Cervical cancer is one of the few cancers that’s nearly preventable. The fee of death from this ailment has dropped by greater than half in the past few decades.
You can do a lot to help forestall Cervical Cancer.There is no guaranteed way to forestall cervical cancer. However, with the aid of getting the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, if possible, and undergoing regular testing, a person can significantly limit their risk. Using barrier methods of protection for the duration of sexual activity, keeping off smoking, and making sure dietary adjustments may additionally also be beneficial..Although it is now not always feasible to prevent cervical cancer, notes that getting ordinary exams and receiving the HPV vaccine are the most important steps an individual can take to avoid this disorder from developing
Testing can enable docs to identify precancerous changes and provide early treatment. The vaccine helps stop infection with HPV, which is a virus that can lead to cervical cancer. People aged 25 – 65 years with a cervix have to request an HPV check from a medical doctor every 5 years or a Pap test every 3 years. There are many hospitals in Nigeria where one can do a Pap Test which is highly advisable Click on the link here for the hospital closer to your location
Brain Tumour could be a cancerous or none cancerous growth of abnormal cells in the brain
Many different types of brain tumors exist. Some brain tumors are noncancerous (benign), and some brain tumors are cancerous (malignant). Brain tumors can begin in your brain (primary brain tumors), or cancer can begin in other parts of your body and spread to your brain as secondary (metastatic) brain tumors.
The signs and symptoms of a brain tumor vary greatly and depend on the brain tumor’s size, location and rate of growth. General signs and symptoms caused by brain tumors may include:
1. New onset or change in pattern of headaches
2. Headaches that gradually become more frequent and more severe
3. Unexplained nausea or vomiting
4. Vision problems, such as blurred vision, double vision or loss of peripheral vision
5. Gradual loss of sensation or movement in an arm or a leg
6. Difficulty with balance
7. Speech difficulties
8. Difficulty making decisions
9. Inability to follow simple commands
9. Personality or behavior changes
10. Seizures, especially in someone who doesn’t have a history of seizures
Primary brain tumors originate in the brain itself or in tissues close to it, such as in the brain-covering membranes
Primary brain tumors begin when normal cells develop changes (mutations) in their DNA. A cell’s DNA contains the instructions that tell a cell what to do. The mutations tell the cells to grow and divide rapidly and to continue living when healthy cells would die. The result is a mass of abnormal cells, which forms a tumor.
Secondary (metastatic) brain tumors are tumors that result from cancer that starts elsewhere in your body and then spreads (metastasizes) to your brain. Secondary brain tumors most often occur in people who have a history of cancer. Rarely, a metastatic brain tumor may be the first sign of cancer that began elsewhere in your body. In adults, secondary brain tumors are far more common than are primary brain tumors. Any cancer can spread to the brain, but common types include:
Breast cancer
Colon cancer
Kidney cancer
Lung cancer
Melanoma
Diagnosis of a brain tumor begins with a physical exam and a look at your medical history. The physical exam includes a very detailed neurological examination. Your doctor will conduct a test to see if your cranial nerves are intact. These are the nerves that originate in your brain.
The treatment of a brain tumor depends on:
the type of tumor
the size of the tumor
the location of the tumor
your general health
The most common treatment for malignant brain tumors is surgery. The goal is to remove as much of the cancer as possible without causing damage to the healthy parts of the brain. While the location of some tumors allows for safe removal, other tumors may be located in an area that limits how much of the tumor can be removed. Even partial removal of brain cancer can be beneficial.
Me Before You has always been one of my top romance books (even though I’m not a fan of romantic novels)
The story of Louisa Clark and Will Traynor is beautiful but yet devastating and heartbreaking The book showed love and its beautiful nature and also the reality of life
It also handled the challenges of being quadriplegic and the quality of one’s life which challenges the reader to think beyond what they know
Quadriplegia, which some people refer to as tetraplegia, is paralysis that results in the loss of movement and sensation in all four limbs. It can also affect the internal organs in the trunk
Damage to the brain or spinal cord can cause quadriplegia.
The spinal cord is a long, tube-like structure. It consists of bundles of nerve fibers that relay signals between the brain and the rest of the body. The bones of the spine, the vertebrae protect the spinal cord from physical injury. However, a blow or a fall can break or dislocate a vertebra, damaging a segment of the spinal cord.
Will was quadriplegic and couldn’t imagine living his whole like in a wheelchair compared to how his life was before his accident
As much as Lou tried and loved him, it wasn’t enough
I love how the book had a deeper meaning than the usual romance books, it shows the length one can go to make someone they love happy even though it means sacrificing theirs
You open the doors of wonder to lands and near and far. You inspire ideas local and global. You instilled life values and skills and prepared me for challenges. You gave me what I need to seek further knowledge on my own.
