Cancer Immunotherapy offers hope, when prognosis is grim

09/10/2016 0 Comments read Cancer, Health & Science

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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Is ayurveda the key to universal healthcare in India?

28/05/2015 0 Comments read Health & Science

Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Kochi, 28.05.2015 (BMJ): Many Indians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, think that integrating the ancient medical system of ayurveda with allopathic medicine is the key to providing universal healthcare, perhaps because practitioners of traditional medicine remain the primary healthcare providers for millions of people in South East Asia, especially in rural areas.

Ayurveda is one of the world’s oldest medical systems. “Ayur” means “life” and “veda” means “knowledge” in Sanskrit. It is based on the concept that each person’s body (prakriti) comprises three doshas or bodily humours (vata, pitta, and kapha) and that disease results from their imbalance. However, there is no conclusive scientific evidence to support the literal existence of doshas. Ayurvedic practitioners prescribe individualised preventive and curative interventions, such as herbal formulations, diet, massage, exercise, yoga, and lifestyle recommendations.1

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India Needs to Focus on Its Polio Survivors

30/04/2015 0 Comments read Disability, Health & Science, Poliomyelitis

By Neena Bhandari

The Indian Government, Non-Governmental Organisations and the larger community must invest in rehabilitating millions of polio survivors facing new physical, social, cultural and economic challenges.

India was certified polio-free by the World Health Organisation on 27 March 2014. Polio immunisation has been a great success story of public-private health partnership, but now we need to replicate this to improving the lives of people living with polio.

Unlike the developed world, millions of polio survivors in India are still very young. They will need treatment and support for many more years to come. Doctors, orthotists and physiotherapists need to be trained to recognise and manage the debilitating effects of Post-Polio Syndrome [PPS]. It is also time to count and document the number of polio survivors and the problems they are facing today.

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