Ilsen Canizares Arana is a doctor specialising in medical hydrology and hydrotherapy and works as the head of the Primary Care Genetic Consultation at the General Hospital in Valencia, Spain.

Originally from Bolivia, the doctor explains that she attended a church in her neighbourhood as a child, however, she came to know Jesus as a teenager through an evangelistic message broadcast on the radio. Since then, she decided to practice Christian values in her personal and professional life.

"A patient is not a number, people are created by God. Our duty is to listen to them and ask about their lives to determine the causes of the pain they are experiencing, 'Are you sleeping well, any personal situation you are going through', and to go beyond that to help them in the best way possible", she said.

For Ilsen, that way difficult situations are uncovered that could definitely have an impact on a specific pathology.

Stop!

For Ilsen, illness "is the result of what happens to you, the result of an inflammation, and when we say inflammation, we are talking about low-grade chronic inflammation, the silent one", she said.

"A headache, digestive problem or even anxiety are examples of pathologies that do not come overnight, we have had them years before and when it is already evident, we realise that it could have been prevented. We now know that there is a brain-gut and microbiota connection", pointed out the Christian doctor.

She warned that "it seems that we are better when we do a lot of activities, but this is not the case. Now this leads to mental disorders. It is not more successful the one who has many areas covered, but the one who has clarity in those areas and focuses on priorities".

She stressed that in today's world "it is necessary to stop, to pause" and it is "in stillness and peace that God speaks to us and the best ideas come to us about how we can take better care of ourselves".

The value of priorities

For the medical specialist, the loves of each person must be clear, "love of God, first of all, love of family and then love of your profession, your social life".

"A person who loves God and his family also needs to be fulfilled professionally, in his life project, in what God has called him to", she said.

She encouraged people to ask themselves the question: "How am I doing? "How would I like to be?", "How should I be at my age?", "How do I see myself in 10 or 15 years?".

She pointed out that, to answer those questions well, "if you don't stop for a moment to think about it, analyse it and plan for it, those 10 years will come, and you won't be where you wanted to be".

Passion for prevention

As preventive medicine is one of her passions, Ilsen explained that she spends many hours studying longevity plans and genetic consultation.

"I used to make longevity plans for people in their 60s and 65s, and after studying and reading a lot, I realised that you start to change from the age of 40", she said.

"From the age of 40 onwards, each person should start planning their health, year by year. Just as you plan annual agendas with budgets and investments, you should also plan your health", she added.

Ilsen believes that young people are more aware of such issues. "I love to hear young people say in our consultations, I am not sick, but I want to stay that way".

Leaving traces

As a primary care physician, Ilsen can request genetic testing at the health centre. Such consultations, ranging from screening for genetic risk pathologies to prevalent diseases, began over a year ago to encourage several studies due to high incidences.

"I visualise myself doing research as I am doing now, even helping to transform public and private healthcare. Human beings must seek wellbeing, not only physically, but also mentally and socially".

The doctor is part of that project by analysing a number of patients with pathological alterations of the genome, from primary diagnostics, to family studies, preconception counselling and pharmacogenetics.

In addition to her professional work, Ilsen offers educational workshops on health issues at the church she attends, Comunidad Cristiana Valentia. There she also serves as a Sunday school teacher.

"As professionals we are called to bring our knowledge to the church for the blessing of the community," she said.

This article was produced for the Líderes Empresariales section of Protestante Digital, an initiative of the Gospel, Economy and Business (Tres-E) group in Spain.