Dr. Sneh Bhargava

Breast Cancer - What exactly is it?
‘Breast cancer’ is a term that is used to refer to a malignant tumour, which has developed from cells present in the breast. Generally, all tumours can be divided into two categories i.e. benign and malignant and it is the malignant tumour that is responsible for causing cancer. Breast cancer generally originates in the cells the  milk producing glands of the breast's or the passage, which carries milk from the glands to the lobules. Additionally, breast cancer can also originate in the stromal tissues, including the fibrous and fatty connective breast tissues.

Breast Cancer: Treatment Options
Treatment for breast cancer depends upon two things: the exact type of the cancer and how advanced the cancer is. Treatment options for breast cancer can thus be broadly divided into two categories as Local treatments and Systemic treatments.

Local Treatments
Treatments that target the tumour without having any effect on the rest of the body are called local treatments. The following types of local treatment options are available for treating breast cancer:

1. Surgery: Surgical breast cancer treatment involves removal of the malignant cancerous tumour in an operation. Smaller tumours can be removed using a surgical process referred to as ‘lumpectomy’, wherein the tumour along with a small amount of healthy tissue surrounding the tumour is removed. For larger tumours, removal of the entire breast becomes mandatory, in a surgical process known as ‘mastectomy’. Women who undergo mastectomy can choose to undergo reconstructive plastic surgery for reconstruction of the removed breast(s).
2. Radiation Therapy: This basically involves using radiation to kill cancer cells present in the body. Radiation therapy is a long-drawn process that usually involves a set number of treatments administered over a long period of time. Radiation therapy is also generally the follow-up procedure after a lumpectomy, or more rarely, a mastectomy.

Systemic Treatments
Treatments involving drugs that are administered via either the mouth or direct injection into the bloodstream are called systemic treatments. These include:

1. Chemotherapy: This includes using drugs to destroy the cancer cells present in the body by stopping the cancer cells from growing and dividing. Chemotherapy can be administered using either an IV (intravenous) tube or via pills that can be swallowed.
2. Hormone Therapy: This treatment option is used for treating tumours which have tested positive for progesterone or oestrogen receptors. Blocking hormones that fuel the tumour’s growth is the basis of this therapy.
3. Targeted Therapy: This targets specific proteins and genes which contribute to growth and survival of the cancer cells. Targeted therapy is an extremely focused treatment, and is very effective in blocking the growth and division of cancer cells, as well as minimizing damage to surrounding healthy cells.

The sciatic pain caused due to a lumbar herniated disc can radiate down your legs and may make you immobile. It is quite common for a herniated disc to press against a nearby nerve and inflame, leading to pain radiating along the length of the affected sciatic nerve. For getting relief from lumbar herniated disc pain, you need to become active. Daily hamstring stretches are considered to be an effective way to tackle such pain if you do them regularly.

Here are three important hamstring stretches which will help you in strengthening your hamstring muscles:

1. Seated chair stretches: This stretch is perfect for people whose mobility is limited or for those who have unusually tight hamstrings. It is carried out in a sitting position. While performing this stretch, you have to sit on a chair with another chair placed across. By resting one foot on the ground and the other on the second chair, you need to straighten your back and lean forward over the leg which is extended. Once you feel a stretch in the upper and rear thigh, you should be in that position for at least 30 seconds. You should switch legs and repeat the stretching exercise thrice for each leg.
2. Towel hamstring stretch: If you like stretching while lying down, this stretch is an ideal option for you. For performing a towel hamstring stretch, you have to lie down on the floor and keep one leg flat. Tighten your abdominal muscles while you lift the other leg and keep it straight. You should wrap a belt around the elevated leg’s instep and use it for pulling back the leg towards you. Hold the position for around 30 seconds when you feel a stretch.
3. Wall hamstring stretch: This stretch is for people who find the towel hamstring stretch hard to execute. For such people, extra stability can be attained by taking help of a solid surface such as a door jamb or a wall. You can rest the raised leg against the wall for support. You need to lie on the floor near a wall corner and leave one leg straight while placing the other against the wall. Your hips should be on the floor.

