr Chrystal Fong Chern Ying

(MBBS Melb (Aus), FRACGP)
Family Physician

Location: Singapore
Date of publication: 2 April 2024

• Magnesium is an essential mineral that supports hundreds of chemical reactions or body processes.
• It helps with regulating muscle and nerve function, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure as well as making protein, bone, and DNA, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
• Magnesium also helps activate vitamin D, which is important for bone health and the immune system.
• Recommended daily intake of magnesium — anywhere from 310 to 420 mg for adults.
• Food sources: The mineral is found in abundance in vegetables especially dark leafy greens such as spinach, kale, and collard greens, whole grains and beans.
• Active people need to be especially vigilant about their magnesium intake — the mineral is lost through sweat.
• Stress also depletes magnesium stores: It typically lives inside cells in the body, but when anxiety strikes, it migrates outside cells as a protective mechanism to help you cope. During a physical stressor such as getting your period — the body excretes magnesium in response. Some things you might do to help deal with the tension, such as drinking extra cups of coffee to stay energized or having several glasses of wine to relax, also impair levels of the mineral. Too much caffeine and alcohol can deplete magnesium in our bodies.

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镁有什么用

作者: Chrystal Fong Chern Ying 邝珍莹 博士

(MBBS Melb (Aus), FRACGP)
家庭医生

发表日期：: 2.4.2024

• 镁是一种必需的矿物质，支持数百种化学反应或身体过程。
• 根据美国国立卫生研究院 NIH 的说法，它有助于调节肌肉和神经功能、血糖水平和血压，以及制造蛋白质、骨骼和 DNA。
• 镁还有助于激活维生素 D，维生素 D对骨骼健康和免疫系统很重要。
• 建议每日镁摄入量 - 成人 310 至 420 毫克。
• 食物来源：这种矿物质在蔬菜中含量丰富，尤其是 深色绿叶蔬菜 ，如菠菜、羽衣甘蓝和羽衣甘蓝、全谷物和 豆类 。
• 活跃的人需要特别警惕他们的镁摄入量 ——这种矿物质会通过汗水流失。
• 压力也会消耗镁的储存：它通常生活在体内的细胞内，但当焦虑来袭时，它会迁移到细胞外，作为一种保护机制来 帮助你应对。在身体压力源期间，例如 月经 来潮，身体会分泌镁作为回应。你可以做一些事情来帮助处理紧张， 比如多喝几杯咖啡来保持精力充沛，或者喝几杯葡萄酒来放松，也会损害矿物质的水平。 过多的咖啡因 和酒精会 消耗我们体内的镁。

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Early-onset cancer

Written by Dr Chrystal Fong Chern Ying

(MBBS Melb (Aus), FRACGP)
Family Physician

Location: Singapore
Date of publication: 25 March 2024

With the recent world news on the Princess of Wales’s announcement of her cancer diagnosis on Friday 22.3.24, I will like to share some information on the topic of ‘early- onset cancer’.

Taken from The Telegraph news reported on 24.3.24

Henry Bodkin

Sun, 24 March 2024 at 1:13 am SGT

‘As Princess of Wales reveals diagnosis, doctors warn of mysterious cancer ‘epidemic’

Following the Princess of Wales’s announcement of her diagnosis on Friday 22.3.24, specialist clinicians have said that in recent years they have seen a significant increase in under-45s presenting with cancers typically seen in older patients.

Many are fit and outwardly healthy, prompting a scramble among scientists to establish what is causing the trend.

One study that looked at data from Northern Ireland between 1993 and 2019 found the rate of early-onset cancers increased by 20.5 per cent, the equivalent of about 7,000 extra cases a year across the UK.

These cancers include those that come under the umbrella term “abdominal”.

The Princess has not revealed what type of cancer she is receiving treatment for. However, her statement on Friday said it was discovered following abdominal surgery in January.

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早发性癌症

作者: Chrystal Fong Chern Ying 邝珍莹 博士

(MBBS Melb (Aus), FRACGP)
家庭医生

发表日期：: 25.3.2024

随着威尔士王妃于22.3.24 星期五宣布她的癌症诊断的最新世界新闻，我想分享一些关于 “早发性癌症 ”主题的信息 。

摘自《每日电讯报》新闻 24.3.24 报道

亨利·博德金

2024 年 3 月 24 日星期日 SGT 凌晨 1：13

“随着威尔士王妃透露诊断结果，医生警告神秘的癌症”流行病”

在威尔士王妃于22.3.24星期五宣布她的诊断后，专科临床医生表示，近年来，他们看到45岁以下的癌症患者显着增加，这些癌症通常见于老年患者。

许多人身体健康，外表健康，这促使科学家争先恐后地确定导致这种趋势的原因。

一项针对 1993 年至 2019 年间北爱尔兰数据的研究发现，早发性癌症的发病率增加了 20.5%，相当于英国每年增加约 7,000 例病例。

这些癌症包括那些属于“腹部”总称的癌症。

公主没有透露她正在接受哪种类型的癌症治疗。然而，她在周五的声明中说，这是在一月份的腹部手术后发现的。

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Asia HealthPartners and Advanced Medicine Imaging in support of International Women’s Day 2024: Invest in Women, Inspire Inclusion Protecting Women’s Health

Author: Dr Chrystal Fong Chern Ying

(MBBS Melb (Aus), FRACGP)
Family Physician with a special interest in preventive and wellness care

Location: Singapore
Date of publication: 8 March 2024

International Women's Day (IWD) is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Each year, this day serves as a powerful reminder of the progress made towards gender equality and highlights the work that still needs to be done.

