Mar⁄ APR 2011
singapore h e alth
25
People
No regrets!
is to inform them that they do. Seeing cancer patients recover after treatment and remain cancer-free for the next 20 or 30 years, and young patients who were initially devastated with the cancer diagnosis coming back years later with their children at their follow-up consultations – these make me feel great and give me tremendous job satisfaction.
At the age of 60, Dr Wong Chow Yin, Senior Consultant and Director, Ambulatory Surgery Centre, Department of General Surgery, Singapore General Hospital (SGH), continues to inspire many doctors and nurses with his dedication and commitment to care. Dr Wong looks back on 36 years as a doctor, including 26 as a surgeon. What are the high points of your career? I am originally from Malaysia, but I studied at the University of Singapore, as it was called in 1975. I worked in various public hospitals before joining SGH in 1988. I started the first breast subspecialty team in Singapore. The Friday Breast Clinic was set up in 1989 to receive all breast referrals from polyclinics. Through the years and with hard work, the clinic remains the premier referral centre even though breast units have been established in other hospitals. I also started the first breast counsel-
PHOTO: 101TEAMWORK
It was his childhood dream to be a doctor, and after nearly four decades, Dr Wong Chow Yin says he has “no regrets”. He remains passionate about treating breast cancer patients and training young doctors ling service in a Singapore hospital. Ms Saraswathi Nagalingam (a Senior Nurse Clinician), was sent for overseas training in 1992 and has been with me since. She attends to the emotional and psychological needs of breast cancer patients while my team and I tend to their medical needs. The department has trained many doctors and nurses over the years. More than 10 breast surgeons trained in SGH are now working in other public hospitals, and several have set up successful private practices. Numerous breast nurses who trained with us have continued the good work elsewhere.
Dr Wong has been a surgeon with Singapore General Hospital since 1988.
with terminal breast cancer, and had badly infected cancer wounds. I had to do a toilet mastectomy to give her a better quality of life. But she died three months later. That was in 1982 when I was a young registrar at Alexandra Hospital. Around that time, I treated another young woman – a bank officer – for breast cancer. She had a mastectomy and chemotherapy. Her fiance left her and the cancer recurred two years later. She told her story – her thoughts and feelings during the illness – to a local magazine.
Why did you choose breast as your subspecialty? I came to choose this as my subspecialty as it was the only area that was still available after the rest of the consultants had chosen theirs! A couple of other incidents also contributed to my decision. One involved a 16-year-old Malay girl waiting for her O-level results. She was diagnosed
What are the best and worst parts of your job? The best part of my job is to tell patients they do not have cancer, while the worst
How do you break bad news to patients? It’s important to understand the anxiety patients feel when they are referred to my clinic. Will the lump in their breast turn out to be cancerous? The possibility of losing the breast, the side effects of chemotherapy and the cost of treatment add to their fear and anxiety. A lot of patience is needed to calm the patients and explain the disease to them. It’s important to convince them that it’s not the end of the world, as with treatment, most of them can be cured. It is also important to be frank with the patients, looking them straight in the eye and maintaining eye contact at all times when explaining the disease and treatment alternatives. It helps a lot when Ms Saraswathi is around as she is able to comfort the patient and provide emotional support. What advice do you have for women? Start doing breast self-examinations when you are in your 20s. Go for a mammogram yearly in your 40s and twice yearly after 50. See your GP or polyclinic doctor when in doubt about a lump.
The art of social work By Erniza Veel
Half a year after her mother’s death, the woman continued to grieve. to help her come to terms with the loss, ms saryna ong, Senior Medical Social worker (msw), National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), encouraged her to put together a collage of her feelings about her mother. “She painstakingly searched for the ‘right’ pictures and organised the placement,” said Ms Ong, who is also Art Psychotherapist, Department of Psychosocial Oncology, NCCS. Once the collage was done, Ms Ong and the woman discussed her memories, guilt and loneliness – all prompted by the collage. “After about five sessions, she was better able to move on,” said Ms Ong. The senior MSW had always dreamt of combining her passions for social work and art. “I never imagined it would be possible as there were no art therapy qualifications available locally then,” she said. However, SingHealth’s sponsorship of her 2008 Masters in Mental Health (Art Therapy) at the School of Medicine, University of Queensland, made her dream possible.
Today, she supports patients both as a senior MSW and art therapist. Her role as an MSW includes assessing and assisting patients with practical needs such as financial or discharge care planning and other practical needs. “Another very important part I play as an MSW is to provide supportive counselling in areas like acceptance of illness, treatment-related issues, depression counselling, grief and bereavement work,” said Ms Ong.
PHOTO: Alecia neo
Saryna Ong uses two essential skills to help her patients
Ms Ong teaches patients to understand and discuss their innermost thoughts and feelings with the help of pictures and art.
I use art to process my feelings and thoughts after sessions. Art therapy has helped me in my own growth, development and insight. Ms Saryna ong, senior medical social worker, medical social services, and Art Psychotherapist, department of psychosocial oncology, national cancer centre singapore
Her expertise as an art psychotherapist is a natural complement. A cancer diagnosis can be devastating to patients and families. “It can stir up a lot of emotions and issues for them. I find art therapy a useful tool. What is difficult to put into words can be expressed visually. Very often, patients begin to talk more through their art.” In one case, a patient drew graphic images of death. Later, she revealed her experience of witnessing a death in the intensive care unit – and her own fear about death. “After another session, she drew a picture of heaven and decided that death might not be so scary, as she
knows where she will go after passing away,” said Ms Ong. She has benefited from art therapy herself. “I use art to process my feelings and thoughts after sessions. Art therapy has helped me in my own growth, development and insight.” The busy MSW also facilitates support groups such as a Chinese language one for cancer patients and group art therapy for patients and their families. During her 11 years at NCCS, her role has also included being a field teacher for social work undergraduates, supervising junior MSWs, as well as giving talks and training for healthcare workers.