|
|
|
| HEALTH & FITNESS |
|
|
|
Prostate cancer is curable if detected early
Male-breast problem: exercises can help EYESIGHT
|
|
Prostate cancer is curable if detected early Symptoms: Prostate cancer by nature is silent in its initial stages. Its symptoms don’t appear until later when patients may develop urinary frequency, particularly at night. Prostate cancer may also cause a difficulty or inability to urinate, a weak or interrupted flow of urine or painful and burning urination. Patients may develop acute urinary retention. Even patients with benign prostatic enlargement will have same initial symptoms. Other symptoms may include painful ejaculation, blood in urine or semen, and frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips or extremities. Causes: Although genetics plays a strong role in the development of prostate cancer, environmental agents have been thought to play a role. High fat and protein diet may be associated factors. Patients with family history of prostate cancer are at a higher risk of developing the disease than the average population. Treatment:
Physicians tailor prostate cancer treatment plans to their patient’s needs, taking into account the type of cancer, the age of the individual, the degree to which the cancer has spread and the general health of the patient. Radical prostatectomy is the best treatment option: A surgical treatment for prostate cancer, the radical prostatectomy procedure removes the entire prostate with an incision in the lower abdomen. Surgical complications can occur like erectile impotence and incontinence. Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumours. Radiation can be produced from a machine outside the body (external radiation) or by putting materials that produce radiation (radioisotopes) through thin plastic tubes into the area where the cancer cells are found (internal radiation). Hormone therapy is a prostate cancer treatment that alters the body’s hormone balance to prevent certain cancers from growing. This may be accomplished with drugs that alter the way hormones work or with surgery that removes hormone-producing organs such as the testes. This treatment is for the patients who are not candidates for either curative surgery or have failed previous treatment or the disease has already spread outside prostate. Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken orally or injected into a vein. Chemotherapy is usually a systemic treatment, meaning the drugs enter the bloodstream, travel through the body and can kill cancer cells anywhere in the body, including the prostate. This treatment is not very effective and is given as the last treatment option. The writer is Associate Professor, Department of Urology,
PGI, Chandigarh.
|
|
Male-breast problem: exercises can help Gynecomastia donates accumulation of fat in the chest area. This occurs in the new born, in adolescents as well as in the elderly. In the case of young men the condition is often a source of distress and anguish. However, in a majority of the cases, if gynecomastia is not due to obesity, the breast often shrinks/ disappears within a couple of years. Causes of gynecomastia are usually uncertain, although generally attributed to an imbalance of sex hormones particularly excess secretion of estrogen in men. Gynecomastia can also be due to excess weight/fat. Fat storage occurs in the chest in men besides in the abdominal area. Abnormally large mammary glands in males result in breast enlargement, which can sometimes secrete milk. Afflicted individuals (particularly young ones) are self-conscious and often embarrassed to take off their shirt. People who are overweight often do not only suffer from health complications but also have low self-esteem due to breast enlargement. Treatment:
Proper exercises along with diet control go a long way to effectively rectify the condition. Sometimes surgery is the answer. Certain exercises targeting the upper chest region/thorax are advisable. It would, however, take months to get rid of fat and to develop chest muscles. Also an individualistic approach is ideal. Diet:
In order to get rid of gynecomastia, it is mandatory to change eating habits. l
Avoid fatty and fried foods which are major culprits for fat getting deposited in the body. l
White rice and white bread could be effectively replaced by atta bread and brown rice. l
Eating plenty of vegetables. l
Avoid corn and potatoes. l Eating slow also helps. It takes the body around 15 minutes for the massage to reach the brain that the satiety is satisfied. Eating too fast enables an individual to take another serving which can easily be avoided if those 15 minutes get lapsed. Hence it pays to eat slowly and a single serving would prove adequate. Exercises Aerobic/ cardiovascular exercises for an hour five times a week can burn the excess fat that makes up the man boobs. l
Recommendation is to initiate walking, gentle jogging or running even on a treadmill for at least 15 minutes. Increasing it by two minutes every week will help burn fat. l l
Cardio-vascular exercises are not only good for reducing chest fat but also help enhance body metabolism. This in turn helps correct the hormonal imbalance, which might usually be the cause for gynecomastia. Additionally, the muscles tighten giving a new/well-defined shape to the chest. l
Arm circles help in distributing chest fat in proper proportions. Indoor stretch: Stand in the doorway with forearms flat against the door. One foot is placed in front of the other and the forward knee is bent. Shift the body forward in a slow motion stretches the chest muscles. Corner stretch: Stand facing a corner with the arms bent, elbows against the wall leaning the entire body forward. Stretch can be felt on the front side of the chest. Wand exercise: While sitting or standing, grasp a wand/rod with the elbow bent at 90 degrees. Elevating the shoulders, bring the wand/rod behind the head and shoulders. Strength training: Aerobic and stretching exercises alone do not help lose all fat off the breast. Strength training is, in fact, the perfect way to a shapely chest. Rowing — Loop the stretch band around one foot and hold the ends in respective hands. Pull the band towards the body as in rowing for 10-15 times. Hold the band in front of the chest. Move it outwards as far as possible, return back. Repeat 10-15 times. Inclined bench presses. Exercises along with diet control can help a person get rid of the male-breast problem. Otherwise, surgery is the only alternative. The writer runs a pain management clinic in
Chandigarh.