Education and awareness play vital roles in fostering inclusion and empowering women.

Protecting women’s health with a highlight on women’s related cancer health is outlined in this article.

‘Protecting Women’s Health’- From a cancer perspective:

• Health screening is important for the early detection of conditions that may not be showing symptoms
• Early detection of health conditions can lead to timely intervention to prevent the condition from progressing leading to better health outcomes
• Regular health screening helps to keep your mind at ease that you are having your health under control
• There were an estimated 18.1 million cancer cases around the world in 2020

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Asia HealthPartners 和 Advanced Medicine Imaging 支持 2024 年国际妇女节：投资妇女，激励包容，保护妇女健康

作者: Dr Chrystal Fong Chern Ying

(MBBS Melb (Aus), FRACGP)
对预防和健康护理特别感兴趣的家庭医生

位置: 新加坡
发布日期: 2024 年 3 月 8 日

国际妇女节(IWD) 是全球庆祝妇女在社会、经济、文化和政治方面取得的成就。每年的这一天都有 力地提醒人们在实现性别平等方面取得的进展，并强调仍需完成的工作。

教育和意识在促进包容和赋予妇女权力方面发挥着至关重要的作用。

本文概述了保护女性健康，重点关注与女性相关的癌症健康。

“保护女性健康”——从癌症的角度出发:

• 健康检查对于及早发现可能没有症状的疾病很重要
• 及早发现健康状况可以及时进行干预，以防止病情发展，从而带来更好的健康结果
• 定期进行健康检查有助于让您放心，因为您的健康正在得到控制
• 2020 年，全球估计有 1810 万例癌症病例

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Asia Health Partners and Advanced Medicine Imaging in support of World Obesity Day on 4 March 2024

Author: Dr Chrystal Fong Chern Ying

(MBBS Melb (Aus), FRACGP)
Family Physician with a special interest in preventive and wellness care

Location: Singapore
Date of publication: 4 March 2024

4 March marks World Obesity Day.

Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) is a more than 80,000 member-strong 501(c)(3) National nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the needs of every individual affected by obesity.

Key points:

• 42% of patients are uncomfortable discussing weight with a GP
• Patients living with obesity routinely face stigma and struggle to access support.
• Health professionals have a responsibility to learn how to approach this in an effective people- centered manner during health consultations and to leverage on media platforms to spread the message.
• The OAC is encouraging all media, bloggers and others to utilize People-First Language in their writings. By utilizing People-First Language, we can further eradicate weight bias and stigma.

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February 2024

WELCOME ONBOARD OUR NEW FAMILY PHYSICIAN

We will like to officially welcome onboard our new family physician, Dr Chrystal Fong Chern Ying.

Dr Fong graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of M.B.B.S/Bachelor of Surgery/Bachelor of Biomedical Science.

She attained her Fellowship in Family Medicine with The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

Dr Fong is an accredited member of the Family Physician Board of the Singapore Medical Council and a PaedsENGAGE certified partner.

She brings with her years of experience in managing the preventive, acute and chronic health care needs of each individual.

Embracing the philosophy of consistency in daily healthy habits, she is passionate in empowering her patients towards a sustainable healthy lifestyle.

Dr Fong is primarily based at Asia HealthPartners Pte. Ltd. Located at 304, #05-06 Orchard Road, Lucky Plaza, 238863

Multi-cancer early detection (MCED): An advancement in cancer screening

Detecting cancer early enough can make a difference to increase the chances of successful treatment. Cancer can affect any of us no matter age, gender or race. 1 in 2 women and 1 in 3 men will develop cancer in their lifetime.

Cancer can start in many different parts of the body, like the lungs, colon or stomach. As tumor cells grow, they shed fragments of DNA into the blood known as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). These ctDNAs contain evidence of gene alterations and their profiles are often characteristic of the organ from which they originated. Viruses such as Epstein- Barr virus (EBV) are known to be associated with cancer proliferation. After the virus infection, the parts of the viral DNA integrate with the individual’s DNA, making changes to the instructions on cell growth, and paving the potential onset of uncontrolled growth in the body.

Please Click here for more webinar information.
Please Click here to read about support of World Cancer Day article.

Flash Therapy Articles

Varian and the Cincinnati Children's/UC Health Proton Therapy Center Announce Initial Patient Treated in the FAST-01 First Human Clinical Trial of FLASH Therapy for Cancer

Varian Receives Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) and Prepares for First Ever Clinical Trial of FLASH Therapy

Varian Announces New Addition to FlashForward Consortium

PENCIL BEAM SCANNING PROTON THERAPY FOR TUMOR OF THE SKULL BASE

Dr Malyapa is a radiation oncologist with over 20 years of experience. He subspecialises in Central Nervous System, Head and Neck and Paediatric Radiation Oncology and is currently the Director of Proton Therapy at Proton Therapy Pte Ltd, Singapore.

