Didn’t schedule a lot of chemo this morning, as I had 6 outpatient consults on my list. I prefer not to pack my clinic schedule with too many patients, to avoid rushing and missing important details. Still, I imagined that I would be able to finish quite early, and have time to do the really fun, important stuff, like filling up Philhealth-related documents and other paperwork. While sipping my double strength, ulcer-carving iced Americano I cheerily asked my secretary: Hi, ilang patients na ang nasa list?!

“Seventeen!” she said, and I imagined the coffee and hydrochloric acid instantly lysing the walls of my stomach.

One of my patients, Magnus Kong, who had completed chemo and radiation a few months ago, came in looking quite well. He and his wife would usually bring me two packs of pinaputok bread or variants of suman, but this time they decided to bring a few weeks worth of produce from his own garden. Another patient, La Lola Chooreria, brought mangoes from her own backyard.

Incidentally, I heard that they are looking for a secretary of agriculture.

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