I remember the conversations, the times you cared about my well-being, doing your best to protect me. To every teacher who goes over and beyond for their students, you leave indelible memories. To all teachers who show up in spite of war, pandemics and barriers, I hope that your contributions are appreciated more. In every space, I find teachers ready to propel me towards greatness, pushing through as I rise above difficulties and helping me pass this on to others.
To the teachers of my best subject. It was fun applying mathematical concepts to real life. All of the quizzes and intercollegiate competitions were among the best experiences of my life. You helped me be the best and I still find your foundation a solid place to stand on today.
I drink a glass of water and hear my physics teachers talking about refraction. I see flowers and am taken back to those afternoons learning pollination and the Venus flytrap image in Modern Biology. I see my kitchen as a big chemistry laboratory and marvel at all of the reactions going on at the same time in the universe.
I still remember Mrs Obe reciting these lines in poetry class: He that is down needs fear no fall•He that is low no pride•He that is humble ever shall, have God to be his guide. || I am content with what I have•Little be it or much•And Lord contentment shall I crave• Because thou savest such” (John Bunyan). All of my English teachers built me to be the IELTS coach I am today.
Thank you to my Islamic Religious Studies teacher for telling us the story of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, meaning of Surahs which I still remember today, story of the Prophets and the Caliphs.
I learnt about Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Salawa Abeni, Mozart, Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from my music teachers. Learnt how to make recipes, soap, household cleaning products, embroidery and fashion design from my home economics teachers.
Budgeting, market forces , law of diminishing returns etc were beautiful concepts to absorb thanks to my economics teachers. My geography teacher gave me National Geographic issues to read and we will spend break time talking all about them. He could go and on about climate, forests, oceans, rocks, anthropology. It is no wonder it became one of my favourite.
Quiz and debate teachers taught me how to handle competition and imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship. PE teachers brought the history of the Olympics alive and made me understand the intricacies of football as a sport.
To all who taught me the Quran, supported me in reciting, memorizing, learning Arabic , helped me understand my faith and serve humanity. To my aunts and uncles for teaching me to love reading, for giving me an upper hand in the science and arts, helping me ace school assignments and believing I could conquer the world.
To my father for teaching me about faith, politics, finance, the corporate world, how official things worked, strategy, overcoming challenges, philanthropy, leadership, service, integrity, agriculture, cars, security, focus and discipline.
Most of all, my dear mother, who set me on the path to being a multilingual by teaching me French as my third language, for the nights spent by the lantern teaching me how to put àmí ohùn as I was having challenges in Yoruba class. For making sure I aced English and Literature with ease. For exemplifying kindness, faith, dignity, hardwork, diligence, self-confidence, beauty and being an exceptionally amazing woman. For teaching me psychology, early child development and all of the wealth of knowledge possible for any human to pour into another.
For Senegal’s Biggest Holiday, a Shortage of the All-Important Sheep
Latin America Is Facing a ‘Decline of Democracy’ Under the Pandemic
Vietnam detects first locally transmitted Covid-19 cases since Aprilhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/27/vietnam-evacuates-80000-tourists-amid-new-covid-19-cases-in-danang
Life After Lockdown in Mexico City
We’ll Be Wearing Masks for a While. Why Not Make Them Nice?
This week, Farida and Damilola spoke with an infectious disease specialist working in the COVID19 management team.
What is your current role in the COVID-19 response and what was your role before getting involved?
Primarily, I work as a clinician, I am a doctor; I see patients and that’s what I do on a day-to-day basis. For the response, I see patients and I work in the infection, prevention and control unit. I do training for doctors. I also help to assess health centre standards for COVID-19 management.
I specialize in infectious diseases.
From your background, it’s evident that you worked during the Ebola period.
Yes, I did.
Based on your experience managing both outbreaks, what are the major differences so far?
They are both RNA viruses, though Ebola is a type of hemorrhagic fever similar to Lassa fever. However, COVID-19 is a bit different because it is more of a respiratory virus so the route of transmission is different. Also the major difference between these viruses is that the Ebola virus outbreak was quite short, it basically lasted from July to October before Lagos was declared free. In addition, the confirmed cases in Nigeria were not up to 20 patients. However, with COVID-19 the confirmed cases are in the thousands with no end in sight for the response, so it’s more of a marathon.
Why was Ebola controlled in a shorter space of time?
When you look at the global response, we have never dealt with something like COVID-19 before in recent world history, of course, we had the Spanish flu in the 19th century. The problem is that we have never dealt with something on this scale. So it has been quite difficult.
When you look at Nigeria, Lagos state had a tremendous advantage over other states because of the extreme experience we had with viruses like Ebola. So there was a more coordinated response but these are two different viruses and no one has experienced COVID-19 before, so we are all learning as we go.
Cool. How do you feel about the federal government’s imposed lockdown, as seen by the developed countries of the world?
