It is often said that with a good digestion everything can be turned to good health. About 70% of our immunity depends on our gastrointestinal system. Maintaining a good digestion and a healthy gastrointestinal system is very important for the overall health. However, many of us ignore and brush off discomfort related to our stomach and gastrointestinal system. Ignoring symptoms like stomach pain, bloating or chest pain can be dangerous.
Importance of Tumour Board in Cancer Care The word ‘Cancer’ strikes us with fear. However, knowing that you have the best team of doctors on your side for cancer treatment will make you feel more confident and help in fighting this fear! Treatment of Cancer is often a multi-modality approach and may include either one or a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy. Hence, more than one specialist are involved in the treatment of various phases of the disease trajectory. That’s why Tumour Board exists. A Tumour Board consists of senior consultants and experts from various disciplines of oncology that share and exchange views based on the clinical findings, present cancer stage and various other criteria before designing the most suitable cancer management plan for the patient. Some of the distinct advantages of a Tumour Board care include: Better Treatment and Care – With Tumour Board’s multidisciplinary approach – many minds instead of one are put to work, sharing and exchanging views and knowledge. This allows the patients to get more personalized care. Monetary Benefit – The patient enjoys the ben
Breast Cancer is one of the most common types of cancer diagnosed in women. Despite the increase in number of cases each year, the awareness about breast cancer is relatively low in India and there are certain myths prevalent about this disease. One such myth is ‘Breast Cancer is a Female Disease’. Although women are more likely to get affected by breast cancer than men, but men can get it in rare cases too. Read on to find out more about male breast cancer. Awareness Can Make a Difference There are ample of breast cancer prevention and awareness campaigns, but hardly few are targeted towards men. Many men in India aren’t even aware that breast cancer can affect them too, so early symptoms such as painless lumps often go ignored. By the time more severe symptoms are apparent, the disease is already in its more serious stages – and the risk of mortality higher. Identifying the Warning Signs Symptoms of male breast cancer are similar as that in females. Visit a doctor immediately if you feel
‘Right decisions at right time can make all the difference’. The statement holds true in the case of cancer and its treatment. Every year, millions of people are diagnosed with cancer all around the world. A significant number of lives can be saved and cured from cancer with timely access to early detection and treatment. Awareness is the Key— Awareness is the first step to conquer cancer. Despite the high number of new cases each year, cancer awareness is relatively low in India. However, it is essential for everyone to be aware of this disease and how they can prevent and screen for it. Self-Examination to Know the Warning Signs— Self-examination or regular body-checks can help you identify a lot of cancers in their early stages. There are about 200 different types of cancers that have different symptoms and it’s not possible to know all of them. But few cancers like breast cancer and testicular cancer can be identified with regular examination and touching and feeling of body. Screening can Save Lives– Screening aims to identify individuals with an abnormality suggestive of a specific cancer. Regular Screenings allow us to identify anomalies in the body
Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in women across the world. It accounts for 16% of cancers in women worldwide. 1 in 8 women risk being diagnosed with breast cancer in their lives. In India, Breast cancer ranks as the number one cancer among Indian females with rate as high as 25.8 per 100,000 women and mortality of 12.7 per 100,000 women, according to Indian Health Ministry.
India has a low survival rate for breast cancer, with only 66.1% survivors between 2010 and 2014 as compared to other nations like US & Australia with 90% survival rate.
Lack of awareness about the disease and its treatment is one of the major reasons for low survival rate of breast cancer patients in India. According to National Institute of Cancer Prevention And Research, breast cancer patients here visit doctors only when the symptoms begin to show; however in western countries breast cancer screening is normal routine in healthcare.
Let’s have a look at some of the points how we can spread awareness and beat this deadly disease during the Breast Awareness Month;
- Spread the
A lot of people around the world are suffering from obesity. Obesity rates have increased exponential in last few decades. Obesity is a serious biological condition that increases the risk of a number of diseases, including heart disease and stroke, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, as well as cancers of the endometrium, colon and breast.
With the incidence of overweight and obesity increasing throughout the world, the number of women at risk for developing breast cancer has also increased. Obesity is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, and is also positively associated with tumor size and a higher probability of having positive axillary lymph nodes and faster-growing tumors. Obesity is a risk factor, especially for postmenopausal breast cancer. Elevated circulating estrogen levels as well as local production of this hormone have been implicated as a primary growth factor in this relationship. There is also a growing evidence that obesity increases both the incidence and the mortality of many malignances.
