Summit on Breast Health and Cancer Control Concludes in Vienna
The 5th Global Summit on International Breast Health: Guidelines for International Breast Health and Cancer Control -- Supportive Care and Quality of Life concluded Friday, 5 October in Vienna, Austria. Convened jointly by the Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI) and the IAEA's Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT), it brought together leading global experts in breast cancer, palliative care, hospice and patient advocacy. Discussions during the three-day meeting covered areas … [Read more...]
UGANDA: Family planning pledges need on-the-ground action
KAMPALA, October 2012 (IRIN) - Family planning advocates in Uganda have scored some major financial and policy wins this year, but experts remain concerned that inadequate political commitment and poor health services will continue to impede women’s and girls’ access to contraceptives. At a global family planning summit in July, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni announced that his government would increase its annual expenditure on family planning supplies from US$3.3million to $5million for … [Read more...]
Breast Cancer Month ~ October
Breast cancer is an uncontrolled growth of breast cells. To better understand breast cancer, it helps to understand how any cancer can develop. Cancer occurs as a result of mutations, or abnormal changes, in the genes responsible for regulating the growth of cells and keeping them healthy. The genes are in each cell’s nucleus, which acts as the “control room” of each cell. Normally, the cells in our bodies replace themselves through an orderly process of cell growth: … [Read more...]
WOMEN in RECOVERY – Is Your Health on the Top Life Priority?
LIFE PRIORITIES Life priorities are the values that drive our lives and define our spiritual essence. We all talk about our priorities in life. We can list them without a second thought. But sometimes our list of priorities falls into the same wastepaper basket as our New Year’s resolutions. We talk about them, but that’s as far as it gets. Out task is to put our life priorities into action. This is a very tough assignment. To begin this challenging task, list your top six … [Read more...]
Melanoma – Watch for the Signs of Malignancy
Melanoma i/ˌmɛləˈnoʊmə/ (from Greek μέλας — melas, "dark") is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes are cells that produce the dark pigment, melanin, which is responsible for the color of skin. They predominantly occur in skin, but are also found in other parts of the body, including the bowel, oral cavity and the eye (see uveal melanoma). Melanoma can originate in any part of the body that contains melanocytes. Melanoma is less common than other skin cancers. However, it is … [Read more...]
Stroke, ‘an interruption of the flow of blood to the brain’
The primary goals of stroke management are to reduce brain injury and promote maximum patient recovery. Rapid detection and appropriate emergency medical care are essential for optimizing health outcomes. When available, patients are admitted to an acute stroke unit for treatment. These units specialize in providing medical and surgical care aimed at stabilizing the patient’s medical status. Standardized assessments are also performed to aid in the development of an appropriate care plan. … [Read more...]
ZAMBIA, actions to meet the Millennium Development Goals
Identifying good practices that lead to greater equity in reproductive health The UN agencies known as the H4+ support priority countries that take concerted actions to meet the Millennium Development Goals on maternal and child health. UNFPA has identified Zambia as one such country. The following feature shows some of the "Good Practices" the country has undertaken to expand access to reproductive health. When Mabvuto Zulu returned to Zambia after studying medicine in Cuba, he worked … [Read more...]
ZA’ATARI REFUGEE CAMP, Mafraq, Jordan – Clinic with female gynecologist
ZA'ATARI REFUGEE CAMP, Mafraq, Jordan — As a way to address both health needs and cultural sensitivities, UNFPA is supporting a reproductive health clinic with a female gynecologist in the Za'atari camp for Syrian refugees who have fled to Jordan. Some 27,000 Syrian refugees are now living in the camp. Many are women who feel more at ease in seeing a female doctor, especially when dealing with reproductive health issues. Buthaina, for instance, was in her ninth month of pregnancy when … [Read more...]
Ethiopian Fistula Surgeons Train Physicians in Mozambique, Women’s Maternal Health
BEIRA, Mozambique — Following a successful fistula repair surgery, 25-year-old Esther Joakim Chimoio envisions a better life. Although her husband abandoned her because of her condition, she now has ambitious plans that will allow her to take care of her children on her own. "I want to go back and start my own banana and orange business to support my children. Before I was working in the fields for a woman in my area due to my limited strength because of fistula," she says, beaming. Esther … [Read more...]
PROSTATE CANCER, Take a moment for the man in you life!
Please take a moment to count the men in your life.... Remember the family members you love so dearly; your fathers and grandfathers, your brothers and uncles, your partners and sons. Don't forget your closest friends, your neighbours, and the people in your community who you depend on every day. Have you reached the number 7 yet? Because statistics show that 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer within their lifetime. This week is Prostate Cancer Awareness Week, and … [Read more...]
UGANDA, “Option B+” prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, (PMTCT)
KAMPALA, September 2012 (PlusNews) - The government of Uganda has launched the UN World Health Organization's (WHO) "Option B+" to boost the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT). Uganda currently uses a PMTCT system similar to WHO's Option A, which involves single-dose antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for the mother - if her CD4 count, a measure of immune strength, is over 350 - from the 14th week, as well as ARVs during labour, delivery and one week post-partum. Pregnant women … [Read more...]
Ban urges inclusion of persons with disabilities into society
12 September 2012 – Hundreds of advocates and experts on disability, as well as Government delegates, have gathered at UN Headquarters for the start of the Fifth Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which will have a special focus on women and children. “It is our responsibility as members of the international community and citizens of our own countries to bring about changes to more than one billion persons with … [Read more...]
Sickle Cell Anaemia Month – September 2012
SICKLE CELL ANAEMIA MONTH SEPTEMBER 2012 Sickle-cell disease (SCD), or sickle-cell anaemia (or anemia, SCA) or drepanocytosis, is an autosomal recessive genetic blood disorder with overdominance, characterized by red blood cells that assume an abnormal, rigid, sickle shape. Sickling decreases the cells' flexibility and results in a risk of various complications. The sickling occurs because of a mutation in the hemoglobin gene. Life expectancy is shortened. In … [Read more...]
