They say those who laugh hardest are those who have tasted more of life’s bitterness. It’s as if, having known shadow, they revel in the light all the more. 

The same could be said for the author of “Even Ducks Get Liver Cancer.” 

Wilfredo Liangco is an oncologist (in layman’s terms, a cancer doctor), one of those who wield scalpel and pen alike, such as Jurassic Park’s Michael Crichton, and our very own national hero. He is a product of the country’s best medical school and honed his skills at arguably the best hospital in the country, Philippine General Hospital (PGH). (This reader truly believes this to be the case, based on personal experience).

Despite the general wear and tear to be expected from a hospital so overrun with patients (those in the Emergency Room looking for private quarters can expect to wait 48 hours for one), the whole country goes to PGH for this reason: doctors, nurses, and staff truly care for the patient, making no distinction between rich or poor. And this elevated patient care becomes all the more evident when one has been to other private hospitals, and experienced the comparative apathy of other medical workers, some of whom are negligent at best, and downright inept at worst. 

From laboratory team to guards, and residents and heads of departments, those in PGH shine. This book provides an intimate look at the rigid standards and culture that molds excellence in the outstanding physicians it produces.

Everything becomes black and white in a hospital. Near brushes with mortality do this: blocking out all the noise and distractions, making what matters crystal clear. And when the silent finality of the grave is so near, each large iced tea and hamburger becomes a tribute to Life, a grace to be enjoyed by those blessed to be still breathing, grateful for the ability to savor each morsel (calories be damned). For, as the sages say, it is death that gives all life meaning.

Doctor Liangco has written a remarkable collection of 49 episodes; a mixed bag to be sure, but the constant tone is overwhelmingly joyful, with a happy zeal for life that despair cannot dampen. And there is a lot of death in these pages, making for an interesting reading experience. One does not know at the start of the essay whether one will be leaking tears from a never forgotten, eternal heartache, or whether it will be tears mixed with hysteric giggling, with a shocked gasp and ‘No he did NOT’ exclamation thrown in.

In 234 pages, Dr. Liangco has written one story short of fifty. All are written in a very informal ‘blogger’ tone, as they were originally published as blog posts. Liangco serves a literary punch at the end of each story, elevating his pieces from mere narration to a tale wrought with meaning. And whether the punch line is a joke (some too brown/green for inclusion in a review) or a mournful tribute to a patient who passed away too soon, Liangco somehow makes each tale meaningful. He writes in a no-holds-barred manner that holds nothing sacred, an essential coping mechanism that lessens despair.

Anyone reading “Alleviations” should do so with a tissue at the ready. It’s a tribute to the author’s dad, showing the painful decline of a protective patriarch into diminished dependent. Reading this powerful work, one gets the impression of a sanctifying exorcism through writing. This story shows that overcoming the unthinkable is indeed possible; that Liangco not only survived, but even thrived afterwards.

“One of the most common comments was how lucky he was that he had lived that long for someone with liver cancer…As a doctor, I find those five years to be miraculous. As a son, though, they were never nearly enough.”

The title story of the book (“Even Ducks Get Liver Cancer”) begins with the reason Liangco chose oncology: another doctor gave his dad’s prognosis in a “cheerful, repulsive manner” indicative of the apathy that some in the medical field are prone to display.

“Capsule Quest” is the heartbreaking story of how a severely ill patient was made to commute all around the Metro, lining up at different government offices. All that dehumanizing begging from pencil-pushing bureaucrats, and all for one tiny swallow of a chemotherapy drug worth P8,500 a pop.

It is a rare book that combines heart and learning like this. Liangco’s tales aren’t just for those taking care of an ailing parent, or for students considering medicine as a career. It is the triumph of the human spirit in literary form, and leaves its reader with a renewed passion for living, for making good use of what little time we all have.

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EVEN DUCKS GET LIVER CANCER is available for purchase from Milflores Publishing for P599. The book is also available on Shopee and Lazada .

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ABOUT THE REVIEWER:

Gabi Francisco is a classically trained soprano who now performs in the English / Music / Drama classroom. On weekends she soaks in as much art and literature as she can, so she can pass her love for the arts on to her students. She passionately believes in the transformative role of arts education in nation-building. (IG: teacher.gabi.reads )