drsarah_hk

25/10/2025

12/08/2025

Lush jungle trails. Steep, punishing hills. A quiet river flowing beneath the Bridge Over the River Kwai.

Beneath the stunning trails and jungle-covered hills lies the story of the Death Railway: tens of thousands of POWs and labourers forced to work under horrific conditions.

Cycling through Kanchanaburi, Thailand, was beautiful — and brutal. I certainly felt like I was suffering on some of those climbs… until I stood at Hellfire Pass, where emaciated men carved through solid rock by hand while starving, sick, and barefoot. My own discomfort melted into perspective.

The graves, the silence of Hellfire Pass, the courage of the doctors — it’s a part of WWII history I knew so little about.

“When you go home, tell them of us and say: We gave our tomorrow for your today.”

04/08/2025

Just returned from an excellent Menopause Conference in Kuala Lumpur — I'm grateful to the Federation of Medical Women of Hong Kong for facilitating my registration 🙏 and to all the amazing speakers and delegates.

A few key takeaways 💡:
🌿 HARMONY for lifestyle in midlife:�
Healthy eating�
Active arts engagement�
Restful sleep�
Mental wellness�
Ongoing activity�
No smoking
Your social Connections

😴 Sleep first. Exercise only reduces mortality risk if you sleep >6hrs/night. Menopause often disrupts sleep—talk to your doctor.

🩺 Early menopause (before 45) requires hormone treatment to protect heart & bones (unless due to cancer).

💊 In perimenopause, consider birth control pills to suppress & substitute chaotic hormones. Newer estrogen options like estetrol and estradiol may be ideal.

📆 When to stop HRT? No fixed age! If there are no contraindications, it may not be necessary to stop. It’s about the right time, right patient, right treatment — with regular reviews.

📉 Dosing changes with age. Reassess what you're taking every few years!

🔥 Not keen on hormones? Non-hormonal options like Veozah target brain chemistry (neurokinin B) to reduce hot flushes — science is amazing!

Great to see so much progress in helping women thrive in midlife and beyond. 💕

07/04/2025

02/10/2024

🌟 Excited to announce that I’ll be a speaker at The Menopause Festival 2024! 🌟

Join us on 16 October 2024 at EY, One Taikoo Place in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong as we explore ways to create supportive workplaces for employees experiencing menopause. Attendees will also receive the latest menopause management tips from industry experts.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights and connect with like-minded individuals.

🎟️ Get your tickets today at https://www.MenopauseFestival.com 🎟️

15/09/2024

🌍 Excited to share that I will be Moderating a Panel on COVID-19: Lessons Learned 🌍 at the upcoming Asia Pacific Travel Health Conference in Kathmandu, Nepal

Preparing for future pandemics is our collective responsibility. It's crucial that we acknowledge a harsh reality: this will not be the last pandemic we face, and it may not even be the last one in our lifetimes. 🌐

While many of us are fatigued by COVID-19 and the public health measures that accompanied it, we must think carefully about what happened during COVID-19 and how we can learn from it. History has shown us that pandemics can emerge unexpectedly, and the lessons from our recent experiences are invaluable.

Our panel features three esteemed experts from around the globe, each bringing unique perspectives on managing the pandemic:
* Professor Ben Cowling from Hong Kong
* Dr. Eyal Leysham from Israel
* Professor Annelies Wilder-Smith from Switzerland, Singapore, and the WHO\

This event will explore critical topics, including:
* The impact on mental health
* Economic ramifications
* Effects on education
* Non-COVID public health challenges
* Changes to the workforce
* Political implications
* The dynamics of information sharing

Together, we’ll discuss what we did right, what we could have improved, and how we can better mitigate negative outcomes in future public health crises.

  This conference provides an opportunity to meet with colleagues with a common interest in Travel Medicine as well as an opportunity to immerse yourself in the wonderful culture and history of …

09/09/2024

Excited to share that I'll be presenting a session on the medical considerations of traveling in pregnancy at the upcoming Asia Pacific Travel Health Conference in Kathmandu, Nepal. The session is part of a symposium on vulnerable travelers. 🧳🤱

Traveling while pregnant is possible but not everywhere, and not always. With an extra passenger on board, it's essential to be mindful of when and where you travel... and very important to get expert advice! 🌍🤰

Looking forward to attending and learning at , which promises to be a great conference.

  This conference provides an opportunity to meet with colleagues with a common interest in Travel Medicine as well as an opportunity to immerse yourself in the wonderful culture and history of …

11/04/2024

Today!

08/03/2024

Happy International Women’s Day to all the wonderwomen (and men) around the world inspiring change and breaking barriers.

Here's to strong women:
May we know them.
May we be them.
May we raise them.

09/10/2023

Karikó and Weissman's Nobel Prize for their roles in developing mRNA vaccines is a testament to perseverance, brilliance and the importance of basic science. When they figured out, in 2005, how to modulate the immune response to mRNA, they could not have known that this pivotal discovery would years later make possible a COVID vaccine that would save tens of millions of lives and change the course of history.

Congratulations to these two great scientists for their well-deserved recognition  👏👏👏

07/08/2023

Thank you for creating this series (and all the work you do generally for women's health) and inviting me to talk about managing menopause!

You can listen to the podcast here :

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/managing-menopause-health-risks-with-dr-sarah-borwein/id1695121737?i=1000623591012

31/07/2023

One life, one liver. On World Hepatitis Day, the WHO reminds us that hepatitis can devastate both.

Hepatitis means “inflammation of the liver”. There are many causes, including viral hepatitis infection (especially Hepatitis B and C), alcoholic hepatitis, and non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD). All of these are relatively common in Hong Kong - and most can be prevented or treated.

Your liver silently performs over 500 vital functions every single day to keep you alive. But when your liver gets sick, that is also silent, with symptoms only appearing once the problem is advanced. Untreated liver disease can lead to cirrhosis and cancer of the liver. 

The result? Globally, there are over two million hepatitis-related deaths every single year. It’s one of the few chronic diseases where death rates have been rising since the 1970s.

How do you prevent hepatitis?
* Make sure you are vaccinated against Hepatitis A and B
* Get tested for Hepatitis C, which is now a curable disease
* Avoid excess alcohol intake
* Eat a healthy diet and exercise to maintain a healthy metabolism and avoid fatty liver disease
* Get assessed for NAFLD and take it seriously if you have it.

In Hong Kong, it is not unusual to see fatty liver on an ultrasound and dismiss it because “it’s so common here”. But untreated fatty liver can progress to severe hepatitis and even cirrhosis. Often it’s a warning sign that your metabolic health needs attention.

Liver health is fundamental to health. Look after yours.