a healthy note

...

This is just a simple note about health.

I have been bombarded with questions such as these;

i. Are you sure that your internal organs now do not have any problems?

ii. When do you usually go to hospital?

iii. What are the three most important things in your life right now?

iv. Do you know what is 'silent killer?'

...and some more...

The fact is,

if you ask most people (including myself), they'd say that health is the most important thing in their life. Without good health, you cannot work. Without employment, you don't have means to survive and provide for your family. Without good health, you do not have the strength to take care of your loved ones, especially those who need special care. Without good health, you cannot enjoy your life and have the ease of mind.

The fact is,

the silent killers are heart attack, cancer, diabetes and stroke. Those are the main culprit of majority Malaysians, and I dare say of the global community. The sad thing is these illnesses do not have symptoms that you can detect early. Most of the cases are detected when they are already in serious stages. And these illnesses have been known also to attack the younger generations, not just senior citizens. How many people that we've heard, who seemed fit as a bill but suddenly fall down and died without warning? Yes, we have heard of the many notable person in our society but what about those who were just simple people and unknown? How many has become victim of these silent killers?

The fact is,

the government can only do as much to provide a good healthcare system to all 27 million of us Malaysians. But we cannot rely solely on public healthcare. True, with only RM 1 for registration we can get consultation, blood test and medications, but is it enough? How much can we know about our health status by a simple blood test?

Most of us, including myself, only go to see a doctor when we feel sick and unwell. Most of us don't have the awareness to go for full-body medical check up at least one a year and make it an annual habit. Sometimes the signs are there but we don't attend to them seriously. A yearly complete and comprehensive full-body medical check up can keep you up to date of your physical health and most importantly, to detect any signs of abnormalities at the earliest stage. In that way, we can take actions to prevent those signs from becoming a death sentence for you.

But then come the dinero effect. Correct me if I'm wrong but as far as I know, we cannot make a full medical check up at public hospitals and clinics. It is only available in private and semi-gov hospitals. And the cost does not come cheap. In average, a full 22+ tests and check ups including CT scans and MRI can cost RM 3,500 and it has been increasing steadily from the previous years. Who knows how much it can be 5-10 years ahead? 

Health is not cheap, especially when you don't have it anymore and dependent on medications and treatment which can make you part with thousands of dollars every month. And medical insurance can never be 100% assured to help you. Sometimes, rejections and dejections can happen.

Therefore, it is a no brainer that we have to be serious with our health. Say it any way we like but prevention is definitely better than cure. For those who just started their career, it is important to see further on to the future. It is important to have a car and a house, it is also important to invest, but life and health is also an investment. The more you put your effort in securing it, the more it will sustain in God's will. Securing an amount from your monthly pay for a yearly check up or finding a good health programme that allows you to make installments is part of the things you can do for early prevention.

We can never know what lies ahead of us, because it is God's mystery and only He knows. That is why we have to put our effort to make our lives better. Usaha, doa dan tawakal. Effort, pray and leave the rest to God. But it is never tawakal before effort and pray. Effort is always the first step. After all that we managed to do, if we still have illness, then it is God's will. There's a reason for everything. Always, we cannot see it with our eyes....but we can see it with our heart.

Live life.