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Well. This is more of a sharing experience to help understand what's chemo about. Unfortunately, I am the patient in question. Basically I was diagnosed with early stage cancer in mid march. Operated and confirmed diagnosis. Came to National Cancer center for further treatment. The biggest shock is probably for my parents rather than me, given my background. My cancer is early stage and has good long term prognosis. But has a significant chance of relapse if no preventive chemotherapy is done Hence, after discussion with the oncologist here, will be undergoing 2 x 3 weeks cycles of chemo. My kids still young, so not taking preventive chemo is not really an option. I'm pretty prepared for everything, so all the pros and cons of chemo were q straight forward for me. Immune system will be weakened. So avoid crowded places. Wear mask. Eat only cooked food. Watch for fever etc. Basically once u seen the oncologist and if chemo is needed. U will need to prebook the chemo appt at level 3. Ambulatory treatment unit. Everytime u come must register and measure weight. Then u wait for your chair or bed to receive treatment. U come. U wait at your bed/chair. Can be accompanied by one family member. They come set plug and give u medicines. Then the infusion starts. Which lasts about few hours. I usually nap a bit or read on my phone. Was considering Netflix but no real inclination to watch when I was actually here. First week is pretty intense. 5 days in a row. Forearm veins also sian from being poked. There are different agents given on different days and everyone will experience different side effects. Main side effects are nausea, fatigue and feeling sick. It was pretty rough for mid last week. Even walking around the home is tiring. Supposedly with the latest drugs, vomiting is uncommon though nausea here and there is common. Sleep wake cycle is bit screwed up also. I'm easily 20-30 years younger than most pts here, can imagine these older folks need to be even more stoic. Currently I'm on week 2 of the first cycle. Typing this while I'm waiting for the infusion to finish. If u do have have family or friends having chemo, its pretty depressing to undergo. Family and friends are the most important in distracting you and helping out, though my kids are more annoying now since I'm not in the best of moods. The social connection is undoubtedly the most important though.

Singapore-listed developer CapitaLand said on Wednesday (Nov 20) that it has agreed to sell The Star Vista for S$296 million to Rock Productions, the business arm of New Creation Church. The sale, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, is expected to generate about S$145 million in net proceeds and about S$32 million in net gain for CapitaLand. The selling price is about 13 per cent above the S$262 million that The Star Vista was valued at the end of June. Located next to the Buona Vista MRT Interchange, The Star Vista is part of a 15-storey integrated development that also includes a 5,000-seat auditorium. It was opened in September 2012 and comprises three levels of retail space with a net lettable area of about 162,500 square feet. The mall had a 95 per cent occupancy as of end-June. Its major tenants include Beauty in the Pot and LeNu, Canton Paradise Teahouse, Redman by Phoon Huat, Swee Lee and Cold Storage. When the transaction is completed, CapitaLand will own 19 malls, including one under development in Singapore. Rock Productions owns The Star Performing Arts Centre that is co-located with The Star Vista. It also manages Rock Gifts & Book Centre, a retail centre that supplies a wide range of inspirational books, music, sermon CDs, DVDs and gifts, as well as Omega Tours & Travel and Shine Auditorium in Shaw Tower.

Based on the Volkswagen NCC seen at the NAIAS in January, the new Jetta is much longer than the fifth-gen car. The latest sedan has a wheelbase that is seven centimeters longer, and a body that is nine centimeters longer than the outgoing model. As such, the car measures 4.64-meters long by 1.78-meters wide by 1.45-meters high and has a 2650-mm long wheelbase. Compared to the NCC, the new Jetta appears to have a shorter rear end, with a steeper rear windscreen. Although the car was developed to be more cost effective, the new Jetta will not share body parts with the VW Golf as it had in the past. In the States, customers will be able to choose from four different engines, including a brand new 138-horsepower 2.0-liter common rail TDI that produces a robust 320Nm of torque. Also new is the 114-horsepower entry level petrol engine. The other two petrol engines available in the US are the 2.5-liter unit producing 168 hp and a 2.0-liter TSI that generates 197 horsepower. Each of the two turbocharged units are available with a six-speed DSG transmission, though a manual transmission comes standard. Six engines will be available on the Euro-spec Jetta, four of which are new to the model. Two of the new engines are common rail turbodiesels, including the 1.6-liter TDI BlueMotion 103 hp and 138-hp 2.0-liter TDI . Also new are the 103-hp 1.2 TSI and 158-hp 1.4 TSI engines. All four of these will not be sold until 2011. Until then, the car will only be available with two TSI units: a 1.4-liter model kicking out 121 horsepower, and a 2.0-liter 197-hp model. Both 1.4-liter models will be mated to a seven-speed DSG transmission, while the 1.6- and 2.0-liter TDI, and 2.0-liter TSI can be hooked up to a six-speed DSG. Expect the Singapore spec'ed models to be similar to the existing Jetta sold here. My guess is that the new Jetta will reach our shore some time in 2011.

For all the Jetta fans, start your count down to the next generation. Volkswagen has just launched a dedicated countdown page on its U.S. website for the all-new 2011 Jetta saloon. According to the German company, the sixth-generation of its bread-and-butter sedan will be revealed to the world live on June 15 at 11:25 a.m. EST / 8:25 a.m. PST. From the prototype models we've seen so far, it appears that the 2011 VW Jetta will get a much crisper look than the current model, with the styling resembling the almost-production ready New Compact Coupe (NCC) concept that was shown in Detroit earlier this year. It is believed that the new Jetta will use a modified version of the platform found on the Golf VI which in turn is largely based on the previous, fifth-generation Golf. Under the hood, the Germans will most likely continue to offer the base model with the outdated, but cheap to produce 2.5-liter five-cylinder petrol for the US market. For markets such as Singapore