Melanoma: Deadly skin cancer
It is a common misconception that skin cancer is nothing to worry about because it is curable. Not so, not for any of the 3 types of skin cancers. All…
Category: Lifestyle Columnists
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Elma De Villa Castillo, MD: Success is being passionately compassionate!
The rapidly evolving medical scene proffers a roller coaster of practitioners with peculiar traits and skills amid emerging changes in their particular field of specialization. Despite skepticisms of the perils…
Once upon a press club
There was once a press club in the heart of a city where everyone lived in harmony with each other and their surroundings. Photographers and writers, they were affable and…
A daughter’s wedding
CALL it another rite of aging. But one of the rewards of getting older is to be able to gather friends for a happy time and look at the faces…
Lent: a time of promises
WE make promises: a promise to be faithful to one’s spouse; a promise to take care of a family member; a promise to be with a friend in times of…
Valentine’s Day postscripts and afterthoughts
An avalanche of pompously conceptualized and planned Valentine’s Day events that nippy Saturday, February 14, successfully pushed through with neither being hampered nor hindered by the prevalence of the inclement…
Medical data update
Can sweat transmit Hepatitis B? Hepatitis B virus was found in the sweat of 13 percent (9) infected athletes, according to a new study on 70 male Olympic wrestlers, which…
The perfect ‘newshen’
THE apple that fell far from the tree, one I could only dream of—a perfect newshen, God’s little pencil. If only she was mine, the daughter I could not have….
Valentine combustion
Perhaps the heart is not just a sort of Valentine, nor just a beating thing in our chest that sustains life. It is also the wellspring of faith, hope and…
An interfaith week reflection
I HAVE never attended a Jewish service in my entire life until last summer when my friend Armando invited me to a Shabbat while spending a week-long of vacation in…
2015 WHM battle cry: Fortifying women empowerment
In just a couple of weeks, the world will once again commemorate the triumphant symbolism of its female populace in connection with the international celebration of Women’s History Month. And…
Lovemaking and health
Why is lovemaking good for us? Scientific evidence suggests that clean sex is good for us in more ways than one. Here are some of the dozen reasons why it…
A story of three loves
Love in any form manifests itself into various ways and this narrative is about the myriad colors of passion. To see a battered woman. It is like nothing you can…
Songs that my mother taught me
My first knowledge of the world and about life came to me through my senses. They were directed by my mother. She was the first one I saw, felt and…
On homilies
THE Church sees the homily as an opportunity to address a “people hungry, sometime desperately so, for meaning in their lives.” The homily attends to feeding that particular hunger. In…
Horrifying literary works on stage, theater, et al…
Noticeably there is a paucity of horror literary pieces being adapted for stage presentation and theater performances as compared to musical, comedy, romance, and even merely documentary-style that are universally…
High blood pressure: The silent killer
What is High Blood Pressure? High Blood Pressure, or Hypertension, is a condition where the person’s blood pressure is persistently elevated beyond what is medically considered normal level. Normal blood…
Not guns, but bullets that kill
THEY consist of running bits of metals through the flesh of men—large, small, pointed, square, round and splintered bits that tear and kill. It is not the metal in its…
Mary Jean Lastimosa: True beauty that’s skin-deep
Out of the millions of ladies, one who hails from Mindanao’s war-torn provinces—North Cotabato, gained the right to have represented the Philippines at the 63rd Miss Universe Pageant. Among the…
The Soldier
IF I could look into a soldier’s heart and know everyone’s story, I’d ask: why are they fighting? Who will tell them (if the reasons exist)? Who is going to…
Prophet of poor migrants
SHE exuded passion and love for her ministry to undocumented migrants as she spoke powerfully to the participants of the Biennial Consultation of the Association of Theological Field Education last…
Blizzard Juno, Chionophobia, and other phobias
I woke up last Monday morning with a bit of apprehension as to whether I had to go to work or merely stay home after being cautious about the prevailing…
Carpal tunnel syndrome
What is carpal tunnel syndrome? Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a very common condition that causes persistent or frequent pains in the wrist and hand, especially after protracted use of…
A good conscience is the best pillow
Everyday seems to be a constant struggle to decide between what is right and wrong, in small ways that nobody ever sees. You win one day and lose the next…
The challenge of Filipinos’ devotion to the Black Nazarene
I FOUND myself in the middle of a wave of people, mostly young men, parading barefoot the image of Black Nazarene. We were like bees or small fishes swarming around…
An evening for scribes and lensmen with Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim
IT is said that when God wanted to separate light from darkness, day and night were created. When media men had a similar itch, they simply bonded together. Since then,…
Female breast enlarger
What makes up the breasts? Breast tissues in either female or male are practically nothing but adipose (fat) tissues. The size, shape, appearance and physiology, just like the rest of…
Of faith and resilience
During the recent papal visit in the Philippines, Filipino Catholics have once again displayed its religious devotion. According to previous reports, Asia is recognized as “one of the great frontiers”…
When they grow too old to dream
THIS little piece takes us, not just to a place, but into the minds and hearts of those, who are in their twilight years, in a society that glorified youth….
Pope Francis’ challenge to bishops, priests and the religious
POPE Francis spoke as a revolutionary reformer in his homily when he celebrated his first Mass in the Philippines at the Manila Cathedral on Friday, Jan 16. Tender but challenging…
