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GYNECOLOGICAL CANCER GUIDE: CANCER IMPACT ON RELATIONSHIPS

admin — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 15:27:27 +0000

Reflection about the quality of life from many perspectives often shows that those factors that are largely blamed by the ‘cancer’ were in fact, in disarray before. Cancer treatment reframes the level and awareness of intimacy amongst couples. It will either strain or strengthen a relationship so honest communication is vital. However, it is not uncommon for marriages and long-term partnerships to be put under an enormous strain. For women not in relationships, it heightens the impact on fertility, and impact on finding a new partner who is accepting of her physical changes.For many though, a feeling of emotional disconnection from herself and partner is not uncommon in the first twelve months, especially if there are other factors creating pressure. It is almost as if the enormity of the diagnosis flings each into her or his space to sort them out. And in this space there is a lack of connection. It is common to suddenly be at a loss of what to say to each other; for both to feel useless and abandoned in the relationship – any attempts of ‘support’ seem futile. One of you may be focusing on the practical issues facing you while the other is in need of intensive emotional support at that time. Nothing seems to synchronize. The potential threat to life is now compounded by the potential loss of self-esteem, partnerships, relationships and an uncertainty of how the other will now accept her as a ‘new and unknown’ person.It is a common immediate reaction to focus on the physical – the healing of the body, and often because of the frustration associated with the slow progress of recovery, anger and hostility toward each other may emerge. The ‘healing’ of the emotions and mind usually comes after acceptance of the condition has commenced, although in the initial phases you may feel the need for strong emotional affirmations. For relationships that are fragile, dealing with the healing of the physical can often be too much to bear and relationships disintegrate, often permanently. For women with children, the coping during this time is usually focused on trying to maintain the relationship for the ‘children’s sake’. It is important to discuss any relationship issues you may have with your doctor, as they understand this is a normal outcome of treatment.Talking about your feelings either with each other, or in a support group, may help rebuild your life, release the tension and relearn how to be aware of and understand each other’s way of coping. Understanding during this time that life is possibly going to be out of balance makes it easier to develop realistic ways of coping. Understanding that underlying the angry outbursts and unexplained ‘new’ behaviour is often an expression of fear, a reaction that cannot be expressed in more harmonious ways. For that person, at that time, regardless of whether they are patient or carer, it is the only way she knows how to react. It is when the reaction is abnormally hostile or angry and the person is not aware of the ongoing intensity of the reaction that counseling may need to be sought.As this was the third round with a family member having cancer for my husband, he was not very communicative about it except with his brother.We’d just keep the family going for the boys benefit. He didn’t really care about changes to my physical appearance things like that. The fact that I was alive was enough. EmilyHe always seemed to be positive and in control. ‘You’re going to get better; you’re going to survive this.’ That struggle for survival was a bit above expectations sometimes. It was very evident he was more nervous about my survival especially after my first round of chemo. I was told his worry was normal. Giuliana My husband has been fairly supportive and does not get frustrated or irritated.I have always been the initiator of sex but it has changed. I read that orgasms aren’t as good after surgery but that is not the case. My sex life is O.K. Caroline*38/144/5*

YOUTH NUTRIENTS: THE RAINBOW CONNECTION

admin — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:30:22 +0000

So why get so excited about fruits and veggies? Because fruits and veggies are the richest sources of antioxidants on the planet, and unless some breed of space invaders lands with a recipe for antioxidant cream pie with an antioxidant soda chaser, we are stuck with them. Wait, there’s more.Fruits and vegetables are perfectly balanced sources of antioxidant created by nature to have just the right amount, in the right proportion to other vital nutrients, for maximum benefit and absorption.Many fruits and vegetables contain more than one powerful antioxidant so that eating one gives you the power of two or more free radical fighters. A good example of this combo principle is broccoli (vitamin beta-carotene and calcium), where you get the protection of three nr; antioxidant nutrients in just one food.Fruits and vegetables are nutrient-dense. Because fruits and vegetables have such a high concentration of antioxidants, water and fibre, there i room left for—you guessed it—fat. So the more you eat, the less you we’ and the younger you get. Need any more reasons? I didn’t think so.*62\323\8*

