GCB Health

Archive for July, 2009

After skin cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer, Colon cancer is the fourth most common cancer type occurring in women across the globe. There are many types of colon cancer: Carcinoid Tumors, Lymphoma, Melanoma and Sarcomas. However, the most common of all the colon cancers is Colon Carcinoma.

A colon in the human body is a long, coiled tube shaped organ, which helps in removing water from the digested food. It is also called the large intestine or the large bowel having four sections: Ascending Colon, Transverse Colon, Descending Colon and Sigmoid Colon. Colon cancer is a type of cancer, which forms in the colon tissues. It is often referred to as colorectal cancer. Colon cancers usually are adenocarcinomas, which mean that they begin in cells releasing mucus and other type of fluids.

Who Are At Risk Of Having Colon Cancer?

Colon cancer is responsible for most of the deaths elated to cancer, but doctors say that an early diagnosis can reduce the risk. Immediate action can also lead to full cure of a patient. The risk of having colon cancer increases, if you:

1-Have cancer elsewhere in your body

2-Have a personal history of breast cancer

3-Have a family history of colon cancer

4-Have colorectal polyps, crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis

Apart from the above stated reasons, the risk of having colon cancer also depends on your diet. Doctors say that chances of colon cancer may increase, if you are having red meat and a high fat with low fibre diet. Some genetic syndromes may be also responsible in developing colon cancer.

Symptoms of Colon Cancer

There are several symptoms indicating the presence of colon cancer in your body. Some of them include blood in your stool, narrow stools, tenderness & pain in the lower abdomen, unexplained anaemia, sudden weight loss, constipation, diarrhoea, intestinal obstruction and changes in bowel habits.

Take Immediate Action against the Menace

If you feel that you are having any of the symptoms, contact your doctor immediately. There are many physical exams, which needs to be done on your belly area. There are also imaging tests that are extremely helpful in diagnosing colon cancers. Again, tests similar to sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy confirm the presence of colon cancer.

One more test of detecting colon cancer is the fecal occult blood test (FEBT). After detection of colon cancer, additional tests known as staging is done to check the exact area in which the colon cancer has spread.

Treatment of Colon Cancer

The treatment of colon cancer is mainly dependent on the stage in which it has been detected. The most common treatments for colon cancer are chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy. Chemotherapy medicines kill the colon cancer cells, radiation therapy destroys the cancerous tissue present and surgery may be done to remove the cancer cells.

If treated at an early stage, nearly 90% of patients suffering from colon cancer may survive for minimum of five years after diagnosis. And in cases where the colon cancer does not recur within a period of five years, the patient is considered to be fully cured.

Life is unpredictable, and when you least expect it you may find yourself faced with a situation where life-saving measures are necessary, like CPR.  Are you prepared to handle a situation of that nature?  What about in the workplace?  If someone is facing a life-threatening situation, is there someone or are there several people who are trained to respond properly to an event of that magnitude.  If you encourage your employees to receive CPR training or if you simply decide to receive CPR certification for yourself it can bring an increased measure of safety to your workplace and your home life.  

The convenience of the Internet allows for CPR training and CPR certification to be completed online.  If you decide to take the online route it is important to make sure that the company uses the latest safety training information provided by organizations like the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, and the National First Aid Science Advisory Board.  It also important to make sure that the company standards are compliant with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards regarding safety training.  It is important to receive your certification from a legitimate online provider, which will provide you with a valid certificate. The certificate that you receive should be one that is accepted by a variety of organizations when you are trying to show what kind of training you have.  

What does online CPR training and CPR certification usually include?  Easy to follow video demonstrations of techniques that should be used in different emergency situations are often available in the course.  These videos can be played over and over again until the trainee understands exactly what needs to be done in a particular emergency situation.   Of course, there is the very importance convenience factor since online courses can be completed according to your schedule of when you have available time. Most training courses give you 30 days access so you can stop and start the course at your convenience.

