Category Cancer

Oncology massage goes mainstream

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 22.07.2021 (The Medical Republic): Major cancer hospitals across the country are offering oncology massage as one of the tools in their integrative oncology and support centres to help some people cope better with treatment.

Clinical studies have suggested that massage can help ease stress, anxiety, depression, pain, nausea, insomnia and fatigue in patients with cancer. A 2004 study on the benefits of massage in around 1,200 patients from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York found there was a 47% reduction in pain, 51% drop in nausea, 42% improvement in fatigue levels, 59% improvement in anxiety levels and 48% improvement in depression.

In Sydney, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and the Kinghorn Cancer Centre, and in Melbourne, the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre offer oncology massage.

Oncology Massage gaining acceptance in cancer care

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© Copyright Neena Bhandari. All rights reserved. Republication, copying or using information from neenabhandari.com content is expressly prohibited without the permission of the writer and the media outlet syndicating or publishing the article.

India V/s Australia: सिडनी का ग्राउंड गुलाबी क्यों हो गया था?

भारत और ऑस्ट्रेलिया के बीच खेले जा रहे पिंक टेस्ट मैच के तीसरे दिन सिडनी का हरा-भरा ग्राउंड गुलाबी हो गया. स्तन कैंसर के प्रति जागरुकता फैलाने के लिए यहां क्रिकेट और संस्कृति का अनोखा संगम देखने को मिला. मीडिया रिपोर्ट्स के मुताबिक ग्राउंड पर गुलाबी साड़ी पहने कम-से-कम सौ महिलाएं मौजूद थीं, जो ब्रेस्ट स्क्रीनिंग और केयर के प्रति जागरुकता फैलाने के लिए आईं थीं. ना सिर्फ औरतों बल्कि मर्दों ने भी गुलाबी पगड़ी, कमीज़ और टोपी पहनकर इस अभियान का समर्थन किया.

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BBC Hindi: https://www.bbc.com/hindi/sport-46772040

BBC Punjabi: https://www.bbc.com/punjabi/international-46770190

BBC Telugu: https://www.bbc.com/telugu/international-46772983

English Translation: English Translation of Pink Sari

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Cancer Immunotherapy offers hope, when prognosis is grim

By Neena Bhandari

Melbourne, 09.10.2016 (The Week): Melissa Baker, 41, had been feeling itchy for a few months and then one evening she felt a lump in her neck. She went to see her doctor and by the end of the week, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She was told it was a “good cancer” and that she would be cured with six months of treatment.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. When the first line treatment failed, she underwent a stem cell transplant and nearly died from pneumonia in the lead up to it. The transplant also failed. This was followed by treatment with an expensive targeted chemotherapy drug. After an initial good response, Melissa’s lymphoma started progressing again.

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