Cancer

More than half of bladder cancers in the US are the result of smoking, and 90 per cent of smokers with the disease are aware of the connection, according to a new study. "Bladder cancer is actually the second most common smoking-related cancer, second only to lung," said lead author Dr. Jeffrey C. Bassett of Kaiser Permanente Southern California in Anaheim. Although previous studies had suggested that few people understood the connection between bladder cancer and tobacco, this new study found…

Minakshi Ray talks about her experience – the weird and the wonderful - while being treated for breast cancer.  I was scheduled for my first chemotherapy session on April 17, 2013. Even though I believe “ignorance is bliss” sometimes, and I dared not search for information on side effects on the all-pervasive Google, it was difficult to shield myself from information overload on the matter from sources primary, secondary and tertiary! Full of apprehension, I checked…

Non-invasive alternative therapies can clear an anxious mind Up to 80% of American patients with breast cancer will undergo complementary therapies to manage anxiety and stress after they receive a diagnosis. Though there’s no clear consensus on which integrative and alternative therapies work and which are ineffective, more and more medical practices have incorporated practices like mindfulness and acupuncture into their offerings. But a new study published in the Journal of the…

Brittany Maynard, the terminally ill cancer patient whose viral YouTube video reignited the debate on assisted-suicide, ended her life on Saturday. Bioethicist Arthur L Caplan says that Ms Maynard's story has the potential to change the way many people - particularly younger Americans - view the issue. "I am terrified to think that my children will grow up in a culture that openly venerates suicide with this much unyielding passion” "A whole new generation is now looking at Brittany…

Plus other tips that got me through. A breast cancer survivor from Delhi shares. Diet 3As - Apple, Anar (pomegranate), Amla (gooseberry) Wheatgrass (if you can manage) Broccoli Do not eat fried and fatty food  If you go out once in a while, eat without making a fuss - so you don't get isolated Eat even if you don't feel like it Mental wellbeing Read The Secret by Rhonda Byrne Make a list of things you want to do - think forward into the future (even a child's wedding) Physical…

Minakshi Ray on her battle with breast cancer and what it took to win.  “Life is like a game in the boxing ring. Defeat is not declared till you refuse to get up” The line pretty much defines me – I am generally known as a very positive person among my friends and family and staunchly believe that the Almighty helps those who decide to help themselves! On a cold January morning last year, the doctor handed over the biopsy report of the breast lump to my husband with a little…

Cancer Institute chairperson Dr V Shanta expressed concern over underreporting of cancer among children, especially in rural areas. Advances in oncology over the past six decades have ensured that up to 75 % of all paediatric cancers can be cured. While it is possible to treat all pediatric cases in the country, there is a need to increase affordability and accessibility for the same," she said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Chennai/Parents-deny-girls-cancer-treatment-say-doctors…

Do not fear Chemotherapy ! Understand Chemotherapy and how to deal with it. A great video in Hindi by SanjeevaniLifeBeyondCancer  

"I was originally diagnosed with locally advanced cancer, so that means it's advanced within in the chest. Mine was triple negative. It's the most aggressive form of cancer," she said. Her breast cancer diagnosis came in 2008. She found out about her metastatic breast cancer in January 2011, at 33 years old. "Two and half years after my original diagnosis, I found another lump," she said as she held back tears. "It varies from person to person. But my experience has been a bit of a roller…

Don’t fight cancer, heal it by attending to body, mind and spirit, says surgical oncologist Dr Vishal Rao. A child developing from an embryo in a mother’s womb is, in reality, a set of rapidly multiplying cells. But they are controlled and regulated. So, we choose to ‘love’ those cells. But when another set of cells multiply rapidly within our body, albeit haphazardly, we call it ‘Cancerous’! These cells are not foreign cells that have made an appearance from outside,…