Specialty palliative care, in contrast to standard oncology care, can provide an extra layer of support for patients with lung cancer and their families. Dr Rajam Iyer, a pulmonologist and strong proponent of palliative care, enumerates its benefits for lung cancer patients.
What is palliative care for lung cancer?
In India, lung cancer constitutes 6.9 per cent of all new cancer cases and 9.3 per cent of all cancer related deaths in both sexes. At the time of…
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There is almost 10 times higher risk of developing head and neck cancers in persons consuming both alcohol and tobacco, warns Dr Shaikh Muzammil, consultant medical oncologist, Hinduja Healthcare Surgical, and advises cutting down on risks to stay protected. Head and neck cancers account for more than 5.5 lakh of the total cancer cases reported in India every year, putting India in the sixth place worldwide. What are main types of head and neck cancers? The most common type of head and neck…
Dr Rajam Iyer, pulmonologist and palliative care physician, gives us an overview of Nicotine Replacement Therapy, a treatment to help people quit smoking, and strongly recommends its promotion among smokers and the need to test it for smokeless tobacco (bidi) users. What is Nicotine Replacement Therapy? Nicotine replacement therapy is a treatment that smokers can benefit from. As smokers are addicted to the nicotine in cigarettes, that causes physical dependence, NRT helps in controlling the…
Rebecca D'Souza, clinical psychologist with Nag Foundation, an NGO in Pune working for the welfare of cancer patients, says losing hair due to chemotherapy is one of the biggest fears for women, and suggests ways of dealing with the stress and emotions. Cancer is a much maligned and dreaded disease partly because of the lack of awareness and partly because of our understanding of the disease and its treatment. Lack of awareness is one of the main reasons for late diagnosis and a lack of…
Dementia is recognized as a global health concern. It is a neurocognitive disorder, which is primarily prevalent in the elderly population. The symptoms include significant memory loss with impairments in other cognitive functions and behavioural manifestations. It has been found that certain characteristics of dementia, especially agitation and aggression can cause severe distress to the caregivers. The undesirable and distressing behavioural manifestations have been termed as ‘Challenging…
Dr. Snehil Mishra, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, Hinduja Healthcare Surgical Hospital, dispels the fallacy that heart disease is a man's disease. On the contrary, it is the number one killer of women with symptoms in women being different than men. Are women at a higher risk for heart disease than men? The risk of heart disease in women is significantly underappreciated due to under reporting as well as lack of awareness. In most Western countries, the incidence of heart…
You may have heard people refer to a ‘metastatic cancer' or say that ‘cancer has metastasized’ or is ‘in Stage 4’. But what does that really mean. Dr. Shital Patel explains. What is Metastasis? Metastasis is a term for when cancer has spread to a different part of a body from where it first originated. Because metastatic cancer is more difficult to control and treat, it is categorized as the last stage or Stage IV. Related Reading: Cancer Terms Explained How does Metastasis happen?…
Dr G Kandasami, Chief, National Addictions Management Service (NAMS), Singapore, gives a comprehensive overview on alcohol abuse and addiction and suggests measures to reduce addiction problems. How do you differentiate between social drinking and alcohol addiction? Social drinking is just drinking for fun during social occasions and there won’t be any compulsion in one’s mind to continue drinking regularly. There won’t be any consequences to your drinking. You will not lose control over your…
Loud snoring is often a sign of a more serious condition known as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Here are all the facts on sleep apnea that you should know if you or your loved one snore. Including treatment options available. What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea? Obstructive Sleep Apnea or OSA is a medical condition in which breathing stops periodically during sleep in an involuntary process. These brief periods of no breathing are called apnea. हिंदी में पढ़ें: खर्राटों को कब गंभीरता से…