TREATING MIGRAINE WITH DRUGS: LITHIUM

admin — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 14:24:34 +0000

Lithium, a light metal, acts on nerve fibres by being substituted for potassium which occurs naturally in the body and has an important role in the conduction of impulses along nerves. Lithium carbonate has been used in the treatment of mood changes for some years. It can be highly effective but the dose which controls severe depression is near to that at which unwanted effects appear, particularly shaking of the hands (tremor). For this reason, the level of lithium in the blood has to be carefully monitored.More recently, success has been claimed for the use of this drug in much smaller doses (too small to affect depression) in the treatment of chronic migrainous neuralgia, the maximum success being achieved after about 30 weeks of treatment. It cannot yet be recommended for general use.When a person is stimulated with a flashing light the brain produces a visual evoked response. If the intensity of the stimulus is increased, the brain can respond in one of two ways: the electrical response of the brain can increase (i.e. be augmented) or it can decrease (be reduced). Looked at simplistically, people can be divided into ‘augmented, who might be expected to be adversely affected by outside stimuli, and ‘reducers’, in whom the brain’s response is damped down. In patients with manic depression there is a relatively high proportion of augmenters. Augmentation or reduction is not an inbuilt programmed form of response and treatment with lithium can turn an ‘augmented into a ‘reducer’. The change occurs at the same time as any improvement in the previous mental state. Work is now being done to see whether migraine patients in general turn out to be augmenters.
*61/152/5*

SKIN DURING PREGNANCY: FACIAL, SPIDER LEG AND VARICOSE VEINS

admin — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:29:30 +0000

Facial VeinsFacial spider veins may suddenly appear during pregnancy, usually on very conspicuous parts of the face such as the nose and cheeks. They are caused by an increase in oestrogen hormones. They may also occur when the oral contraceptive pill is taken. They are not caused by exposure to hot or cold weather and are not due to drinking coffee. Many of these spider veins do not disappear after pregnancy and may require treatment with laser or fine needle diathermy.
Spider Leg VeinsDisfiguring spider leg veins, which are mostly hereditary, often become established during pregnancy. They are not caused by excessive standing or sitting with the legs crossed. It seems that a combination of hereditary and hormonal factors stimulate growth of these vessels. Once they appear, they rarely disappear. Spider leg veins can be readily treated by a technique called microsclerotherapy. A concentrated salt solution or polidocanol is injected into the veins, which initially become inflamed and then disappear over the following six weeks. The technique causes very little pain and can be done as an outpatient procedure.
Varicose VeinsVaricose veins may also make their debut during pregnancy due to the combination of hormonal changes and pressure placed on the abdominal veins by the growing uterus. Because varicose veins can be extremely uncomfortable, maternity compression stockings are invaluable. Support pantyhose, on the other hand, are counterproductive as they provide irregular compression, usually on the wrong parts of the veins. If varicose veins do not resolve after pregnancy, they may eventually be treated by either surgery or sclerotherapy. It is preferable to wait until all pregnancies are over before embarking on any surgical treatment, although sclerotherapy can be performed at any time after pregnancy and between pregnancies.
*28/150/5*

WHEN PAIN PERSISTS: THE DISEASE DEVELOPS

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 14:28:04 +0000

In previous chapters, we have looked at various examples where damage to tissue is followed by inflammation. The quality of the pain and what to do about it changes. In postoperative pain, the initial acts of tissue damage were carried out under anaesthesia and the patient wakes up to sense only the later stages where the body attempts repair. In slow-onset diseases, such as arthritis, pain escalates as the disease process extends. Pain may grow in sudden jumps as in some cancer pains where the tumour has expanded into new territory and blocks the normal flow of blood, the contents of the intestines, urine or nerve impulses. Intermittent pains grow with each episode.Someone in their sixties or seventies walking uphill may be struck by a chest pain. Once you stop walking, the pain goes. This is angina of effort, an announcement by the heart that it can no longer pump enough blood around the body in response to the energy demand of walking uphill. As time goes by, the arteries continue to clog and their maximum blood flow drops. As this proceeds, the steepness of the hill that can be climbed drops, the amount of exercise that pain permits drops, and rest periods prolong. Eventually, if untreated, the angina forbids even standing up. These are expected reasons why pain may persist or escalate that we may be able to attack at source. However, there are a series of quite different changes that accompany pain which we must now examine because they play an important role in pain intensity.*76\219\2*