While you do stretches of any kind, you should only stretch as far as you are comfortable. You must not stretch to a point which causes pain. These hamstring stretches are quite safe, but you should avoid them in case of any sudden, acute pain.

Many women develop uterine fibroids by the time they hit the age of 50 years and above. These are non-cancerous growths that may occur in the uterus. Most women go through severe bleeding and pain as well as discomfort as a result of these fibroids. Age, family history of the same condition, obesity or being overweight, eating habits and even ethnicity play a large role in deciding the risk of each individual patient. These fibroids can grow in the submucosal, intramural and subserosal areas.

Following are the common side effects of uterine fibroids:

1. Frequent urination: Due to the pressure of the fibroids on the uterus, the patient may experience a constant feeling of fullness in the lower pelvic area of the body, which may lead to frequent filling of the bladder. This gives rise to frequent trips to the washroom for urination. 
2. Heavy Bleeding: Severe bleeding is one of the most common causes of the presence of these kinds of fibroids. The patient may experience a lot of bleeding during menstrual periods, as well as pain and cramps the rest of the time. The periods will also be very painful when there are fibroids in the uterus or the uterine lining.
3. Painful Intercourse: It is a well-known fact that any kind of infection or growth as well as sores and other such ailments can lead to vaginal dryness as well as pain during sexual intercourse. This is true for uterine fibroids as well, which can lead to severe pain during sexual activity. These fibroids can also give rise to pain in the lumbar or lower back region.
4. Abdomen Swelling: The abdomen may go through significant swelling in such a condition and the patient may even look like she is pregnant. The growth can push the shape of the abdomen outwards and create a full feeling.
5. Pregnancy Complications: The presence of uterine fibroids can give rise to several complications during pregnancy and even after child birth. One of the most common problems in this case is bleeding, followed by more severe outcomes like miscarriage. The women suffering from uterine fibroids are at greater risk of undergoing a caesarean section for the delivery of the baby. The baby may also be born breech and a premature delivery may take place. 
6. Infertility: This is also a rare side effect of the uterine fibroids and is generally seen only in very severe cases. 
7. Cancer: Only one in every 1000 cases might transform into malignant tumours. These uterine fibroids are generally known to be non-malignant. 

Any symptoms must be reported to a gynaecologist at the earliest to avoid any serious complications.

Breast cancer is an abnormal growth of cells in the tissues of the breast. Mainly it occurs in females but less than 1% of all the breast cancer cases develop in males. The majority of breast cancers start in the milk ducts. A small number start in the milk sacs or lobules. It can spread to the lymph nodes and to the other parts of the body such as bones, liver, lungs and to the brain.

With more reliable early detection methods as well as the trend towards less invasive surgery, there is hope that even more women with breast cancer will be treated successfully and will go on to resume their normal lives.

Signs & Symptoms 
It is painless, especially, during the early stage. Watch out for the following changes in the breast:

1. A persistent lump or thickening in the breast or in the axilla. 
2. A change in the size or shape of the breast. 
3. A change in the colour or appearance of the skin of the breast such as redness, puckering or dimpling. 
4. Bloody discharge from the nipple. 
5. A change in the nipple or areola such as scaliness, persistent rash or nipple retraction (nipple pulled into the breast).

Consult a doctor immediately if you notice any of these changes.

Risk Factors 
Being a woman puts you at risk of getting breast cancer. There are certain factors that increase the risk of breast cancer. Some of them have been listed below:

1. The risk increases with age; most cases of breast cancer develop after the age of 50 
2. Genetic alterations in certain genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 
3. Family history of breast cancer 
4. Being overweight 
5. Early menarche (onset of menstruation before the age of 12) 
6. Late menopause (after the age of 55) 
7. Never had children 
8. Late childbearing 
9. No breast feeding 
10. Excessive consumption of alcohol 
11. Use of hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) for a long period of time

However, most women who have breast cancer have none of the above risk factors. Likewise, not having any of these risk factors does not mean that you will not get breast cancer.

