World Cancer Day observed today

Posted on February 4, 2012 by AHKhan

World Cancer Day observed on February 4, across the world including Pakistan to raise awareness about cancer and how to prevent, detect or treat it.

People, businesses, governments and non-profit organizations work together on World Cancer Day to help the general public learn more about the different types of cancer, how to watch for it, treatments and preventative measures.

Various activities and events include, Television, radio, online and newspaper advertisements and articles that mainly focus on the fight against cancer.

Nationwide campaigns approach the parents to help them minimize the risk of cancer within their families.

Public information booths are installed featuring information kits, fact sheets, booklets, posters and other items that promote the cancer awareness, prevention, risk reduction, and treatment.

Some countries use World Cancer Day to promote campaigns on various cancer issues, such as breast cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, and cancer in children. Much focus goes towards awareness and risk reduction.

The World Health Organization (WHO), which is the United Nations’ (UN) directing and coordinating health authority, works with organizations such as the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) on this day to promote ways to ease the global burden of cancer.

World Cancer Day 2012 has been themed ‘Together it is possible’ because it is only by every person, organisation, government individually doing their part that the world will be able to reduce premature deaths from cancer and other NCDs by 25% by 2025.

Cancer is a leading cause of death around the world, according to WHO, which estimates that 84 million people will die of cancer between 2005 and 2015 without intervention.

Low-income and medium-income countries are harder hit by cancer than the high-resource countries. It is essential to address the world’s growing cancer burden and to work on effective control measures.

World Cancer Day is part of the World Cancer Campaign, which responds to the Charter of Paris adopted at the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium on February 4, 2000.

It called for a strong alliance between researchers, health-care professionals, patients, governments, industry partners and the media to fight cancer.

It receives support from various partners and organizations, including the World Health Organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and other international bodies. UICC organized the first World Cancer Day in 2006.

20 Foods to Save Your Heart

Posted on January 5, 2012 by admin

To help you get in the swing of heart-smart eating, WF health experts have come up with a list of 20 foods put your heart performance to pinnacle.

According to newly updated (2011) guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA), women are now classified in three groups: high risk for heart disease, at risk, or ideal cardiovascular health. The high-risk group changed little from previous years and includes women with established heart disease, chronic kidney disease, or diabetes, among other risk factors.

Most of these foods have less than one gram of fat, the two exceptions being chickpeas and wheat germ (which, incidentally, are still considered low-fat). Each one is high in fiber. All supply healthy doses of one or more of the antioxidants. And as a bonus, not one of these foods has even a smidgen of dietary cholesterol.

1. Apples. One medium-size fruit (about five ounces) has three grams of fiber, eight milligrams of vitamin C, and 0.6 IU of vitamin E.

2. Apricots. You get 111 milligrams of vitamin C – almost two times the Daily Value – in three fresh apricots. They also provide two grams of fiber and one IU of beta-carotene.

3. Blackberries. One cup of berries contains 30 milligrams of vitamin C, along with seven grams of fiber and 0.1 IU of vitamin E.

4. Black currants. One cup of black currants meets the DV of vitamin C more than three times over, supplying 203 milligrams of the nutrient. You also get four grams of fiber and 0.7 IU of vitamin E.

5. Broccoli. One-half cup of cooked chopped broccoli offers almost a whole day’s worth of vitamin C: 58 milligrams. The same-size serving also contains two grams of fiber and 0.3 IU of beta-carotene.

6. Brussels sprouts. You get 3 grams of fiber, 48 grams of vitamin C, and 0.2 IU of beta-carotene in 1/2 cup of boiled brussels sprouts.

7. Butternut squash. One-half cup of baked cubed butternut squash provides 16IU of beta-carotene. It also provides a good amount of fiber (three grams) and a generous amount of vitamin C (15 milligrams).

8. Cantaloupe. Chow down on cantaloupe, and you can cover your vitamin C needs for an entire day. A one-cup serving of cubed fruit supplies 68 milligrams of vitamin C as well as one gram of fiber and 16 IU of beta-carotene.

9. Carrots. One of the best vitamin A sources around: One 2 1/2-ounce carrot has 6,745 IU of the nutrient – all you need for an entire day. You also get a nice amount of fiber (two grams) and even a little bit of vitamin C (seven milligrams).