But with awareness and few good practices we can surely beat this deadly disease. Let’s have a look at 9 simple steps of how we can lower the risk of breast cancer.
1. Control your Weight
Cancer, Breast Cancer, Obesity
What is Cytoreduction? Cytoreduction, also known as Cytoreductive Therapy, is a therapy focused on reducing the size of cancerous tumor. Two of the most common cytoreductive treatements are surgery and radiation therapy. These treatments are useful in debulking tumors. What is Debulking? As the name suggests, debulking refers to reducing the bulk. In this case, reducing the bulk of cancerous tumor. Since chemotherapy isn’t able to go past large and bulky tumors, debulking cytoreductive surgery may be suggested to the patients in order to increase the efficiency of chemotherapy. The goal of this surgery is to remove as much visible cancer as possible – the bulk of the cancerous tumor – and to ensure that there aren’t any remaining nodules that measure more than 2 centimeters in diameter. This surgery is especially recommended and may prove effective for patients who are in the advanced stage of cancer. Cytoreduction with HIPEC Cytoreduction therapy, when used with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), is advantageous in cases where cancer that have developed or spread to the abdominal cavity, such as appendiceal cancer, pseudomyxoma peritonei, colon cancer,
E-cigarettes are generally considered a better and safer alternative to conventional cigarette smoking but this widely held belief is a misconception. Smoking e-cigarette may damage the DNA in the oral cells of users, potentially increasing the risk of cancer.
These handheld electronic devices that heat liquid nicotine and convert it into an aerosol that users breathe in were introduced to the market in 2004. Nicotine liquid comes in different flavours like fruit, chocolate, candy and mint which is appealing to youth.
The popularity of these little electronic devices continue to grow but its long-term effects on body are more or less unknown to its users.
It’s accepted by researchers that regular cigarettes produce more carcinogens but the impact of inhaling the combination of compounds produced by e-cigarettes is really unknown. Just because the threats are different doesn’t mean that e-cigarettes are safe.
To know about chemical exposures during vaping, researchers enlisted five e-cigarette users. They obtained saliva samples before and after a 15-minute inhaling session and analyzed the samples for chemicals that are known to damage DNA. To evaluate possible long-term effects of e-cigarette’s smo
Dr. Murtuza Laxmidhar, Consultant Surgical Onclogist at Apollo CBCC, recollects one unique case in his lifetime of practice. “I am working for laryngeal cancer for nearly now more than 20 years but what in my lifespan till now I have seen is one case which I still remember, ‘advanced cancer of larynx’. Patient of around 70 years of age, from the periphery of Rajasthan, had presented to me with advanced cancer of larynx. He could barely speak and there was some fistulous part in the neck which was draining through that laryngeal cancer disease. So at outside, the patient was inoperable and we decided to send him for chemotherapy. I explained the patient and his relatives that this disease seems to be incurable but we try with the chemotherapy. But to our surprise, after 2 or 3 cycle of chemotherapy, patient had very good response and this patient was further taken up after all work up for the surgery. Again with due explanation that it might recur even if we are able to remove the tumour as a whole. We explored the patient with all prevailing risk and difficulty we encountered after long surgery and with good reconstruction we could finish up the surgery and we could remove a tumour with its lymph node draining area in the neck.
WHAT IS PREHABILITATION Cancer prehabilitation may not common, but maybe it should be. For anyone having surgery, whether it’s replacement of a knee joint or removal of a cancerous tumour, some type of rehabilitation is expected as a part of the recovery process. But prehabilitation programs before treatment also are proving to be a big help to all kinds of cancer patients. Cancer prehab is an emerging field that takes place before surgery or other treatment begins. Prehabilitation programs aim to help patients build endurance, cardiovascular health, and strength to prepare their bodies for the stress of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. GAINING ACCEPTANCE A growing number of oncologists now are recommending a program of prehabilitation for cancer patients before they begin their treatment. Cancer prehab may involve exercises or counselling to promote healthy eating habits. But it’s more than that. In a full prehabilitation program, patients undergo a physical and psychological assessment to determine if there are any conditions or diseases in addition to cancer that might affect cancer treatment or recovery. According to one study, there is a good chance a cancer patient does have other health challenges. That study, done in 2015, found that between 65 percent and 90 percent of cancer patients had at least one health condition in addit