Early Detection and Screening

More treatment options are available when breast cancer is diagnosed at an early stage and hence the chances of recovery is also higher. So regular breast screening is important for early detection even if there are no symptoms. Following are the ways of screening:

1. Breast Self-Examination (BSE): Perform BSE once a month about a week after your menses are over. If you no longer menstruate, choose a date each month which is easy to remember e.g. your date of birth or anniversary.
2. Clinical Breast Examination: Get a breast specialist to examine your breast once a year if you are 40 years and above.
3. Mammogram: Go for a screening mammogram once a year if you are 40 to 49 years old and once every two years if you are 50 years and above even if you do not have any symptom. It is not recommended for younger women (less than 40 years of age) as they have dense breasts, making it difficult for small changes to be detected on a mammogram. So ultrasonography of the breasts is advisable to them.

Types of Breast cancer

1. Non-Invasive Breast cancer: These are confined to the ducts within the breasts. They are known as Ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS).
2. Invasive Breast cancer: It occurs when cancer cells spread beyond the ducts or lobules. Cancer cells first spread to the surrounding breast tissue and subsequently to the lymph nodes in the armpit (Axillary lymph nodes). These cells can also travel to the other parts of the body such as bones, liver, lungs or brain and hence known as metastatic breast cancer.

Making A Diagnosis 

If you notice any unusual changes in your breasts, you should see a doctor immediately. He will examine you clinically and may ask you to undergo some tests so that a definitive diagnosis can be made. Further, the staging work up is done to find out the stage of the disease and management accordingly.

Treatment options 
Treatment of breast cancer may include various methods such as surgery with or without breast reconstruction, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy and targeted therapy. Treatment options offered, depend upon the number of factors such as the stage of cancer and likelihood of cure, your general health and your preference. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an oncologist.

Breast cancer, is a type of cancer, which is common to women, where cancer cells grow on the breasts or the female mammary gland. It starts out with the formation of a small lump in your breast and can spread out to your other organs very rapidly. It generally affects women above forty years of age. Breast cancer can be classified into two types. They can either start forming on the inner linings of your milk ducts ( known as Ductal carcinoma) or in the lobules which supply milk (known as Lobular carcinoma).

There are many causes responsible for breast cancer they are mentioned below: 

• Obesity or post-menopausal obesity (Learn more about Heart Diseases Post Menopause)
• Exposure to frequent radiation (X-ray)
• Consumption of alcohol
• Being taller than average
• Start of periods at an early age
• Late menopause
• Hormone replacement therapy
• Consumption of birth control pills

The most common symptoms of breast cancer are as follows: 

1. Formation of a lump in your breast
2. Swelling or shrinking of your breast
3. Change of size, shape and color of your nipple
4. Blood or milk discharge from the nipple
5. Breast pain
6. Itching sensation
7. Appearance of rashes (Learn more about to maintain the skin health)

Breast cancer if not diagnosed and treated at an early stage may turn out to be fatal. Ayurveda offers promising cures for breast cancer.

A few of the Ayurvedic remedies are mentioned below: 

1. Include foods, which are well supplied with vitamin D in your diet. Researches show that women with less amount of vitamin D in their bodies are more likely to develop breast cancer. Consider including foods like eggs, orange juice, dairy products and fish like salmon in your diet.
2. Drink more of green tea as it has anti cancer properties.
3. Exercises like walking, yoga, meditation and certain breast exercises can help you to relax the pain sensation, reduce stress and also get cured.
4. Incorporate bitter gourd in your diet. Researches show that bitter gourd can kill those cancer cells, which cause breast cancer.
5. Ayurvedic herbs like Ashwagandha, tulsi, curcumin have certain properties that can destroy cancer cells.

