Win Over Cancer – Cancer Prevention Tips

Just a mere suspicion of having any form of Cancer sends shivers to anybody and it is natural to feel intimidated and terrorized. Based on the cancer registry data it is estimated that there will be about 800,000 new cancers cases in India every year. At any given point there is likely to be 3 times this load that about 240,000 cases. Yet, many of these deaths can be avoided. Over 30% of all cancers can be prevented. Others can be detected early, treated and cured. Even with late stage cancer, the suffering of patients can be relieved with good palliative care.

Cancer can affect just anyone – the young, the old, the rich and the poor, men, women and children – and represents a tremendous burden on the patients, their families and the society. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world, particularly in developing countries. It is anyone’s diseases and not someone else’s disease. It is time that we must act now; else we may be too late!

Cancer is no more a dreaded and mysterious disease. A lot of developments and researches have taken place in the past two decades. We have new surgical techniques, new drugs, new radiation machines all which has changed the outcome of the disease, we now are into organ preservation and improved quality of life for the affected. The problem is that, still, patients come for treatment at a very advance stages. If we have to win over cancer we have to change this scenario. The message which needs to be propagated is “BE CAREFUL NOT FEARFUL”. Cancer of the breast, oral cavity and cervix constitutes almost 60% of cancer in India.

One third of the cancer in India are preventable. The seven steps of prevention include:

  • step 1: Don’t use tobacco
  • step 2: Eat a variety of healthy foods
  • step 3: Stay active and maintain a healthy weight
  • step 4: Protect yourself from the sun
  • step 5: Get immunized
  • step 6: Avoid risky behaviors
  • step 7: Get screened

A cancer winner can spend his or her life in two ways – one is silently, pitying herself/himself, the other is to come out and speak aloud about the fight, to win over this dreaded disease. Today we have so many cancer winners with us and I really congratulate them for having taken this path of speaking out.

 

 

Cancer prevention: 7 tips to reduce your risk

Concerned about cancer prevention? Take charge by making small changes in your daily life, from eating a healthy diet to scheduling regular cancer screenings.

You’ve probably heard conflicting reports about cancer prevention. Sometimes the specific cancer-prevention tip recommended in one study or news report is advised against in another. If you’re concerned about cancer prevention, take comfort in the fact that small changes in your daily life can make a big difference. Consider seven real-life cancer prevention tips.

  1. Don’t use tobacco

Using any type of tobacco puts you on a collision course with cancer. Smoking has been linked to various types of cancer — including cancer of the lung, bladder, cervix and kidney — and chewing tobacco has been linked to cancer of the oral cavity and pancreas. Even if you don’t use tobacco, exposure to secondhand smoke may increase your risk of lung cancer.

Avoiding tobacco — or deciding to stop using it — is one of the most important health decisions you can make. It’s also an important part of cancer prevention. If you need help quitting tobacco, ask your doctor about stop-smoking products and other strategies for quitting.

  1. Eat a healthy diet

Although making healthy selections at the grocery store and at mealtime can’t guarantee cancer prevention, it may help reduce your risk. Consider these guidelines:

  • Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.Base your diet on fruits, vegetables and other foods from plant sources — such as whole grains and beans.
  • Limit fat.Eat lighter and leaner by choosing fewer high-fat foods, particularly those from animal sources. High-fat diets tend to be higher in calories and may increase the risk of overweight or obesity — which can, in turn, increase cancer risk.
  • If you choose to drink alcohol, do so only in moderation.The risk of various types of cancer — including cancer of the breast, colon, lung, kidney and liver — increases with the amount of alcohol you drink and the length of time you’ve been drinking regularly.
  1. Maintain a healthy weight and include physical activity in your daily routine

Maintaining a healthy weight may lower the risk of various types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, prostate, lung, colon and kidney. Physical activity counts, too. In addition to helping you control your weight, physical activity on its own may lower the risk of breast cancer and colon cancer.

As a general goal, include at least 30 minutes of physical activity in your daily routine — and if you can do more, even better. Try a fitness class, rediscover a favorite sport or meet a friend for daily brisk walks.

  1. Protect yourself from the sun

Skin cancer is one of the most common kinds of cancer — and one of the most preventable. Try these tips:

  • Avoid midday sun.Stay out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun’s rays are strongest.
  • Stay in the shade.When you’re outdoors, stay in the shade as much as possible. Sunglasses and a broad-rimmed hat help, too.
  • Cover exposed areas.Wear tightly woven, loosefitting clothing that covers as much of your skin as possible. Opt for bright or dark colors, which reflect more ultraviolet radiation than pastels or bleached cotton.
  • Don’t skimp on sunscreen.Use generous amounts of sunscreen when you’re outdoors, and reapply often.
  • Avoid tanning beds and sunlamps.These are just as damaging as natural sunlight.
  1. Get immunized

Cancer prevention includes protection from certain viral infections. Talk to your doctor about immunization against:

  • Hepatitis B.Hepatitis B can increase the risk of developing liver cancer. The hepatitis B vaccine is routinely given to infants. It’s also recommended for certain high-risk adults — such as adults who are sexually active but not in a mutually monogamous relationship, men who have sex with men, and health care or public safety workers who might be exposed to infected blood or body fluids.
  • Human papillomavirus (HPV).HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that can lead to cervical cancer. The HPV vaccine is available to both men and women age 26 or younger who didn’t have the vaccine as an adolescent.
  1. Avoid risky behaviors

