Bottled ※ Brain: About me

I'm Lance Catedral. Bottledbrain.com is my space in the web. I started blogging in 2004. I'm 34, and nobody reads blogs anymore. But because I've been blogging for so many years now, I couldn't let this space go. Writing about the minutiae—don't you love that word?—of my life has become a habit now, and, more than ever, a source of joy.

I'm an internist (adult medicine) and medical oncologist (cancer specialist) in Southern Philippines. My private practice is based in Koronadal City, South Cotabato (the city of my birth) and General Santos City. I'm also a part-time consultant for an American healthcare firm that aims to improve the quality of medical care in various parts of the world.

I'm also an assistant professor in the College of Medicine of the Mindanao State University. I teach biochemistry in a class composed mostly of students from underprivileged backgrounds: those from indigenous and Muslim people groups in the Soccskargen region. It's a privilege I'm grateful for.

I'm a doctor-writer. I'm a co-panelist in the Creative Nonfiction Writing Workshop for Doctors organized by the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center of De La Salle University. My creative works have been published in some books, anthologies, and literary journals.

I'm a researcher. Here's a list of my publications. My main research interests include improving access to cancer care and the use of social media/internet in cancer screening and prevention. I'm a part of the Research Committee of the Philippine College of Physicians and the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology (PSMO). I'm also a member of the Multimedia Committee of the PSMO, where I write content directed to patients and their caregivers. Here are some of them.

I like reading, taking pictures, and going places. I use fountain pens and experiment with all sorts of ink and paper. I'm rediscovering the beauty of Hiligaynon, my first language which we speak at home.

Most of all, I'm a Christian—that means I follow Christ and live my life for Him. This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible, and I implore you to read it:

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. — Ephesians 2: 4–10

Thanks for visiting! Do email me at lance [at] bottledbrain.com. I read every email and try my best to answer them all.

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Updated: 19 March 2020. Some people said I look like a kid in the above photo. Here's a more mature version.