If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an Ayurveda.

The human brain is the most complex and least understood part of the human anatomy. There may be a lot we don’t know, but here are a few interesting facts that we’ve got covered.

Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour. Ever wonder how you can react so fast to things around you or why that stubbed toe hurts right away? it’s due to the super-speedy movement of nerve impulses from your brain to the rest of your body and vice versa, bringing reactions at the speed of a high powered luxury sports car.

The brain operates on the same amount of power as 10-watt light bulb. The cartoon image of a light bulb over your head when a great thought occurs isn’t too far off the mark. Your brain generates as much energy as a small light bulb even when you’re sleeping.

The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the encyclopedia britannica. Or any other encyclopedia for that matter. Scientists have yet to settle on a definitive amount, but the storage capacity of the brain in electronic terms is thought to be between 3 or even 1, 000 terabytes. The national archives of britain, containing over 900 years of history, only takes up 70 terabytes, making your brain’s memory power pretty darn impressive.

Your brain uses 20% of the oxygen that enters your bloodstream. The brain only makes up about 2% of our body mass, yet consumes more oxygen than any other organ in the body, making it extremely susceptible to damage related to oxygen deprivation. So breathe deep to keep your brain happy and swimming in oxygenated cells.

The brain is much more active at night than during the day. Logically, you would think that all the moving around, complicated calculations and tasks and general interaction we do on a daily basis during our working hours would take a lot more brain power than, say, lying in bed. Turns out, the opposite is true. When you turn off your brain turns on. Scientists don’t yet know why this is but you can thank the hard work of your brain while you sleep for all those pleasant dreams.

Scientists say the higher your i. q. The more you dream. While this may be true, don’t take it as a sign you’re mentally lacking if you can’t recall your dreams. Most of us don’t remember many of our dreams and the average length of most dreams is only 2-3 seconds–barely long enough to register.

Neurons continue to grow throughout human life. For years scientists and doctors thought that brain and neural tissue couldn’t grow or regenerate. While it doesn’t act in the same manner as tissues in many other parts of the body, neurons can and do grow throughout your life, adding a whole new dimension to the study of the brain and the illnesses that affect it.

Information travels at different speeds within different types of neurons. Not all neurons are the same. There are a few different types within the body and transmission along these different kinds can be as slow as 0.5 meters/sec or as fast as 120 meters/sec.

The brain itself cannot feel pain. While the brain might be the pain center when you cut your finger or burn yourself, the brain itself does not have pain receptors and cannot feel pain. That doesn’t mean your head can’t hurt. The brain is surrounded by loads of tissues, nerves and blood vessels that are plenty receptive to pain and can give you a pounding headache.

80% of the brain is water. Your brain isn’t the firm, gray mass you’ve seen on tv. Living brain tissue is a squishy, pink and jelly-like organ thanks to the loads of blood and high water content of the tissue. So the next time you’re feeling dehydrated get a drink to keep your brain hydrated.

Myth: Brain damage is always permanent.

Fact: The brain can repair or compensate for certain losses, and even generate new cells.
People once believed that we were born with a finite number of brain cells, and that was it for life; if you damaged any of them you could never get them back. Similarly, many scientists believed that the brain was unalterable; once it was" broken" it could not be fixed. 

Now, of course, we know that the brain remains plastic throughout life, and can rewire itself in response to learning. It can also generate new brain cells under the right circumstances.