It would be difficult to make a judgment call on that now. This is because all over the world people have been placed on lockdowns and there are many arguments on whether lockdowns are effective or are not. The U.S tried to lockdown but they currently have the highest cases of COVID-19 patients in the world. Now that they are trying to reopen, we can see a surge in cases. Sweden didn’t lockdown and the virus dealt with them rather badly. For Nigeria, based on the situation we were in at that time, I think a lockdown was inevitable. The effectiveness of the lockdown can be questioned. Did we achieve what we sought to achieve? I don’t think so but like I said, we wouldn’t beat ourselves too much over many of these things. We just rather move on, learn, and go.
On treating patients, what’s the mental effect it has had on you?
As physicians, we face one of the highest levels of mortality. It’s not very strange to see patients die; sad to say. The problem with COVID is that it has been difficult to predict. We see patients who get into critical situations and go home. Some get in similar conditions and die. The most disturbing aspect for me is those that talk until they die. You examine them breathing well and all of a sudden, like the snap of a finger, they are here and the next minute they are gone. I’m like, “What?! Is this the man I just spoke with?” So it’s been challenging, you know.
I have been practicing medicine for years now so I have kind of built a fortitude against these things. However, you can’t be hardened. These things still consume us and we just try to move on to the next patient.
Any highs and lows so far?
Well, I will start with the lows; In the early days of the response, especially when we saw a lot of funds being spent on unnecessary PPEs and the guidelines weren’t being followed. Personally, it was a hard time for me because I saw things sliding and I couldn’t do much about it. Change is difficult. It was only about two to three months after that we were able to win people over and people started coming around. I was happy that people were trying to conserve PPE like hazmat suits, as they knew they could do well with just a surgical gown. This aided in the preservation of limited PPEs.
Furthermore, I am happy with every patient that survives COVID, we have had a 98 year old survive, and for every patient I discharge, I reiterate the fact that they are very lucky to survive. It has been quite challenging, I have never been this stressed in my life. I am chronically tired, a lot of times I wake up but I doubt I have the energy to get up but I just have moved on. I pray we just get out of this phase because this has very challenging for all of us.
As an experienced doctor, we realize that you are used to this, however, have you heard of other doctors breaking down?
Yes, we have had other doctors suffer a physical and mental breakdown which is quite worrisome. However, for me, I have not suffered either, although I get very tired. I wish everything could be over because it has been very stressful. Thankfully. we have not been as swamped like other parts of the world but we have also been strained. I have been close to breaking down but due to my reserve I am yet to suffer one
How has this affected your family life?
Interestingly, I got married in September 2014 which was smack in the middle of the Ebola response. My fiancé then, now my wife used to drop me off at Yaba; so she has been extremely supportive. There was also an outbreak of yellow fever at Bauchi in 2019. We went on vacation to the Yankari game reserve and all of a sudden, there was an outbreak. Immediately, I started case investigation and she was there with me.
Earlier in the response, there was the challenge of either going from home or staying in a hotel. And all she said was that it was also my house and we would get through the situation together.
End this for us on a happy note
We should thank everyone involved in the response. It’s been challenging for us in every single way. I think I want to salute everyone that has poured blood, sweat, and tears to get us to where we are today. We just need to keep pushing until we get rid of it. We have been through this from the very first patient until now. We have seen all the ways we have evolved. We have become stronger, harder, tougher, better, and more skilled. We pray that God will shorten the days and we will go back to our normal lives sooner than later.
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We are grateful to this doctor for graciously granting this interview.
From a big pediatric hospital I'm telling you: DOCTORS, NURSES, & ADMIN ARE GETTING COVID FROM ONE ANOTHER not the patients or parents. Please continue to mask & social distance with colleagues & staff, stay home if you're sick, work from home when you can.
If you’re still hoping to get back to normalcy after all this, you’re in for a big shock. The world has never had a history of going back to normal, we adapt to the new definition of normal. So get comfortable.
Canadian PM on plan to give health workers protective wear
We’re staying focused on getting our front line workers the personal protective equipment they need to stay healthy and keep you safe. Because as we restart our economy and more people head back to work, the need for this kind of equipment will continue to grow.
Hey, so, I got #Covid19 in March. I’ve been sick for over 3 months w/ severe respiratory, cardiovascular & neurological symptoms. I still have a fever. I’ve been incapacitated for nearly a season of my life. It's not enough to not die. You don’t want to live thru this, either. 1/
Family appoints member to oversee plans for possible infection
My family made me our Covid-19 incident commander with a task to put together what happens if any member of the family in Lagos shows symptoms. Now we have a Process Document that details our preferred test & isolation centre, isolation bag contents and more. May we never need it
Woman who lives with brother who tested positive details how masks and social distancing kept her negative as he recovered
my older brother tested positive for COVID. I was in the same house as him. He isolated in his office & used a diff bathroom. We wore masks, frequently washed our hands and wiped things down. He recovered & we all tested negative. Masks work. Social distancing works.