Sunday, April 24, 2016

Cancer amongst Postmenopausal Women

Cancer amongst Postmenopausal Women

Life expectancy of women is more than men but women have many health problems linked with their endocrine glands. Their moods and life swings with the secretion of hormones into their blood. Menopause is one of the major junctions and turning point of woman's life. It occurs when a woman’s ovaries stop releasing eggs. The production of estrogen and progesterone hormones decreases.

Recently, I have visited Cancer Institute in Civil Hospital Ahmedabad for my routine annual health check up. The HFWD and the Institute have arranged a smooth health check up system for the AIS officers. At the end of the full round of walking through different desks, the cycle ends with a cup of tea and biscuits in the chamber of the Director. That opens the way for "chay pe charcha". They haven't started the "chane pe charcha" yet!

As usual to my nature, I asked him about the analysis of the cause and effect of Cancer. We were discussing breast cancer problem amongst postmenopausal women. But when he explained the urban rural divide amongst the patients, I was surprised. 

As per his analysis of the statistics of the cancer patients, generally rural women suffer from ovarian cancer more than their city counter part who face the breast cancer. In either of the case, the patient die of Cancer if the disease is diagnosed at a more advanced stage or their access to the best treatment delayed. 

Rural-urban divide in Cancer? Generally, the cause may have family history, or long term hormonal issues. I asked.

Life style is the reason. The director replied. Rural women are poor in personal level of hygiene. They hide the disease for long. Due to hygiene, hormone and delaying diagnosis, the rural women suffer from the ovarian cancer.

The urban women have changed their life style and food style. They avoid beast feeding to the children. Breast feeding is the best treatment for the child to acquire life long strength to fight against diseases and for the mother to protects her against the breast cancer. The junk food add into the speed of the growth of unwanted tissues.

Un-hygienic life style of rural women and non/less breast feeding by urban women may be one of the reasons for the disease carrying rural urban divides. He concluded.

Any role of male in the disease? How to blame males? Rural males are blamed for not taking enough care of their wives. Neither they construct bathrooms nor they attend spouses health complaints. People cast jokes, saying they care more for a milching buffalo than the cooking wife. Their active sex life may be adding life to the ovulation number increase in women that increases the risk of ovarian cancer. Urban males are busy in earning to satisfy desires and needs of family, losing interest in regular sex life. Over care of children by reducing breast feeding may be adding risk to breast cancer amongst urban women. Regular use of contraceptives for control births might have reduced the risk of ovarian cancer but urban life style have added risk of breast cancer amongst the urban women.

The government made the diagnosis and treatment of cancer free or cheap for the women of low income group. But Rural men are busy in building toilets under "swatch bharat abhiyan" and yet to address the need of bathroom for the women. Urban men are in search of the 100th coin in the 99 Club, may awake late.

Punamchand
24 April 2016

1 comment:

Powered by Blogger.