IBS AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS: GUILT

admin — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:03:36 +0000

This is about the most useless of the negative emotions. What purpose does it serve?If you have done something you are ashamed of, then the guilt you are feeling has already told you not to repeat that action. You have had your lesson. Why go on punishing yourself? Asking forgiveness of the person or persons concerned and truly forgiving yourself can bring great healing. Caution: Only do this if you are sure that purging yourself will not bring distress to anyone. Be open and honest only if it is safe. Seek counselling if this useless emotion is affecting your physical or mental health or ruining relationships.Some people find it helpful to see a priest for confession and absolution. If you can’t bring yourself to do this, perhaps you could take a quiet few minutes to voice your transgression out loud and ask God, the Universe, or however you see the Infinite and ask for forgiveness. Above all, love and forgive yourself.*95\326\8*

TYPES OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES: ANGINA PECTORIS

admin — Fri, 27 May 2011 13:44:50 +0000

As a result of atherosclerosis and other circulatory impairments, the heart’s oxygen supply is often reduced, a condition known as ischemia. Individuals with ischemia often suffer from varying degrees of angina pectoris, or chest pains. In fact, an estimated 2.3 million men and 4 million women suffer from mild to crashing forms of chest pain each day. Many people experience short episodes of angina whenever they exert themselves physically. Symptoms may range from a slight feeling of indigestion to a feeling that the heart is being crushed. Generally, the more serious the oxygen deprivation, the more severe the pain. Although angina pectoris is not a heart attack, it does indicate underlying heart disease.Currently, there are several methods of treating angina. In mild cases, rest is critical. The most common treatments for more severe cases involve using drags that affect (1) the supply of blood to the heart muscle or (2) the heart’s demand for oxygen. Pain and discomfort are often relieved with nitroglycerin, a drag used to relax (dilate) veins, thereby reducing the amount of blood returning to the heart and thus lessening its workload. Patients whose angina is caused by spasms of the coronary arteries are often given drags called calcium channel blockers. These drugs prevent calcium atoms from passing through coronary arteries and causing heart contractions. They also appear to reduce blood pressure and to slow heart rates. Beta blockers are the other major type of drags used to treat angina. The chemical action of beta blockers serves to control potential over-activity of the heart muscle.*7/277/5*

BACH FLOWER REMEDIES: HEATHER – MRS. GILL’S CASE

admin — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:26:16 +0000

Mrs. Gill – 44-years—had recently got her uterus removed in a medical institute. For the 1st four days after the operation she was fine and had come back home. Thereafter, for no known reason she began to talk incessantly all the 24 hours of the day.Her husband who was attending on her could not get a wink of sleep for the last 4 nights, and had to send and S.O.S to his sister calling her for assistance and relief.There were no other symptoms on which to prescribe a homoeopathic medicine.There were 2 facets of the case:(a) She was talking incessantly day in and day out, for which HEATHER was prescribed.(b) Her mind had lost control over her action of talking for which CHERRY PLUM was prescribed. Both remedies were to be taken thrice daily.In addition a dose of Sulpher-30 was prescribed to be taken at night for inducing sleep.*115\308\8*

