The Talks

It was finally here. And I must say, I had been enjoying the talks this far, except for the fact that I had to get back to Subang daily to sort my patients out. I had a couple of patients which needed tending.

In the past meetings, I had always been tasked with photographer duties. I thought I got away with it this year, but it turned out that it was overlooked. Shame that I could not do it full time because of the sessions I was involved and of course the trips to Subang.

It would be the final day today, and I have another talk to deliver after lunch, followed by a stop for kenduri in town. After that ..... driving all the way to Lumut. Anita and the boys were already there.

A long day ahead ...

Badly Needed Weekend

The weekend was upon us again, even though I have clinic tomorrow morning, followed by meetings in the afternoon. Hopefully Sunday would be free. The boys and Anita had been hinting for an afternoon in the park for some fresh air. Weather permitting, we would be doing just that!

On the other hand, should it be raining, I might just explore the shopping malls and take a peek at their Xmas decorations. I was due for a photo outing of sort.

The boys still have exams next week, so it would be just a simple outing come Sunday. Next weekend would be Idlan's kenduri prior to his bersunat the week after. Then only we might just go out of town for a bit of a break.

I quite like going back to Fraser's Hill actually .....

Saturday Afternoon Meeting

Saturday afternoon and as usual, there would be some medical meeting or forums taking place in town. This weekend it was on an oral anticoagulation, a favourite topic of mine.

So, off I went to the swanky new hotel in town - Grand Hyatt. Since I only joined for the afternoon session, I was worried that the traffic would've been bad on a Saturday afternoon. I decided to park at KLCC instead and took the underground tunnel towards Aquaria. From there, Hyatt was only five minutes away.

It was a big place. And the lobby was unique. It was basically one huge empty space. The ballroom and a couple of restaurants were located down there, but the rest of the lobby was located on one od the upper floors. You just take a lift up there. And that was where the checking-in and the business end happens. The lobby at the ground floor was left bare and sparse. Which was a welcomes change.

The AV system was amazing from what I saw. Seating area for the conference was also very comfortable and the cocktail area just outside the ballroom was big and accommodating. Something you would expect from a high end business hotel.

The talk itself was not bad. Very well oraganised and very well-ran. But it ended quite late though. Almost 6pm. But that didn't stop me from joining the boys across town at Setapak for dinner straight after.

Long Saturday

There were not many activities during Ramadan on the lecture and conferences front. And right after Raya, everything seemed to be getting into heat. We have lectures and meetings held every weekend and yesterday, I went to one at Le Meridien.

Unfortunately I was too tired to get involved since it was post-call. I was too tired and at times nodded off. My afternoon rounds finished just after two but I decided to have a nice quite lunch before heading for the talk.

The end is nigh. This was the last talk of the day. But I had a meeting after that.Taking my boys off to dinnerWhat was this squash court doing in the middle of the mall?After the talk came the council meeting and dinner. I stayed until after the meeting but decided to leave before dinner. I took the boys out instead to The Curve, have dinner with them as well as do some shopping with Anita.

The ICML Lugano

This was the first time I attended the International Conference in Malignant Lymphoma, ICML for short. It all started in 1981, and over the years, this meeting had evolved into an important event in the Haematology calendar. This meeting was held once every couple of years - it was every three years at the beginning.

The event had definitely blossomed since its inception, and now the Congress Center was struggling to accommodate the crowd which descended to the place from all parts of the world. Being held a week after EHA also meant that most of the speakers and delegates could double up for both meetings. A two-in-one kind of trip. I remembered when I was at EHA in London a couple of years back when some of the the data were embargoed until the Lugano meeting the week after.

The topics were more specific and I was impressed with the discussion they had during case presentation. You couldn't get this kind of exposure at any other meeting. I also found that the interaction was more intimate.

Since the Congress Center was too small to accommodate everybody, marquees were erected around the gardens next to the building where the lectures were beamed live and the pharmaceutical companies erected their booths. That was also where we had our meals and coffee.

Some of the sessions had to be held away from the main congress venue. One such place was actually a movie theatre. It certainly projected the slides well ......

All in all, I learned a lot from the 4 day meeting. A lot of nee information and study were discussed, although the emphasis this year seemed to be on the integration of radiotherapy in thenmanagement of lymphoma. I would like to return here again, but maybe not on the next meet. Maybe every other gathering. And Puan Anita had stated her intentions of tagging along ......

Photos from the conference can be seen here.