|
|
Sight is god’s gift to mankind and eyes are probably the most beautiful and expressive part of the human face. In today’s age there is a high premium on beauty and people are willing to take the advantage of latest techniques available to make the required changes. The commonly preferred aesthetic treatment mainly consists of injectable Botox and fillers. Botox is an effective way to treat wrinkles on the forehead and around the eyes. Fillers made of Hyaluronic acid gel are used to treat various age-related hollows and depressions that come up around the eyes and give the eyes a tired look. The aim of such aesthetic treatment is to give the entire face a youthful look. Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery, also known as Oculoplasty, is truly a combination of art and Science. Oculoplasty surgeons can now not only restore normal function, but also near-normal appearance of the eyes, which have suffered from disease or trauma in the past. Have you ever thought how important it is to be able to blink normally? We generally take this basic function of our eyelids as granted till there is a problem; as it happened in the case of Manju (name changed on request). Manju had been troubled by recurrent episodes of redness and watering in her left eye for over two years. Her problem had started after neurosurgery was done to remove a tumour from her brain. During the surgery the nerve supply to various facial muscles had got paralysed, and thus she was unable to completely close her left eye. Consider another situation where Mr Sinha (name changed), an MNC executive, presented with repeated, involuntary and untimely spasms of his eyelids because of which he was unable to keep his eyes open for a long time. His condition was diagnosed as essential blepharospasm. He was given a few shots of Botox around his eyes. Soon after the treatment, he was back to his normal routine without being bothered about the troublesome spasms of the eyelids. There has certainly been an increase in the number of road accidents in the past few years, associated with which are a number of eye problems. For instance, people coping with badly damaged or shrunken eyes as a result of severe trauma often tend to hide behind dark glasses and restrict their social engagements. But this is not necessary nowadays with advances in modern ophthalmic plastic surgery, whereby the damaged eye can be replaced by a more natural looking artificial eye made of acrylic. This eye not only looks but, to some extent, even moves like a normal eye, though without any visual function. Ophthalmic plastic surgery l
Age or illness-related changes in the eyes l
Cosmetic changes related to the eyes l
Droopy eyelids l Difficulty in opening or closing the eyes l
Damaged or shrunken eyes l Persistent watering from eyes, tear duct obstruction l
Reconstruction following trauma l
Thyroid-related eye problems l
Removal of tumours from in and around the eye The writer is Chairman and Medical Director, Centre for Sight, New Delhi.Email:
drmahipal@gmail.com
|
|
Health Notes London: Emory University researchers have found that a member of a new class of antiretroviral drugs is safe and effective for patients beginning treatment against HIV. They came to this conclusion after analysing the results of a two-year multisite phase III clinical trial, and comparing this drug with standard antiretroviral drugs. “These results provide an additional potent, well tolerated treatment option for newly diagnosed patients with HIV infection,” says lead author Dr. Jeffrey Lennox, professor of medicine (infectious diseases) at Emory University School of Medicine.
— ANI
Washington: An expert at the University of Colorado Cancer Center says that analysis of specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs)-gasses emitted from certain solids or liquids such as paint-may provide new diagnostic tools for lung cancer patients. Dr Nir Peled, Fulbright Scholar at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, says that these compounds have been found to be present in the breath of lung cancer patients in recent studies.
— ANI
Early detection of lung cancer in sputum
Washington: American scientists have developed an automated three-dimensional cell-imaging platform aimed at the detection of lung cancer in sputum. The Lung Cell Evaluation Device (LuCED), jointly developed by experts from VisionGate, Inc. and the University of Washington, can detect pre-cancerous and cancerous cells in sputum.
— ANI
|
Sight is god’s gift to mankind and eyes are probably the most beautiful and expressive part of the human face. In today’s age there is a high premium on beauty and people are willing to take the advantage of latest techniques available to make the required changes. 
Prostate cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death in men worldwide. Yet it is highly curable if discovered early while it is confined to the prostate gland.