October is breast cancer awareness month. Indian women are at the risk of getting breast cancer in their forties, which is about 10-15 years younger than the west. Almost all women diagnosed here have kids, get married by 30 and have breast fed. Therefore at least 80% of the cases seen have no risk factors. Breast cancer is growing at an alarming rate. Studies say that the cancer of the breast will soon overtake cancer of the cervix in Indian women. Worldwide every minute a woman is diagnosed of breast cancer. Naturally, as a woman you are worried. Breast cancer can happen to anyone. From 28 to 90-year-olds, I have seen women of all ages getting diagnosed with breast cancer, says Dr

“My father chewed tobacco, the leafy kind with limejuice. Now he drinks his food with a straw because oral cancer has wrecked his mouth”, says Arpana Sarin about her 58-year-old dad. According to World Health Organization (WHO) profiles, India has one of the highest rates of oral cancer in the world and rates are still increasing. This disproportionate incidence of oral cancer has been related to the high proportion of tobacco chewers, a habit unique to Indians. “Smokeless or “spit” tobacco contains over 2,000 chemicals, many of which have been directly related to causing cancer. These include nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and radiation-emitting

Breast cancer is on rise in urban women. Like all cancers, this one too can be cured if detected early. Yet, many myths prevail on the subject. My Health Guardian talks to Dr Siddharth Sahani, leading breast cancer specialist of the town and tells you the truth. 1. Only women with a family history get breast cancer. Of, the majority of women who get breast cancer, 70% have no family history and majority of them have none of the identifiable risk factors. If you have a family history, your chances are increased of getting breast cancer and you should get screening mammograms done earlier than other women. 2. Only women get breast cancer. Men do get breast cancer, although it is rare. If

Cervical cancer silently saps life out of women. This second most common cancer that affects women betrays no symptoms until it is too late. India is home to one-fourth of the world cervical cases. Among some 1.26 lakh Indian cases, 72,000 die from it annually. Most women who die from cervical cancer are in the prime of their life. They may be raising children, caring for their family, and contributing to the social and economic life of the society. HPV virus o Most cervical cancers are associated with infection with human papillomaviruses (HPV). o HPV is thought to grow preferentially in the epithelium of the glans penis. Scrupulous washing and cleaning of genitals in men may help in

  Nature didn’t make us helpless in the fight against the big C word. We are helped by antioxidant, a big word in our fight against cancer. What exactly is an antioxidant? Oxidation happens in nature in the form of rust forming on the iron. In human body when we process food for energy oxidation happens as a result of which free radicals form. Free radicals are incomplete electron shells, highly reactive in nature and are always hungry for an extra electron. Desperate for that missing electron they steal it from the stable healthy cells and in that process damage its DNA too. This can be the starting point for cancer. Other than processing food for energy, smoking, pollution in the

Human body is composed of cells. Each cell has its own genetic material or DNA. In a healthy body cells behave in a regular pattern for multiplication, so as to grow and repair damaged tissues and replace dying cells. If this pattern goes awry, it results in uncontrolled multiplication of cells, eventually forming a tumour. Be Aware In men more common forms of cancer are lung and oral and these are avoidable, because smoking and chewing tobacco is the main reason behind these. Researches say that almost 85 per cent of lung cancer is linked to smoking. The more cigarettes you smoke per day and the earlier you started smoking, the greater your risk of lung cancer. High levels of pollution,

Dendritic therapy uses the body’s own defense mechanism to heal cancer. It is non- invasive, with negligible adverse effects, and targets immune system. In the year 2007 Ghaziabad resident Aruna Tyagi, 44 was told that she has numbered days before her. She had developed malignant lesion in her chest wall and had been operated for that. She was advised chemotherapy but her cancer was spreading very fast. In the past 18 months, she had been operated thrice for removing malignant tumors had received sessions of chemotherapy and radiation and had again suffered from relapse of cancer. After her third operation in the year 2007, instead of chemotherapy, she went for Dendritic Cell (DC)

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting a woman’s reproductive organs. Study says that nearly 500,000 women each year are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and nearly 250,000 die from it. Engaging in sexual activity at a young age is one of the factors that increases one’s risk of developing this type of cancer. HPV vaccine is approximately 70% effective in preventing the disease. Dr Kaushiki Dwivedee, senior consultant, Obstetrics and Gynaecology with Max Hospital, Gurgaon sheds light on this vaccine. The cells lining the cervix do not fully mature until the age of 18 and, therefore, are more susceptible to cancer causing-agents and viruses. More than 90% of

Many a time when modern medicine fails, alternate therapies provide the ray to hope. Lucknow based Ayurveda doctor Hina Fatima is providing a ray of hope to many cancer patients who have found relief and cure from cancer within their means. But this doctor is averse to any kind of media talk and believes in her work speaking for herself 35-year-old Mohammed Jameel was suffering from Multiple Myeloma when he was presented to King George Medical College Lucknow for investigation and treatment in the year 1993. The patient was given one cycle of chemotherapy but his condition declined after that because of the adverse side effects of chemotherapy and he underwent HUMA therapy for cancer, an

Cancer evokes terror in heart. But, contrary to myths, cancer is curable, you only need to nab the warning signs early. We tell you seven classsic warning signs of cancer– CAUTION C-Change in bowel or bladder habits A-A sore that does not heal U-Unusual bleeding or discharge from any body orifices T-Thickening or lump in breast or elsewhere I-Indigestion or difficulty in swallowing O-Obvious change in a wart or mole N-Nagging cough or hoarseness If anybody observes these symptoms, please do not neglect them but pay a visit to a health professional. Identify carcinogens A carcinogen is an agent that can cause cancer. Some commonly known carcinogens include asbestos, radon, certain