Lifestyle Choices

Face Lift Scars

You will have a scar right round each ear. The scar behind your ear and its continuation across part of the scalp will be hidden by hair (except in the case of a man who becomes totally bald). The scar in front of the ear will be visible but usually it is faint and doesn’t shriek its presence. However, scars can widen and drop unpredictably and sometimes a hairstyle which covered them at first ceases to cover them later. If an incision is made under your chin to remove neck fat, a small scar will show here. (more…)

Women with newly diagnosed breast cancer are concerned about any possible risk to their daughters and sisters. If a woman does not appear to be in a family that has breast cancer in approximately half the women on one side, then she probably does not have either the BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 gene. Gene positivity is associated with bilateral breast cancer, ovarian and breast cancer in the same family, and Ashkenazic Jewish ancestry. Women who are gene positive tend to develop breast cancer at a younger age than women with non-hereditary breast cancer. (more…)

I have only roundabout evidence regarding HRT in breast cancer survivors. For example, we know that younger women who have had breast cancer and then go on to become pregnant, with the associated high levels of estrogen and progesterone, do not have a worse prognosis or earlier relapse of breast cancer than women who do not experience a pregnancy. If estrogen can theoretically stimulate breast cancer growth, why do I see breast cancer appear in older postmenopausal women who are not on HRT? This is a fairly frequent occurrence, and most of these cancers are hormone receptor positive, yet they are growing in an estrogen-poor environment. This seems to counter what we know about the environment that is conducive to breast cancer, but this is just another reminder of how much we do not understand about this disease. (more…)

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a major area of concern among women with a history of breast cancer. If you are in the crisis of a recent breast cancer diagnosis, the issue of HRT may seem relatively unimportant. However, as you get farther along and finish your treatment and proceed with your life, questions regarding HRT will certainly arise.

Much has been written on the issue of HRT in general. Less is known specifically about HRT for breast cancer survivors because doctors have been concerned about prescribing anything for their patients that may increase the risk of recurrent disease. (more…)

Who is at risk? Everyone!

No one is safe from sun damage! You suffer an increased risk if your skin is Type I or II — that is if you are of Scottish, Irish, Scandinavian, or northern European descent and have fair skin that burns easily but does not tan. Especially at risk are people who have freckles, blond, red or light-brown hair, and blue, green or gray eyes. (more…)

So far our main concern has been the importance of freshness in some of the foods we eat on a daily basis. But what about other invisible influences and procedures that contribute to the quality of what we select from the supermarket shelves? You may feel that you can soon enough tell if an apple is past its prime just by looking at it; what you can’t tell is whether it still has pesticide residues clinging to it - or whether it’s been irradiated.

With the ‘Green’ revolution meaning as much a change in environmental attitudes as the importance of including more salads in your daily fare, it’s not surprising there is increasing concern about how our fresh foods are produced, the extent to which chemicals (some of them deadly) are used, and the risk to our health these powerful agricultural weapons pose. The other major worry that has been added to the list of consumer concerns in recent years is the question of irradiation - who uses it and why, and how safe is it? (more…)

I do encourage you to use complementary techniques to optimise your condition and augment your healing. But always consult your doctor first, and even if he or she does not believe in the therapy, just make sure that no harm can be done. These therapies may give you support, comfort or may aid your healing. You may choose to learn meditation, practise guided imagery, relaxation techniques, acupuncture, reflexology Ayurvedic or Chinese medicine or follow a sound nutritional plan. Steer clear of any practitioner who tells you there is only one way to heal from cancer and that is with his/her therapy, or anyone who advises you to forego the treatment advised by your doctor. This is extremely dangerous. (more…)

Smoking

Smoking is such a difficult habit to break, but by cutting down or even better, stopping completely, you have the power to change your future dramatically. It is the single most important risk factor.

You are aware that smoking is damaging, but do you know just how destructive it is to your health? Smoking changes the composition of your blood and therefore affects your circulation.Your chance of having a heart attack is more than double, and you have a fourteen times risk of developing lung cancer than non-smokers. You are also at very high risk of developing a whole host of other diseases including strokes, vascular disease and gangrene, as well as some awful cancers of the mouth, throat nose and bladder.

The good news is that by making the decision to stop, you can dramatically reduce your risk of developing these awful conditions and you can save what is left of your good lung function and allow some areas to return to normal.

Tobacco kills about three million people a year and greatly outstrips all other causes of premature death. (more…)

Heart disease is on the increase throughout the world, especially in developing countries. Although South Africa has always had a high incidence of ischaemic heart disease in certain population groups, the incidence has increased dramatically and it now affects everyone. (Ischaemic heart disease means blockages have occurred in coronary vessels which means less oxygen is getting to the heart.)

At the simplest level, the function of the heart is to pump blood. If the coronary arteries are in any way compromised, the heart muscle pump becomes inefficient, which in turn affects the whole body .

With a little knowledge about your heart and what is good or bad for it, you can significantly reduce your risk for heart disease.

As a woman your risk for a heart attack is minimal until you reach menopause when it becomes equal to that of a man. The hormone estrogen has a cardio-protective effect. Around menopause the production of this hormone diminishes and your heart is no longer protected. (more…)