10. Chickpeas. You get a whopping seven grams of fiber in 1/2 cup of chickpeas- noteworthy even for a number of the fiber-rich legume clan. The same size serving also offers a small burst of vitamin C (five milligrams).

11. Grapefruit. Both pink and red varieties provide 50 milligrams of vitamin C as well as 0.7 gram of fiber.

12. Green peas. You can bump up your fiber intake a notch or two with these legumes. A 1/2 -cup serving of boiled green peas offers a modest two grams of fiber, along with 11 milligrams of vitamin C.

13. Papaya. Yet another superb source of vitamin C: Half of a papaya supplies 94 milligrams of C – roughly 11/2 times the DV. It also has a respectable three grams of fiber.

14. Passion fruit. It seems fitting that a food named “passion fruit” can do so much for your heart! A serving of five medium-size fruits (about 3 1/2 ounces total) provides decent amounts of fiber (two grams), vitamin C (30 milligrams), and beta-carotene (0.2 IU).

15. Raspberries. One cup of berries gives you a hefty six grams of fiber as well as 31 milligrams of vitamin C.

16. Spinach. For beta-carotene, spinach is one of your best bets. A half-cup serving of boiled spinach provides 25 IU of beta-carotene as well as two grams of fiber and nine milligrams of vitamin C.

17. Strawberries. These bountiful berries offer 85 milligrams of vitamin C and four grams of fiber in every one-cup serving.

18. Sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes pack a beta-carotene punch, with one baked four-ounce spud supplying 83 IU of the nutrient. As a bonus, it can boost your intake of fiber (three grams) and vitamin C (28 milligrams).

19. Sweet red peppers. One-half cup of chopped red peppers has only 0.8 gram of fiber and one IU of beta-carotene. But you get more than a day’s supply of vitamin C – 95 milligrams.

20. Wheat germ. One-quarter cup of toasted wheat germ contains three IU of vitamin E, making the grain one of the best food source of E. You get a good four grams of fiber, too.

Get as much fibre as you can. Green beans, ladies finger, cauliflower, spinach, tomatoes and oranges all have the added benefit of being loaded with folic acid. Studies have shown that if you keep fat between 10 and 15 per cent of the total calories you consume each day, it’s possible to stop and even reverse clogging of the arteries. By steering clear of meat, you’ll avoid not just the worst kind of fat (saturated) but also cholesterol and animal protein. The little fat that you do eat should be monounsaturated (such as olive or canola oil), which has been shown to lower blood cholesterol.

Fruit, veggie lovers not immune to weight gain

Posted on January 2, 2012 by admin

A large new European study finds that simply eating a lot of fruits and vegetables may not be enough to stave off the weight gain that often comes with age — except for people who recently quit smoking.

Researchers found that of nearly 374,000 adults in 10 European countries, who were followed for five years, those who ate the most fruits and vegetables were no less likely to gain weight once other factors like calorie intake and exercise habits — were taken into account.

The results, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, are not an excuse to skip the fruits and veggies, however.

Plant foods are full of nutrients that may help ward off chronic diseases like heart disease and some cancers, note the researchers, led by Anne-Claire Vergnaud of Imperial College London in the UK.

And in some past studies that assigned overweight people to eat more fruits and vegetables, the diet change has seemed to help.

But the current findings do point to the importance of overall lifestyle in maintaining weight as one ages.

For the study, Vergnaud’s team looked at diet and weight information collected from adults between 25 and 70 years old.

Over five years, the study participants gained about one pound per year, on average.

Among men, weight gain generally dipped somewhat as their fruit and vegetable intake rose. But that link disappeared when the researchers accounted for other factors, like the men’s daily calories, exercise habits and education levels.

Among overweight women, those who said they ate the most vegetables tended to gain more weight over the next five years.

That, the researchers speculate, could be because some of those women were on weight-loss diets that encourage eating a lot of vegetables. Many people who go on special diets notoriously see their weight yo-yo over time.

There was one group for whom higher fruit and vegetable intake was linked to less weight gain: people who quit smoking during the study period. The reasons are not clear, Vergnaud’s team says.

But they speculate that healthy eating habits may help prevent the weight gain that many smokers experience when they try to kick the habit.

If that’s true, they write, “this finding may have important public health implications because weight gain after smoking cessation is a frequent reason for relapse.”

