Category Health & Science

Screening & vaccine protect women against cervical cancer

0 Comments read Cancer, Gender, Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 26.02.2008 (Women’s Feature Service): After a routine Pap smear test, Susan Tailford was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of 41. Each year in Australia, about 1,000 cases of cervical cancer result in the deaths of over 200 women.

“The shock of being diagnosed with any form of cancer is quite devastating. You want to blame someone, especially for a wart virus that was contracted through sexual intercourse. As there had been very few men in my life, my anger went from my ex-husband to my current partner. My ex-husband wasn’t around so my current partner had to cope with my anger and mood swings,” says Susan, a mother of two daughters.

Unlike some other cancers, cervical cancer is not hereditary. Almost all cases of cervical cancer are associated with some strains of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a sexually-transmitted virus.

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Remembering uncle – the man behind Jaipur Foot

3 Comments read Health & Science, Poliomyelitis

By Neena Bhandari

Jaipur, 31.01.2008 (Indo Asian News Service): Each year, when I returned home from Australia for our winter sojourn, spending an evening with “uncle” – as I had come to address Dr Pramod Karan Sethi after our four-decade long association – had become a ritual. Sadly, this year I was too late. A recipient of the Padma Shri and Magasaysay awards, Sethi, who provided new hope to many an amputee with the development of an artificial limb (Jaipur Foot) in association with master artisan Ram Chander Sharma (Masterji), and improved callipers for polio patients, passed away Jan 5, 2008, at the age of 80.

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Calculating Breast Cancer

0 Comments read Cancer, Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 18.11.2007 (Women’s Feature Service): The reminder for a mammogram had been staring her in the face for a while now. There was no pain or lump in her breast so she had been ignoring the reminders for a free mammogram, sent to all women above 60 years of age. When Gladys Roach finally, decided to get it done five years ago, she was in for a rude shock.

After the mammogram, the doctors conducted an ultrasound, but were still concerned and so performed a biopsy. After four hours of various tests, Gladys says, “I was told I had breast cancer. I was stunned and cried my heart out as I took the train home.”

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