An inspiring talk in January this year by the late Dr Richard Teo, a successful Singaporean opthamologist-turned-cosmetic surgeon, who succumbed to Stage Four terminal lung cancer earlier this month at the age of 40. The 22-minute heart-wrenching video features his candid admission on the ceaseless pursuit of materialism and success, which in the final months of his life, meant nothing to him and gave him precious little comfort. In his final message, he urged the classroom of dentistry students never to lose their moral compass and never to lose sight of the patients they treated. He quoted from Tuesdays with Morris - "Everyone knows they are going to die, but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently.". Another powerful phrase, "...when we learn how to die, then we'll learn how to live."
Watch the video here.
More than 2 years ago, when my mother was battling with breast cancer, I remember myself being very disappointed with the medical profession. I could sense that, to the oncologist, the medical consultancy was just a job, and my mother was just one of her many patients that she wanted to quickly done with, so she could see the next patient. I really feel that medical profession is not like any job, it is a calling (just like teachers). A doctor should be compassionate, feel empathy for each patient and treat each of them like how she wants her loved ones to be treated.
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