In general, experts urge people to get plenty of fruits and vegetables for the good of overall health. The “DASH” diet recommended for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol suggests four to five servings of fruit and the same number of vegetable servings each day.

A half-cup of cooked vegetables or a medium-sized piece of fresh fruit would be examples of a serving.

Studies suggest that the average adult in the US gets only two or three servings of fruits and vegetables combined each day.

Violence doesn’t make TV more enjoyable

Posted on November 26, 2011 by admin

Contrary to the belief of some television producers, spiking cartoons with a dose of violence doesn’t make children enjoy them more.
Despite growing concern about the effects of media violence on children, violent television shows and movies continue to be produced and marketed to them. An estimated 70 percent of children’s TV shows now contain some degree of violent content, BBC radio reported.
Researchers in America tested a common view presented by media producers that children like to watch violent programming. For many producers and media critics, the question is not if children love violence, but rather why children love violence.
The goal of this study was to examine children’s liking of violent content while independently manipulating the amount of action, which is often confounded with violence in the existing research.
Researchers sought the opinions of 128 youngsters following exposure to a series of animated programmes in America. The participants were between the ages of 5 and 11 years (from kindergarten through fourth grade), and included as many boys as girls.
The children viewed one of four different versions of short animated pieces that ran for about five minutes and were designed specifically for the study.
All were slapstick in nature, but they differed in terms of the degree of violence included. Afterwards, the researchers led the children through questionnaires about the different episodes.
It was found that violent content was actually a turn off for boys, depending on how they connected with the characters involved.
In fact, the less violent the characters, the more boys identified with them and enjoyed the program at hand. Girls did not have the same reaction, however, feeling no more attached to those characters that were less aggressive.
The researchers suggested that this may be because slapstick content generally appeals more to boys than girls. Nevertheless, girls did not actually prefer the more violent content any more than the boys did.
The researchers conclude that if producers are willing to work on making cartoons that aren’t violent so much as action packed, they can still capture their target audience better and without the harmful consequences.

Pakistan to mark Diabetes Day 2011

Posted on November 11, 2011 by admin

Pakistan is marking the World Diabetes Day 2011 in next few days at a time there has seen a sharp rise in its prevalence. The ailment with a growing rate of 70 percent has emerged as a major health problem, said Prof. A Samad Shera, Secretary General of Diabetic Association of Pakistan (DAP) on Friday.

He said that an estimated five percent of all people suffering from the disease in the country receive optimal care. The diabetologist feared that the alarming increase in the prevalence of diabetes will impose heavy burden on the society. This burden is already manifested in the form of morbidity, early mortality and high healthcare costs.

We need to take urgent and appropriate measures to meet the challenge, he said. Prof. Shera said dedicated and coordinated approach is required among the government and the personnel involved in diabetes healthcare.

Japan provides US $ 2.64 mln to protect Pakistani children against polio

Posted on November 4, 2011 by admin

The Government of Japan has assured its continuous support for the polio eradication initiative in Pakistan by extending a grant of approximately US$ 2.64 million (203 million-yen).The fund will be utilized to procure 11 million doses of oral polio vaccine for rapid mop up vaccination campaigns and short interval additional doses operations , especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, said a press release here on Thursday. in addition, the fund will be used for the educational activities for polio epidemiology to eliminate misunderstanding and prejudice against polio vaccination.

Tobacco Smoking is single largest cause of many diseases

Posted on October 27, 2011 by admin

Smoking is the single largest cause of many diseases.

This was stated by eminent cardiologist and Medical Superintendent Red Crescent Hospital Latifabad, Dr Fazal-ur-Rehman, here on Wednesday.

He said that smoking causes many of diseases including cancer of different kinds, cardiac, tuberculosis, asthma, shrinking of mouth tissues and arteries and foot infections.

Dr Fazal said that smoking is not only injurious for the users but passive smoking is also a threat to the passive smokers.

He said that tobacco chewing, Gutka, leaf with chewing tobacco are also harmful.

He said that despite promulgation of Anti-Smoking Ordinance, smoking is prevalent in public places.

Dr Fazal-ur-Rehman was also critical of advertisement of cigarette companies on media.

He also emphasized the need of effective implementation of Anti-Smoking Ordinance.

