Singapore’s hospitals are comparable to those in the US

I read with sadness the death of one of Manila’s most talented and most loved couturiers Joe Salazar and how he lost his battle against cancer. I read that unlike other rich cancer patients who went to the US for treatment, Joe Salazar opted to go to Singapore. Why Singapore? Are Singaporean hospitals and medical care in the same category as those in the USA? This is the first time I heard about Singapore as a hub for medical care in Asia. Perhaps you can ask Mr. Salazar’s relatives why Singapore was chosen. My father has prostate cancer and is thinking of going to Stanford for treatment. But if Singapore is just as good as the US, this would be more convenient and cheaper, too, as it’s nearer and we his children will have an easier time traveling with him.

Miriam

Your question is very timely as I just happened to talk to a doctor friend who just came from Singapore to attend a medical conference at Singapore General Hospital. He said that Singapore has indeed become an important medical hub in Asia. For example, Singapore General Hospital, one of the leading hospitals there, has four specialty centers located within its campus, giving patients ready access to more than 30 specialty services. The specialty centers include the Singapore National Eye Centre, National Heart Centre, National Cancer Centre, and National Dental Centre. These centers employ cutting-edge technology and equipment that set them apart from other medical services in other countries in Asia. Dr. Joey de los Santos of De los Santos Hospital said that Filipino patients no longer have to travel to the USA for accurate diagnosis and treatment of serious illnesses. Singapore has it all. Their physicians are very well trained and have undergone post graduate medical courses in the best schools in Singapore, Europe and USA. As for your father’s prostate cancer, my research engine shows that Singapore General Hospital specializes in the treatment of prostate cancer. It is the first hospital in the region to install the state-of-the-art da Vinci Surgical System, which is a surgical treatment for prostate cancer. With this system, the Urology Department of SGH has performed successful surgeries on prostate cancer patients. Aside from the fact that it is only three hours away (having to fly 20 hours or so to the USA can make a sick person sicker), the cost element is also very important. Singapore’s medical services are so much cheaper than the medical services in the USA and doctors’ fees are not as high. This is the reason why Joe Salazar preferred to have his treatments done in Singapore than in the US. It is indeed more practical to bring your father to Singapore than the US. For more information on how to get to any hospital in Singapore, call Dr. Joey de los Santos, who can expedite your acceptance to any hospital in Singapore, at 722-0773 or Ramon Santos, SGH’s liaison officer in Manila, at 722-1407 or e-mail aqrs@edsa-mail.com.ph.

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Bring Your Own Dance Partner

I went to a big party recently and I had an unpleasant experience with two of the guests. After dinner was over, dance music was played. I happened to spot two acquaintances at another table who are excellent dancers. However, they were with some ladies who I presumed were their dates for the evening. I went near their table and greeted them. I saw that they had all the intentions to dance, but the ladies were not really ready yet. So I asked their permission if I could go ahead and dance with their partners and they both refused. I truly found them selfish and mataray for denying me the pleasure to dance with their partners since they were not ready and I was ready to dance at that point. The hosts kept telling us to dance and I wanted to oblige the hosts by leading the dancing with these guys, but the two ladies refused to allow me. In my opinion, they were so selfish and not at all gracious!

Victim Of Selfishness

If you knew you were going to a dance party and you are an avid dancer, you should have prepared yourself for it by bringing your own dance partner. Why bother the other ladies and harass them with your request to dance with their partners? Those ladies attended the party properly escorted and with every intention to dance the evening away with their partners. You could at least have waited until after the ladies danced with their partners before asking if you could dance with their partners. It was politically incorrect of you to even have thought to be the first dance of those gentlemen.

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Tactless Lady Diplomat

I thought I had a good friend in this lady diplomat. But sad to say, a recent experience proved otherwise. I was in a gathering and seated next to the wife of a diplomat. We were happily chatting away when she had this bright idea of asking me to be one of the dancers in a forthcoming formal ball. This certain lady diplomat who was listening to our conversation interrupted us and told the diplomat’s wife not to ask me and wait for the committee to decide who should be included in the rigodon or waltz or whatever dance it was. The diplomat’s wife insisted that I join but was again contradicted by the other lady (who I thought was my friend). She even slapped the hand of the diplomat’s wife, saying, "I told you to wait for the committee to decide." Right to my face, she couldn’t even wait to draw the diplomat’s wife aside and tell her nicely that there is a committee who decides these things. She smirked and showed displeasure that I was being asked. I don’t think she should belong to the diplomatic corps because she is so undiplomatic. Don’t you think she was so tactless in doing that to me?

Snubbed By An Un-Diplomatic Diplomat

Did you have a previous altercation with this woman? Why was she so relentless in not wanting you to be included in the dance in spite of the insistence of the diplomat’s wife? A diplomat, by the very definition of the word, is a " tactful person skilled in handling delicate situations." This lady did not show tact in handling this situation. She should have waited until she was alone with the other lady to tell her that there is a committee handling the choice of dancers. This way, she would have shown utmost tact and spared your feelings from getting hurt. This undiplomatic diplomat owes you an apology or an explanation on why she acted that way.

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