Please Click here for more webinar information.

Bringing Enhanced Cancer Care to Singapore with Varian's Halcyon System

Varian (NYSE: VAR) today announced that Proton Therapy Pte. Ltd. has placed an order for a Halcyon system, making them the first to bring this innovative treatment platform into Singapore, with the aim of treating the first patient by the end of the year.

Dr. Djeng Shih Kien, chairman, Proton Therapy Pte. Ltd. said: "We are proud to be at the forefront of bringing new technology into Singapore. Radiation therapy has a huge role to play in fighting the ever-growing number of cancer cases in this country and region. By harnessing the technology of Halcyon, we will be able to automate, streamline, and simplify virtually every aspect of treatment. This means we can offer more precise, efficient treatments when compared to conventional machines, while being able to improve patients' comfort by operating in a patient-centric environment."

Click here to read full article.

STAY HEALTHY DURING COVID-19

Greetings from Asia Healthpartners! We would like to make use of this opportunity to thank you for your support and hope that you are safe and healthy.

As we welcome you for health screening, vaccinations and other medical services during Phase 2 Safe Transition, we want to reassure you that we are focused on the health and safety of all patients, visitors and staff, without compromising the standard and quality of your experience and medical care.

We need to learn to live with Covid-19 for the long term. Take charge of your health in the new normal. Health Screening and Vaccinations are important to keep your body in tip-top form.

Asia Healthpartners has set up the following procedures in line with government guidelines–

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The Role of Imaging in the Diagnosis of Primary Prostate Cancer

Date & Time: 28 May 2020, 1pm
Speaker: Dr Gan Yu Unn

Multiparametric Prostate MRI (mpMRI) has taken a prominent role in the diagnostic pathway of prostate cancer management in recent years. This i due to advances in scanner technology, image sequences and quality. Imaging is utilised at the pre biopsy, pre and post treatment stages of prostate cancer management.

Please click here to watch the webinar
Please click here to review Webinar Event Q & A.

Multimodality Brain Tumour Imaging: MRI & FET-PET

Date & Time: 29 May 2020, 1pm
Speakers: Dr Damian Khor Lih Kin & Dr Eric Ting

This talk will discuss on molecular imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) and the new advanced MRI techniques, which permit noninvasive tumour characterization, and a more targeted therapeutic approach, with the goal of ultimately improving prognosis. While MRI remains the mainstay technique for brain tumoursimaging, PET complements MRI in addressing those questions that remain unanswered, such as lesion grading, tumour extent delineation and treatment response evaluation, amongst the many.

Please click here to watch the webinar

International Nurses Day

Florence Nightingale, also famously known as ‘The Lady with the Lamp’, founded modern nursing at the end of the 19th century (McDonald, 2017). Thanks to Nightingale’s meticulous handwashing and hygiene practices during the Crimean War, her team reduced the death rate of wounded soldiers from 42% to 2% — leading the nursing profession as we know today (Lee, 1912). On 12th May, we recognise the important role nurses play in our lives by celebrating National Nurses Day.

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NEW RADIOLOGIST ONBOARD

Let us welcome our new radiologists onboard! We are delighted to have them in our radiology team.

Dr Choong was formerly a consultant at the Department of Diagnostic Imaging in National University Hospital and National Cancer Institute.She has a special interest in neuroimaging, head & neck, body and general oncologic imaging.

Dr Ting was awarded the Academic Medicine Development Award (2011) to subspecialise in Head and Neck radiology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston. He was formerly senior consultant and Head of Neuroimaging, as well as Research Director in the Department of Diagnostic Imaging at the National University Hospital.

He is specialized in head & neck, neuroimaging and oncologic Imaging. He has been working closely with most head and neurosurgery doctors in Singapore and overseas

Radiology Portal

We are glad to announce Asia HealthPartners has launched its very first radiology portal – Lifetrack Medical System in Nov 2019.

With the online portal, our referral doctors will be able to access radiology reports and images ANYWHERE, ANYTIME just by logging into their accounts on Google Chrome. There is no hassle of downloading a special app.

It also benefits our patients as their records are kept in the database. Our doctors are able to keep track of their medical development with just a few clicks.

WE CARE FOR YOU Program

Together with Singapore Cancer Society, our team visited more than 20 families of cancer patients to distribute goodie bags during the Deepavali festive period. From our interaction with these cancer patients, we gain a better understanding of their daily lives and needs.

We look forward to doing more for our needy patients in the coming times ahead

Year 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone.

Our healthcare professionals are on the frontlines of battling the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that’s spreading rapidly worldwide. We thank them for their dedication, commitment and courage.

Special carepacks are prepared by Asia HealthPartners for the healthcare professionals to show our gratitude and appreciation.

Together, we emerge from these trying times as a stronger, more caring and more cohesive community! Together, we will overcome COVID-19!