Category: Medicine and Science

My thoughts/inputs/essays about anything and everything, science and medicine!

Blog, Medicine and Science, Neuroplasticity - using it to beat chronic pain

How to Ignore Chronic Pain and Hack your brain to beat it. A step-by-step guide.

I wrote this up for a friend recently. And as some of you who follow me know, I’m writing a book about my experiences through cancer, and the science behind the mentality which kept me going. But I realised recently that I hadn’t written up what I wished I did have when I was suffering most from chronic pain… A step-by-step guide which showed HOW you could beat this back. The thing is – when you have something like chronic pain… everyone around you has suggestions. Eeryone suddenly becomes an expert. When you’re already so drained, physically and emotionally, from […]

Inspiration/Motivation/Help, Medicine and Science

Why and How are Doctors and Medical Students so Depressed? And What Can WE Do About it?

The day I got into medicine, was the greatest day of my life.  I’m sure many medical students and doctors would tell you the exact same thing… For me it was personal.  I’d always wanted to study medicine. What better job was there? You could save lives and live in relative comfort your entire life. I’d get to emulate my childhood hero growing up, Captain Hawkeye Pierce from M.A.S.H.  But after leukaemia struck my life… it became personal.  I wanted to help people as I’d been helped. It was my doctor’s words; that “The Good News Is You’re 17 and […]

Blog, Inspiration/Motivation/Help, Medicine and Science

An Open Letter to Doctors from a Scared Patient in Scared Times.The Best Doctors I’ve had. And the Worst.

Last post:                                     My Story:                                         Next One Being a patient isn’t easy. Especially when you’re in hospital in an emergency situation, as I was last week… For those who didn’t know – I presented to emergency last week, midway through chemo, with shortness of breath and they ended up finding a new cancer on my fourth rib on the right. Don’t worry though – I’m fine!  They removed […]

Blog, Medicine and Science

7 Great UCAT Tips You Probably Haven’t Heard Before

This was pretty much a copy-pasted conversation I had with a friend asking for UCAT tips, so sorry if it’s not that well worded. In the time I did it – the UCAT was called the UCAT! But the principles, time sensitive nature of the test, and test taking skills are essentially the same. I figured I’d put up one of these so I wouldn’t have to do them individually any more and to help you guys out =P For those who don’t know, the UMAT – now known as UCAT – is a challenging pre-medical test every prospective doctor needs to […]

Blog, Health Challenges and their Fixes, Medicine and Science

Vaccinations aren’t necessary??

Last post:                                      My Story:                                         Next One: Anti-vaccination groups have pushed a scare campaign on the public for years now, claiming that vaccines harm, not help kids. But the truth is, this whole scare campaign really caught fire, after a literally fraudulent, made up paper, was published years ago. This video explains it well. Check it out.  Anti-vaccination movements have been around for a while, but this whole […]

Blog, Inspiration/Motivation/Help, Medicine and Science

5 Reasons Why You Can’t Afford NOT To Give Blood, and Join the Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

And Join the Bone Marrow Donor Registry Through my journey to recovery, I’ve said thanks countless times; to my doctors, my nurses, my parents and my bone marrow donors. But the other day, I realised that I must have had at least a hundred bags of blood pushed into my veins at some point in my treatment. That’s on top of the two very vital bone marrow transplants I had.   It’s staggering the lengths our health system will go to in order to save a life.   I guess only after getting sick and really needing those bags of blood did I understand the importance […]

Blog, Inspiration/Motivation/Help, Medicine and Science

Nurses. True Angels in our Wards.

Last post:                                      My Story:                                         Next One: You see it all the time on those medical shows on TV.  You see a doctor, who could probably earn millions modelling on the side, running through hallways and corridors, hanging IV drips, getting patients food, finding time to sit down and talk patients through all their fears and concerns – basically doing anything and everything to help the patients through […]