Dr Fazal emphasized the need of community-based efforts for fostering awareness about the hazards of the smoking.

World Mental Health Day to be observed today

Posted on October 10, 2011 by admin

The World Health Organisation estimates that 1 in 4 people will need mental health care at some point in their lives.

WMHD is observed globally on October 10 every year under different theses. The WMHD theme this year is “Building Resilience Together”.

Mental Health Week raises community awareness about mental health issues and is held every October to coincide with WMHD.

This year, Mental Health Week runs from October 9 to 15. On the WMHD and during the Mental Health Week, healthcare organisations, NGOs, medical universities and colleges across the country including Lahore will organise seminars, walks and lectures to highlight the problems relating to mental sickness and responsibilities of public, especially the relatives of mentally retarded people.

According to an estimation, around 450 million people worldwide have a mental health problem. By the year 2020, the WHO has projected that depression will be the second leading cause of disability in the world.

UNICEF launches Mother, Child Week in Pakistan

Posted on October 10, 2011 by admin

Each year Pakistan witness preventable deaths of 432,000 children under-five years of age and 20,000 mothers due to causes related to pregnancy and child birth.

Among the under-five deaths, two-thirds are in the newborn period (first 28 days of life) and the remaining is largely due to pneumonia (13%) and diarrhea (11%).

In FATA 104 of every 1000 children born did not reach their fifth birthday. Of these, the majority (86) die in the first year of life due to preventable diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia. Diarrhea and pneumonia are seasonal calamities and preventable. Most of these precious lives can be saved by simple knowledge about prevention and promotion of some key measures at home and healthcare seeking practices relating to these diseases.

Pakistan has committed to a Millennium Development Goal of reducing under-five deaths to 52 per 1,000 births, and under-one deaths to 40 per 1,000 by 2015. In an effort to achieve this goal, Mother and Child weeks are held twice a year with focused messages on pneumonia or diarrhea according to the seasonality of these diseases.
National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Health Care, Ministry of Health in collaboration of UNICEF is launching the Mother & Child Week, from 10th to 15th October in all the Agencies, FRs and IDP camps of FATA.

The partners include National Programmes on EPI, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and UNICEF, Population Welfare Department and non-governmental organizations. This is one of the key initiatives by the Department of Health FATA.
As winter season is approaching the upcoming Mother and Child Week is focused on prevention and management of acute respiratory tract infections with an intensive awareness rising on best care practices at the household level if a child suffers from the disease.
The week-long campaign supported by UNICEF provides a model for improving health and nutrition and consequently child survival and development in Pakistan.
The series of activities during the week includes public awareness activities at village supplemented by immunization and de worming for children, tetanus toxoid vaccination for pregnant mothers, refresher trainings for health workers, and strengthened public health systems to ensure that Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) and other essential supplies are available and correctly used.
Each pregnant woman will also receive counseling on recognition of danger signs among mothers and newborns, the importance of at least four ANC visits, delivery by a skilled birth attendant, post natal care, early initiation of breast feeding, exclusive breast feeding, immunization of the child
and optimal birth spacing.
The formal launching ceremony of the Mother Child Health Week was held in Peshawar on 10th October (Monday) at LHWs programme office. Dr Fawad Khan Director Health Services FATA was the Chief Guest on the occasion.
Dr Muhammad Rafiq, Program Specialist, UNICEF FATA and Dr Pervaiz Kamal Project Coordinator MNCH program, were present on the occasion and briefed the media.
This week will be focused on nationwide awareness campaign with focused service delivery in seven agencies and Frontier Region of FATA and IDP camps reaching around 1.0 million population including 174,000 under-five children and 33,080 pregnant women. Around 1,442 Lady Health Workers will be involved in the activity together with vaccinators and healthcare providers.

Workshop on expert’s guideline for dengue treatment

Posted on September 28, 2011 by admin

A consultative workshop with joint collaboration of Punjab Health department and University of Health Sciences Lahore will be held here on Tuesday (Sept 27).

Guideline and protocol prepared by Srilankan and local health experts for treatment and case management of dengue patients would be highlighted on the occasion, stated Health department spokesperson Monday.

Principal Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS) Prof. Faisal Masood, senior medical teachers and Srilankan experts would deliver lectures for doctors of public sector hospitals as well as general practitioners during the workshop.

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