Biography
Dr Koong is a General Surgeon who specialises in thoracic and breast surgery for more than 20 years. His thoracic surgery specialisation was at the renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, New York from 1998 to 2000. At that time, his additional interest was on early and multifocal lung cancers and approaching them via key-hole surgery. He also specialises in complex surgeries at the lower neck/upper thorax areas working with head and neck surgeons. As he was also part of the Breast Cancer Screening Programme when Singapore started to develop the national breast cancer screening programme, he also continues to care for patients with breast cancers. He practised at the National Cancer Centre Singapore from 2000 to 2014, heading the Surgical Oncology Department for 8 years and provided surgical expertise to 4 public health care institutions concurrently.
He won multiple excellent service and innovations awards. At the international level, he is the global leader of the Tobacco Free Generation Endgame approach that is increasingly being adopted by governments to prevent smoking and vaping related diseases. http://www.tobaccofreegen.com
He is fluent in English, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin.
Our Plea for Earlier Breast Cancer and Lung Cancer Diagnoses
As doctors treating breast and lung cancers for more than 20 years, we continue to see sadly patients coming in at the later stages. In breast cancer, we do see patients coming in with large lump in the breast, prolonged discharge from the nipple or a persistent rash that has been present for months or years. While another patient could be having cough, shortness of breath or coughing of blood-stained sputum for months.
Internet material describing these same symptoms of breast and lung cancer, while helping to alert patients, are often symptoms when the cancer stages are higher or later.
Instead, be proactive:
1. All women of ages 40 and beyond should have routine screening mammograms.
2. All smokers who are smoking 20 pack-years or have smoked 20 pack- years within the last 15 years even when they have stopped, aged between 50 to 80 are advised to have a screening CT scan of the lungs.
Earlier diagnosis leads to better survival. We have many patients with breast and lung cancers who are cancer survivors.
Our roles are to help analyse these screening tests so that no unnecessary additional tests are performed while offering early and less complex treatment for the early cancers.
Good cancer surgery often offers the simplest and the most cost effective treatment as it gives the best long term
outcome. We are here to provide these
The above gentleman is a patient of Dr Koong who used to smoke. He was advised to undergo screening for lung cancer in 2015. A Stage 1 lung cancer was detected in 2017. He underwent an uncomplicated key hole surgery with removal of the cancer. He remains well and cancer free to date. He has also stopped smoking and lives a healthy life now