Another effective cancer prevention tactic is to avoid risky behaviors that can lead to infections that, in turn, may increase the risk of cancer. For example:

  • Practice safe sex.Limit your number of sexual partners, and use a condom when you do have sex. The more sexual partners you have in your lifetime, the more likely you are to contract a sexually transmitted infection — such as HIV or HPV. People who have HIV or AIDS have a higher risk of cancer of the anus, cervix, lung and immune system. HPV is most often associated with cervical cancer, but it may also increase the risk of cancer of the anus, penis, throat, vulva and vagina.
  • Don’t share needles.Sharing needles with an infected drug user can lead to HIV, as well as hepatitis B and hepatitis C — which can increase the risk of liver cancer. If you’re concerned about drug abuse or addiction, seek professional help.
  1. Take early detection seriously

Regular self-exams and professional screening for various types of cancers — such as cancer of the skin, colon, prostate, cervix and breast — can increase your chances of discovering cancer early, when treatment is most likely to be successful. Ask your doctor about the best cancer screening schedule for you.

Take cancer prevention into your own hands, starting today. The rewards will last a lifetime.

Cancer Winners’ are not Immortals….

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Palliative care is an essential part of cancer control

Palliative care is the active total care of the patient’s body, mind and spirit, and also involves giving support to the family. It begins when illness is diagnosed, and continues regardless of whether or not a patient receives treatment directed at the disease. Health providers must evaluate and alleviate a patient’s physical, psychological, and social distress.

Effective palliative care requires a broad multidisciplinary approach that includes the family and makes use of available community resources; it can be successfully implemented even if resources are limited. It can be provided in tertiary care facilities, in community health centers and even at a local center.

Improving the quality of life of patients and families.

Palliative care improves the quality of life of patients and families who face life-threatening illness, by providing pain and symptom relief, spiritual and psycho-social support to from diagnosis to the end of life and bereavement. Palliative care:

Cancer – 15 Warning Signs

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1. Losing weight at a rapid rate (among people not being on a diet), gasses, discomfort, digestive disorders, anorexia, recurring diarrhea, constipation – are the symptoms occurring most frequently in case of lung, stomach, kidney and large intestine cancer. If accompanied by a feeling of weakness, it can be a sign of blood loss or lack of proper elements building it.

2. Pain of unknown cause – long-lasting abdomen-ache can be the symptom of large intestine cancer, lumbalgia can be the sign of kidney cancer, pain in the chest can result from lung cancer. Bone aches can be caused by metastasis. Referred pain to the ear can be a sign of throat cancer (base of tongue, tonsils, hypo-pharynx)

3. Haemoptysis, long-lasting hoarseness (over 3 weeks), persistent cough or change of its character – can be caused by lung or larynx cancer.

4. Change in colour of moles and warts, ulceration and itching, ulceration of open wounds, burns and scalds can be the signs of skin cancer.

5. Excessive production of urine, backlog of urine, painful urinating, slow, time-consuming flow of urine, lumbago as well as backache can be the signs of prostate cancer.

6. Pain, vertigo, nausea, sight distortions (over sensitized sight, astigmatism), hearing impediment, upset balance and mental disorders can result from brain cancer.

7. Swallowing difficulties – can be a symptom of throat, larynx, oesophagus and stomach cancer.

8. Feeling of fullness in epigastrium, aches and digestive disorders – may be due to stomach cancer and other kinds of alimentary canal cancer, sometimes ovary cancer.

9. Blood in faeces, black faeces, alternating diarrhea and constipation, mucus in faeces, narrow (pencil-like) faeces – are the symptoms of alimentary canal cancer, especially of large intestine and rectum.

10. Blood in urine (without the symptoms of urinary tracts inflammation), dysuria (compulsive urination, difficulties in urination) – can accompany the urinary tracts cancer.

11. Improper bleeding from the genital tracts, pink or dark-red vaginal discharges, hypogastrium and lower limbs ache can be the signs of vagina, uterine cervix and uterus cancer.

12. Marks on skin and mucous membrane (lips, oral cavity, genitals): not healing ulceration, change in mark’s appearance, occurrence of new skin marks of some specific features (irregular distribution of pigment, vague line between the mark and healthy skin, quick growth of the marks, bleeding, dripping).

13. Breast tumour (by approximately 15% – 25% can be impalpable), ulceration, the retraction of nipple, asymmetrical nipples, change of size or the shape of a nipple, its swelling and the marks around it, enlargement of lymphatic glands in the armpit, extension of veins in the breast skin, ulceration of breast skin, shoulder swelling, flat efflorescene in case of the so called advanced inflammation nipple cancer – are often the symptoms of breast cancer.

14. Fever, tiredness, bones and joints ache, inclination to temporary anaemia and bleeding, impalpable tumour of abdominal cavity, as a result of spleen enlargement, that can be detected in gastro-bowel test.

15. Pain and pressure in the upper right part of abdomen, tiredness, anorexia and at a further stage of rhe disease a palpable tumour in the upper right part of abdomen, inclination to jaundice and bleeding can be the signs of liver cancer.

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