Sarcoidosis.com.au

 

Dear Visitor,

Welcome to my website. I trust you will find the menu interesting and varied. Pick from it as you wish and come back for seconds. Better still, recommend this site to your friends and please visit my Blogs.

First of all I am a Thoracic Physician. Thoracic comes from the Ancient Greek word, thorax meaning a soldier's breast plate and hence 'chest' in English. This encompasses a wide range of conditions including asthma, emphysema, occupational lung diseases such as asbestosis, asbestos pleural plaques, pleural thickening, silicosis, farmer's lung, occupational asthma and bronchitis.

Since I was a medical registrar in the late 1970's I have had an interest in occupational lung diseases, and in particular asbestos-related diseases, and I estimate that I have prepared about ten thousand medico-legal case reports for the courts over the past twenty years.

My other area of expertise is sarcoidosis. From the time I started my specialty training nearly 30 years ago I have had an interest in this condition and published numerous papers on this. I did a PhD at the University of Melbourne on sarcoidosis and for over twenty years have been an active member of WASOG (the World Association of Sarcoidosis and other Granulomatous Diseases).

The second hat I wear is that of a certified Sleep Physician with interests in sleep apnoea, narcolepsy, periodic leg movement disorder, parasomnias and insomnia. I report on sleep studies done in a range of laboratories such as Queensland Respiratory Laboratories and also on home sleep studies as consultant for Healthy Sleep Solutions.

With regards to my medical background, I am a fourth generation Queenslander and my late father was a family doctor. I graduated in 1975 from the University of Queensland with 1st Class Honours and was awarded the University Medal in 1976. In 1982 I was admitted as thoracic physician and a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and spent five years doing full time research for a Doctor of Philosophy at the Austin and Repatriation General Hospital, Melbourne. I am also a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians (FCCP). I have held academic and teaching positions for many years and more recently have been in full time private practice at the Wesley Medical Centre. The Wesley Hospital is one of the largest private hospitals in Brisbane, Australia. In April 2009 I was appointed Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University.

I am referred patients for medico-legal assessment and sarcoidosis from all states of Australia , Fiji and Papua New Guinea . My publications are numerous and varied which include works in medical philosophy, poetry, and also French (see my curriculum vitae and this website). I am a keen sailor and lover of wooden boats. My wife Linda, who is a Psychiatrist, consults with me.

I am privileged to be cited in the inaugural edition of the Who's Who of Queensland (2007) and in Who's Who of the World (2009). I am currently writing a book, called "Ballina Boy" about growing up in the house of a general practitioner in the 1950's. I am also learning Greek, as Ancient Greece was the crucible of western culture.

I believe that medicine should not only be scientific but also be patient-based and supportive. Technological advances are not enough for the treatment of human suffering. If we lose the humanity in the art of medicine, we have lost its very essence.

I am a strong believer that we must be less wasteful and more 'green' to preserve our small planet for our children and grandchildren. I have a prolific fruit and vegetable garden which keeps us well supplied every day. So far we have been poor and foolish custodians of this Earth. We can no longer divorce our physical and spiritual well-being from that of our planet as we are all of the one substance.

The famous Canadian singer and poet, Leonard Cohen, whose work I enjoy, says in one of his songs, "There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." If you are suffering from a medical condition, learn from this, as life's experiences may teach you much if you are a willing pupil. Our flaws are there to let the light get in.

Pleasant reading,

Dr Roger KA Allen

 

BALLINA BOY * by Roger KA Allen

A child's odyssey through the 1950s

Available Now

The book will be available at www.Xlibris.com, www.amazon.com and www.ballinaboy.com

 

Download the order form and fax it to

07 3719 5577