स्तन वसा, संयोजी ऊतक, और लोब में विभाजित ग्रंथि ऊतक से बना होता है। स्तन कैंसर तब शुरू होता है जब स्तन में कोशिकाएं नियंत्रण से बाहर निकलने लगती हैं। नलिकाएं का एक नेटवर्क लोब से निपल तक फैलता है। एक स्तन आमतौर पर दूसरे से छोटा होता है। महीने में अलग-अलग समय पर आपके स्तन अलग-अलग महसूस कर सकते हैं स्तनों के लिए आपकी अवधि के ठीक पहले लंपट महसूस करना आम बात है। आपके स्तन महीने में अलग-अलग समय पर अलग-अलग महसूस हो सकते हैं। स्तनों का आपकी अवधि के ठीक पहले लंपट महसूस होना आम बात है। 
स्तन कैंसर सामान्यतः कोशिकाओं जो स्तन के नलिकाएं होती हैं, में शुरू होता है। स्तन कैंसर तब शुरू होता है जब स्तन में कोशिकाएं नियंत्रण से बाहर बढ़ने लगती हैं। कोशिकाओं का यह उत्परिवर्तन एक ट्यूमर को जन्म देता है, जिसे एक गांठ के रूप में महसूस किया जा सकता है। अगर अनुपचारित छोड़ दिया जाता है, तो घातक कोशिका अंततः शरीर के अन्य भागों में फैल सकती हैं, एक प्रक्रिया जिसे मेटास्टैसिस कहा जाता है। 
स्तन कैंसर के लक्षण
स्तन में एक गांठ आमतौर पर स्तन कैंसर से जुड़ा है, लेकिन अधिकतर समय, स्तन में गांठ कैंसर नहीं होता। किशोरावस्था में हार्मोनल परिवर्तन से लेकर क्षतिग्रस्त वसा ऊतक तक, महिलाओं में शुरुआती 20 से लेकर शुरुआती 50 की उम्र तक सभी स्तन गांठों में से 90 प्रतिशत से ज्यादा गैर-कर्कश (सौम्य) हैं। 
स्तम्भों में लंप्स स्तन संक्रमण, फाइब्रोकाइसटिक स्तन रोग (ढेलेदार स्तन), फाइब्रोएडीनोमा (गैर-कन्सेसर ट्यूमर), वसा-परिगलन (क्षतिग्रस्त ऊतक) जैसे कई अन्य कारणों के कारण हो सकते हैं।
यद्यपि अधिकांश स्तन गांठ कम गंभीर स्थितियों के कारण होते हैं, नए, पीड़ारहित गांठें फिर भी स्तन कैंसर का सबसे आम लक्षण हैं। एक महिला अपने स्तन में बदलाव देख सकती है, और मामूली असामान्य दर्द जो दूर जाता प्रतीत नहीं होता। इन परिवर्तनों के लिए देखें:

1. स्तन या निपल का अलग महसूस होना:
- निपल कोमलता, या स्तन या अंडरआर्म क्षेत्र में या उसके पास एक गांठ या मोटा होना।
- त्वचा की बनावट में परिवर्तन या स्तन की त्वचा में छिद्रों का इज़ाफ़ा
- स्तन में एक गांठ

2. दिखने में बदलाव:
- स्तन के माप या आकार में कोई भी अस्पष्टीकृत परिवर्तन
- स्तन पर कहीं भी गढ़ा
- स्तन की अस्पष्ट सूजन (खासकर अगर यह केवल एक तरफ है)
- स्तन का अस्पष्ट संकुचन (खासकर अगर यह केवल एक तरफ है)
- निप्पल जो थोड़ा सा आवक हो जाता है, या उलटा हो गया है

3. निपल निर्वहन:
किसी भी प्रकार के निप्पल निर्वहन, विशेष रूप से साफ़ निर्वहन या खूनी निर्वहन स्तन कैंसर का संकेत हो सकता है। एक दूधिया निर्वहन जब महिला स्तनपान नहीं कर रही है, हालांकि स्तन कैंसर से जुड़ा नहीं है, लेकिन एक डॉक्टर द्वारा जांच कराया जाना चाहिए।
इन लक्षणों में से एक या अधिक होने का मतलब यह नहीं है कि आपको स्तन कैंसर है। यदि आप इन संकेत और लक्षणों में से किसी का अनुभव करते हैं, तो एक पूर्ण मूल्यांकन के लिए अपने चिकित्सक को देखें।