Breast Cancer Symptoms and Signs

Among the ways to prevent cancer – eating a healthy, balanced diet could be your starting point. Try to consume all essential nutrients that will help detoxify your body, stimulate the immune system and prevent healthy cells from turning cancerous. Over the last 25 years, research has produced dietary guidelines that have become conventional wisdom when it comes to cancer prevention. There are a number of substances present in our daily diet which are carcinogenic (cancer causing substances)…

Breast cancer survivor Parul Banka wants to inform and inspire others through her own example about leading a physically active lifestyle, especially after cancer, to manage pain, fatigue, improve muscle strength and regain confidence. Physical activity played a massive role in helping me recuperate from the harsh side effects of the cancer treatment. It helped me with stress management, regaining my strength and rebuilding a life after cancer. There is increasing scientific evidence that…

What does pain foretell? A reflective piece on what chronic pain means to triple negative cancer survivor Geetha Paniker that is beautiful and cathartic. It is one thing to feel empathy for others, but something totally different to be in pain. Each person's own pain is most difficult until one goes through chronic pain day in and day out or an illness that calls for sheer grit to go through it. Chronic pain is pain that continues for weeks, months and even years. The experience of acute pain…

London based Parul Banka has published a book in which she openly narrates her encounter with breast cancer. During her journey, she learnt that talking about cancer in the open enables us to choose – awareness over ignorance, courage over fear and empathy over judgement. Here she validates her viewpoint. My name is Parul Banka. I was diagnosed with an aggressive grade III (the fastest growing type) breast cancer in September 2012. The entire drill of cancer treatment - chemotherapy, surgery…

Post-Menopause is tied to long-term health problems if wholesome food intake and regular physical activity is not practiced. Nutritionist Kohila Govindaraju shares tips on what to eat and importance of exercise. Menopause is a natural biological process. It is the time when a woman stops menstruating. The hormones estrogen and progesterone production will be low and the ovaries no longer produce eggs. In women, estrogen is mainly produced in the ovaries. It is also produced in fat cells and…

Mukesh’s love for his college sweetheart, Shachi, remained resolute even after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Here is a Valentine’s Day story to warm your heart. It was in 2001 that I first saw her. She walked into my tutorial class and it was love at first sight for me. I know most people say love at first sight is just an infatuation, but I felt an instant romantic attraction for her. It could be an infatuation, or young adult crush…I don’t know. All I knew was that my head was…

Mamta Goenka suffered bilateral breast cancer and naturally went through the entire gamut of treatment along with emotional turmoil and pangs of mortification. But she decided to challenge her cancer and the hair loss with her head held high. She emerged victorious and turned crusader and lymphedema management guru. Please tell us a bit about your condition : I suffered from bilateral breast cancer! When were you diagnosed? I was diagnosed with right breast cancer in 1998 and then with the left…

Rita Banik, breast cancer survivor and founder of RACE to Rein-in-Cancer, had to face this and many painful falsities and misrepresentation during her treatment. She shares some of the hurtful things that people say.  This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, she emphasizes the need to increase understanding about cancer in society and importance of early detection. Breast Cancer (BC) has become a dinner talk disease.  It has been predicted that if measures are not taken right away then by…

Smoking is known to cause and effect many systems in our body with adverse consequences, but how does it affect fertility in women? Dr Sarita Bhalerao, an established OBGYN from Mumbai helps us understand the subject in more detail. 1. Is smoking a growing concern for infertility in women? Smoking and consumption of tobacco have in general been a growing concern for women all over the world. It is a major health problem affecting developing countries especially amongst the youth…

Moyna Sen, our editor reviews cancer survivor Geetha Paniker's book "When I Fell in Love with Life". Even as you read this beautiful review, you will feel emotional and want to read the book.    Geetha Paniker does not come across as a Cancer survivor. She, on the other hand, seems like someone who has not only conquered the dreaded ailment, but has, also, in the process, learnt the prized art of celebrating life. Even though she calls Cancer the Emperor of Maladies as…