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Tokyo Alumni Podcast: Episode 73- Dr. Minako Abe, M.D. (ASIJ 1988) - Director of Tokyo Cancer Clinic
Minako Abe, M.D. (ASIJ 1988)
Director of the Tokyo Cancer Clinic
Minako Abe is the director of the Tokyo Cancer Clinic in Japan. She attended ASIJ from 1976-1988 and after graduating, attended UC Berkeley for her B.A. and earned her M.D. at SUNY Stony Brook. She has dual U.S. board certifications in Emergency Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine. Practicing Emergency Medicine in NYC and NJ for over 15 years, she loved treating all kinds of illnesses and people from all walks of life, but found that nearly 80% of what she saw was related to unhealthy lifestyle choices. Chronic illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and even 30-50% of cancers are preventable. As such, she developed a strong interest in Lifestyle Medicine, particularly in relation to the field of immunology and oncology.
In 2014, she and her family moved to Tokyo to help with her father’s cancer immunotherapy clinic. Having lived outside of Japan for 26 years, she experienced a bit of culture shock, having to relearn Japanese and understanding a completely different medical system. However, with both of her children currently attending ASIJ, this has given her family a sense of belonging within this very special international community.A year into moving here, her husband was diagnosed with a rare spinal cord tumor, and when searching for the best treatment options in the U.S., she was surprised to find that the most advanced treatment options were actually right here in Japan. Even the patented cancer vaccines and immune cell treatments at the Tokyo Cancer Clinic is not widely known or available elsewhere in the world!
This experience got her thinking – how isolating it is for expats in Japan to go through a cancer diagnosis while also navigating a foreign medical system. How are people to know that perhaps the best treatments and opportunities lie right here? Her passion project is to help cancer patients navigate the Japanese medical system, while coaching them to thrive and not just survive with Lifestyle Medicine and Mindset.
You can find her at
https://tokyocancerclinic.jp/
https://www.drminako.com/
Timeline
1:44 - Introduction
4:32 - Choosing the career path to become a doctor (from an international school student's perspective) / to work in Japan/USA?
10:50 - Can certain products "give you cancer"?
15:23 - Family history - nature v nurture when it comes to cancer?
17:37 - Sleep!
19:30 - Living in both Japan and the USA for 20+ years, a comparison of the two locations
25:04 - Comparing the perspective of ASIJ as a student vs as a parent
31:31 - What is to come
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By Nickolas Harris
5
33 ratings
Minako Abe, M.D. (ASIJ 1988)
Director of the Tokyo Cancer Clinic
Minako Abe is the director of the Tokyo Cancer Clinic in Japan. She attended ASIJ from 1976-1988 and after graduating, attended UC Berkeley for her B.A. and earned her M.D. at SUNY Stony Brook. She has dual U.S. board certifications in Emergency Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine. Practicing Emergency Medicine in NYC and NJ for over 15 years, she loved treating all kinds of illnesses and people from all walks of life, but found that nearly 80% of what she saw was related to unhealthy lifestyle choices. Chronic illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and even 30-50% of cancers are preventable. As such, she developed a strong interest in Lifestyle Medicine, particularly in relation to the field of immunology and oncology.
In 2014, she and her family moved to Tokyo to help with her father’s cancer immunotherapy clinic. Having lived outside of Japan for 26 years, she experienced a bit of culture shock, having to relearn Japanese and understanding a completely different medical system. However, with both of her children currently attending ASIJ, this has given her family a sense of belonging within this very special international community.A year into moving here, her husband was diagnosed with a rare spinal cord tumor, and when searching for the best treatment options in the U.S., she was surprised to find that the most advanced treatment options were actually right here in Japan. Even the patented cancer vaccines and immune cell treatments at the Tokyo Cancer Clinic is not widely known or available elsewhere in the world!
This experience got her thinking – how isolating it is for expats in Japan to go through a cancer diagnosis while also navigating a foreign medical system. How are people to know that perhaps the best treatments and opportunities lie right here? Her passion project is to help cancer patients navigate the Japanese medical system, while coaching them to thrive and not just survive with Lifestyle Medicine and Mindset.
You can find her at
https://tokyocancerclinic.jp/
https://www.drminako.com/
Timeline
1:44 - Introduction
4:32 - Choosing the career path to become a doctor (from an international school student's perspective) / to work in Japan/USA?
10:50 - Can certain products "give you cancer"?
15:23 - Family history - nature v nurture when it comes to cancer?
17:37 - Sleep!
19:30 - Living in both Japan and the USA for 20+ years, a comparison of the two locations
25:04 - Comparing the perspective of ASIJ as a student vs as a parent
31:31 - What is to come