Cancer

Lymphoedema is a chronic disease characterised by massive swelling of limbs or tissues. This disease affects about 250 million patients worldwide.

It happens when there is an excessive collection of fluid in the leg, trunk or body part, due to disruption of the normal lymph flow; mainly caused by the removal of the lymph nodes during surgery and/or radiotherapy for cancer treatment.

If you've undergone surgical removal of lymph nodes or radiotherapy, you may be at risk of developing lymphoedema. When left untreated, this disorder can lead to many other complications.

Veronica Yap, a certified lymphoedema with more than 20 years of experience, hosted an AMA session on DxD recently. She answered plenty of reader questions related to lymphoedema. Here's what she shared. 

Meet Veronica Yap, a medical healthcare specialist with more than 20 years of experience. She’s a certified therapist who specialises in helping patients with Lymphatic Disorders through therapy.

We all have a lymphatic system in our bodies. It’s a network of tissues and organs that helps you rid the body of toxins, waste, and other unwanted materials. If you have a lymphatic disorder (Lymphoedema), this system becomes blocked, and fluid will start to build up in your tissue spaces between the muscles and skin. The result of this is chronic swelling. 

Lymphatic diseases have considerable public health significance, yet not many professionals are specialised in their management. Veronica is passionate about raising awareness for this condition because early detection and management yields the best outcomes.

Join her live AMA on Wednesday, 19 December, at 5:00 PM as she answers all your questions you have on Lymphatic Disorders.

People normally associate colorectal cancers with older people. This is true to a certain degree. 80% of newly diagnosed colorectal cancers are in the above 70 age group. These are what surgeons call sporadic cancers.

For young people in their 30s and 40s, getting struck with colorectal cancer is simply shocking. At the prime of their lives and at the peak of their careers, they are diagnosed with a potentially fatal disease.

I wrote this article to help shed some light on colorectal cancers in young people. I want to explain the cause and characteristics of this cancer, and what you can do to detect the cancer early.