THE BONE DENSITY PROGRAM: MY JOURNEY INTO HOLISTIC HEALTH

admin — Thu, 05 May 2011 13:07:56 +0000

I knew when I was 5 years old that I would be a doctor, though I couldn’t say how that idea got in my head in the first place. As I grew older, my own pediatrician was my inspiration—and the only doctor I knew. He encouraged my interest from an early age, allowing me to come on hospital rounds with him before I had even finished high school. He taught me the most important lesson I ever learned about medicine. As we walked into a patient’s room, he paused and told me to pay attention to what I smelled, and listed for me what it might indicate. Just which disease he was teaching me about that day is long gone from my memory, but I’ve always remembered that moment because suddenly I understood that part of becoming a doctor was learning to use all your senses—and developing a sixth sense, a kind of medical intuition. Medicine was more than science.That was still very much on my mind when it came time to apply to medical school. Though I applied and was accepted to both traditional and osteopathic programs, where almost all of the coursework and clinical training are identical, in the end I chose osteopathy, which does require extensive additional work focusing on the musculoskeletal system, including bone health. To me the big difference was that osteopathy stressed taking care of the whole person, rather than a specific set of symptoms or a certain group of organs or a particular disease. When I read the passionate works of Andrew Taylor Still, the founder of osteopathic medicine, particularly about the connections among the body, mind, and spirit (a more revolutionary stance at that time), I knew there was no other choice for me. I knew that to really take care of my future patients, I’d need the latest medical research, and cutting-edge technology, and an understanding of the biochemistry that makes the human body work. But I also knew it would be equally important to integrate all aspects of a person’s life and health into the hard, cold science. What I saw in holistic medicine that was missing from strictly traditional training was the core belief that a patient is much more than a collection of symptoms.Even so, my medical training did not feature a course on “Patients Are People, Too,” or “Alternative Medicine, Open-mindedness and You,” or “Why a Thorough Physical Takes More than 15 Minutes.” Many of the specific details of providing a broad range of quality care I’ve picked up over the years from colleagues I admire, my own reading, and very often my patients themselves.But from the start I was steeped in an atmosphere that focused on preventing illness, which was the only sensible way I could see to approach anything called “health care.” I usually spend about half an hour with each patient, talking about diet, stress, exercise, his or her childhood, what the individual did this weekend and what I did this weekend—and then maybe what brought that person in that particular day. I ask patients coming into my practice for the first time to allow an hour and a half for our first consultation. It takes time for me to get to know the people I care for, and for them to get to know and trust me.As a physician, I see my job as providing patients with all the information they need to make their own decisions. Patients have a duty, then, to learn as much as they can about keeping themselves healthy, and to work with their doctors to find strategies and solutions that are right for them. This book will work the same way. I’ll give you all the knowledge you need to build and protect the strength of your bones. Your job is to take that ball and run with it. I’ve laid out a very specific plan of diet, exercise, and nutritional supplements—and conventional and complementary treatments, if that becomes necessary—that will keep you standing tall and strong for the rest of your life. Only you can say which approaches will work for you, which options you want to pursue, and how to incorporate my program into the rest of your life.*6\228\2*

MEDICATIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH TYPE II DIABETES

admin — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:56:18 +0000

There are no miracle medications available at the present time to rid you of your diabetes. Nor are there likely to be any medications developed to prevent or cure Type II diabetes in the next few decades.What is available to you is a wide variety of medications, not only to help control your blood glucose but also to treat the symptoms of many of the ailments that affect adults-ranging from the sniffles caused by the common cold to the aches and pains of arthritis.For most adults, these non-diabetes medications work wonders. But for you, they may work wonders on the cold °r arthritis symptoms but they may also send your blood glucose out of control.Paracelsus, a Swiss physician who lived in the Middle Ages, made the astute observation that the only difference between a drug and a poison is the dose. This statement applies in particular to you, because you have to worry about how a particular drug may affect your blood glucose, your blood pressures, and your blood fats.You also have to worry about how a particular drug might affect your organs, such as your eyes, kidneys or blood vessels – which may be already at risk of damage from your diabetes.The safest thing to do and would be to avoid all drugs entirely. But that’s not a practical bit of advice. So your alternative is to learn all you can about medications and how they affect your body, especially those parts of your body involved with diabetes.You need to get more specific information about the drugs your doctor prescribes for you or those you buy without a prescription. Talk with your doctor about the benefits and the side effects of each drug, and be sure your medical record shows all drugs you use routinely. Talk with your pharmacist before you buy any non-prescription drugs, and ask for advice on which medications will have the least effect on diabetes control.It’s always a good idea to be extremely careful with self-diagnosis and self-treatment. You owe it to yourself to check with a health professional about an ache, pain, pump, blister or other complaint before you try a home remedy or nonprescription medication – whether that’s a pill, liquid, spray, cream or ointment.*27/210/5*