Jane Prior of the Bone Marrow Donor Programme, Singapore takes a closer look at the myths and misconceptions surrounding the impact bone marrow donation may have on your own health.
First, we need to understand why we need to donate blood stem cells. Certain diseases destroy bone marrows or cause it to not function normally. As bone marrow is crucial in the production of blood, this may lead to the endangerment of one’s life if the bone marrow is not working properly.
Myth 1:…
Cuddles Foundation is one of the few NGOs in India that provides holistic nutritional support to impoverished children so that they can survive the trauma of cancer. In an interview founder-member Purnota Dutta Bahl stresses the need to fight malnutrition to save lives. How important is nutrition in the fight against childhood cancer? 50,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year in India. Only 22% of these even make it to the hospital for treatment. 4 out of 10 children…
Although characters portrayed with mental illness have progressed from the Victorian era, more novels with believable and real protagonists need to be authored, says writer, poet and activist Jhilmil Breckenridge. If you say you have diabetes, people engage, ask about your medication, and say, oh you should not be eating rice, or potatoes, and so it goes. But if you say you have schizophrenia, for example, there will be an uncomfortable hush, as though you have just…
The proposed Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill smacks of hypocrisy and lip service. Should it be shown the door? An impassioned plea by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of India - Chennai Chapter INDIA MS DAY - 7th FEB 2016 India MS Day is on the First Sunday of February. This year we observe the 1st India MS Day which is on February 7, 2016. This is to raise awareness of Multiple Sclerosis in India. India MS Day is being highlighted by the colour RED. It also coincides with the…
Gayathri Ananthakrishnan, Chief Executive, IndianProstateCancerFoundation shares her hope. The history of mankind and the world has been intertwined with the outbreak of epidemics and diseases . Their impact changed the lives of generations and the evolution of medical science. But through it all, the human spirit has prevailed and fought on with hope and with new armour to its armamentarium. Vaccines, antibiotics , anaesthetics, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and invasive…
"Early stage diagnosis and Screening affect survival rates in top 3 cancers" Preet K. Dhillon, PhD, MPH, Epidemiologist, Senior Scientific Officer, Public Health Foundation of India in her interview with PatientsEngage Which cancers are easy to detect at an early stage ? What is their contribution to the total number of cancer malignancies? At what rate is this growing? Of the most commonly occurring cancers in India, breast, cervix, oral and colorectal cancers are amenable…
Head and neck cancer specialist Dr. Vishal Rao has recently invented the Aum Voice Prosthesis is to help throat cancer patients speak and eat properly after surgery. The device, especially pioneered for the poor, costs only INR 50 (<1 USD). An interview with Dr. Vishal Rao: Tell us about your brain child – Aum? The realization of not being able to speak, first dawned on me, when I had a throat cancer patient from a village visit my clinic. He had already been …
1. What is Zika virus disease and what are the symptoms? Zika is a disease caused by Zika virus that is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week. Zika virus is not a new virus and has existed in South East Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands. 2. How is Zika transmitted? Zika is…
Here is a round up of the PatientsEngage top 10 most popular stories of 2015 1. My Special Child Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication. Mousumi Dutta shares her stirring narrative about bringing up her daughter, Aria who is on the Autism Spectrum with remarkable fortitude, dignity and unwavering optimism. http://www.patientsengage.com/personal-voices/autism/my-special-…