How about CPR training and CPR certification for large groups, like a company or a non-profit organization?  Online training is probably an excellent direction to go in for many of these kinds of groups.  Again all those being trained can finish the course at their own rate and probably at their own convenience to a certain extent.  If the desire is to have everyone take the course at the same time it is only a matter of having a certain number of computer set aside, or it may even be a viable option to just set aside an amount of time and allow employees to work on the training at their own personal workstations.  

A few more benefits of CPR training and CPR certification online are that they can be accessed anytime, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Also, receiving the training online can save you a lot of time and money compared to having an in-house training take place.  If you would like to have a safer working environment and if you would like to do all you can to prepare for the emergency situations that can arise at any time you should seriously consider online CPR training and certification.

The XVII International AIDS Conference held at the Mexico City, from Aug. 3 through Aug. 8 days was an exquisite forum for sharing and showcasing of ideas from international experts. It also saw the launch of various invaluable initiatives by different organizations. Of which, the following four seemed to be quite striking.

1. The Release of “Blueprint 2008,” for AIDS Vaccine Development by The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)



Despite the fact that this year’s IAC conference was devoid of a plenary session on AIDS vaccine, like the previous ones, many researchers intensely reemphasized the need for a vaccine to make the world AIDS-free. 

The  IAVI announced the release of “Blueprint 2008.” I think AIDS vaccines are positively the ultimate answer, but till that time HIV drugs should be made available to all those who need them.

The Blueprint 2008 stresses on three key areas:

The mission to develop a vaccine should be divided up into a set of intermediate milestones, as this would enable measurement of progress as well as hold people accountable.

There’s a need to trim and improve the pipeline by a big measure. The number of 30-or so candidates in the pipeline need to be reduced based on the “probability of success.”

The final recommendation calls for a sustained effort with an ample supply of new cader of young researchers coupled with stable financing for flexibility.  

2. The YWCA Report: ‘Nothing About Us Without Us: a report from the HIV-Positive Women’s Forum



This insightful report comes in the wake of the unique challenges that women living with HIV face, and the special needs that they have. It is an analysis and evaluation of the “Positive Women’s Forum,” coupled with the feedback gathered back then. The Positive Women’s Forum was an unprecedented meeting conducted on July 2007 as a segment of the International Women’s Summit on HIV and AIDS.

The report offers insight, and stresses that for epidemic control programs to be effective women living with HIV must come forward and lead the AIDS response. Also that HIV positive women must become involved equal partners to shape AIDS programs and policies.

3. The Plan: “Global Alliance on HIV”

The program is the brain child of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and was launched in the Americas just before the conference.

The initiative, expected to benefit over 7 million would be prevalent in Latin America and the Caribbean. The objective is to raise about 22.3 million Swiss francs, which translate into US$ 21.4 million, in order to give an impetus to HIV and AIDS programs in the Americas. It is slated to begin with the following ten nations, Argentina, Belize, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras and Jamaica. However, in a couple of years a larger number of countries would be included.

Of the 33.6 million people infected with HIV around the world, 1.6 million live in Latin America. And this program seeks to adapt an approach that’s based on the prevention, treatment, care  and reduction of stigma and discrimination. Furthermore, of the 7,300,000 people estimated to benefit, groups of special focus would include children with HIV, children orphaned due to HIV, sex workers and of course all those living with HIV.



4. Open Society Institute Report: “Our Lives Matter: Sex Workers Unite for Health and Rights”

The report “Our Lives Matter:..” published in August by the Open Society Institute provides coverage of how sex workers in eight countries have organized themselves to protect their health and human rights. It delves deep into the many ways by which sex workers have battled, violence, extortion and incarceration in their fight against securing equal health opportunities. The eight groups from different countries profiled in the report include Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (South Africa), Davida (Brazil), Durjoy Nari Shongho (Bangladesh), Humanitarian Action (Russia), Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (India), Odyseus (Slovakia), Urban Justice Center’s Sex Workers Project (United States) and Stella (Canada).

While HIV is indeed a tough challenge for the world, but it’s heartening that so much effort is being put in by every one from international organizations to the medical industry, to find a solution. And I’m sure the humans would win over the virus one day.