From: joachim omolo ouko
News Dispatch with Father Omolo Beste
SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 2014
Rentia from Netherlands writes: “Fr. Joachim the same hope and despair we have in the Netherlands. There is treatment but not all cancer can be treated-Strange about “the main disease of nuns” their cancer of breast and uterus. As board member from a Franciscan Convent I am involved in sisters-convents in my country. Just the nuns become very old, more than 90-100 years and don’t die from cancer- why this difference?”
Maurice from Kenya writes: “Father this has really touched me, indeed you are very equipped with the findings, continue helping people, I have a concern on diabetic, and you can post something on the same. Last week I checked my sugar level and it was at 10.1, I was therefore told that it is on the rise and I should check on my diet. I need very elaborative just like you have done to cancers. Thank you and God bless you.”
Thank you for this important question Rentia. I think this is just an assumption that older women are too old to get cancer. Contrary to what they may assume, the fact remains that cases of breast cancer in women aged 70 and over are overwhelming.
The only thing as Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK, points out, older women are less aware of cancer symptoms and research shows that doctors are less likely to offer older patients the most effective treatments, despite the fact they can benefit.
Older women therefore, need to be aware that developing breast cancer in later life is a real possibility.’ Surprisingly, one in three breast cancer patients is aged 70 or over. About 13,500 women aged 70 and over are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in England alone.
On why nuns are at risk of breast and ovarian cancer, according to recent report by the Daily Mail based on an article in a medical journal which, Catholic nuns are likely to be at greater risk of breast, ovarian and womb cancers because they do not bear children.
The authors say that the only way to save nuns from this danger is that they should be offered the oral contraceptive pill to suppress their ovulation in order to cut their cancer risk. Even so, this pill is not safe either. It has potential side effects, including headaches, weight changes and breast tenderness. It also carries a small increase in the risk of blood clots, cervical cancer and stroke.
This is despite the fact that the world’s estimated 94,790 nuns have a greatly increased risk of breast, ovarian and uterine (womb) cancers compared with women in the general population. This argument is based on various pieces of research that show that nuns and other women without children have an increased chance of dying from breast, ovarian and uterine cancers compared to women who have reproduced.
This is thought to be because women without children have a higher number of ovulatory menstrual cycles than women with children, due to not going through pregnancy and lactation. Similarly, the authors quoted research to show that women who have earlier puberty or late menopause have a higher risk of breast, ovarian and uterine cancers.
Maurice has raised very important concern as well. I am glad you checked your sugar level last week and you were told that the level at 10.1 is not good news. According to Kenyatta National Hospital Diabetes Nurse Educator Phylis Kiiru a healthy person’s blood sugar levels should stand at between 3.5 and 7mmols/l.
She notes that individuals with diabetes needed to take good care of themselves to ensure that their blood sugar levels remained between four and 10 millimoles per litre of blood (mmols/l) when they have fed and between 3.5 and five mmols/l when they had not eaten. Anything beyond this figure is not a good sign.
This is not the same for those with diabetes and they have to make sure that it does not go lower than 3.5 or higher than10 mmols/l. “If it goes lower than 3.5 an individual can go into a coma,” she notes.
Diabetes causes vary depending on your genetic makeup, family history, health and environmental factors. There are two types of causes. Cause type 1 includes genetics, viral infection and several other triggers.
Cause type 2 includes diet and obesity. While cause type 1 is caused by the immune system destroying the cells in the pancreas that make insulin, cause type 2 are usually multifactorial – more than one diabetes cause is involved. Often, the most overwhelming factor is a family history of type 2 diabetes.
There are a variety of risk factors for type 2 diabetes, any or all of which increase the chances of developing the condition. These include: obesity, living a sedentary lifestyle, increasing age and bad diet.
Like cancer, in Kenya cases of diabetes is on the rise. Close to two million Kenyans are suffering from diabetes according to the head of the Non-Communicable Diseases Division at the Health ministry, Patrick Waihenya. He warns that diabetes may reach epidemic levels if Kenyans continue with their unhealthy lifestyles. Diabetes is one of the leading causes of blindness, renal failure and lower limb amputation.
Young people are not safe either. At least 1.8 million young people are suffering from diabetes in Kenya. Parents should therefore, ensure early diagnosis is done so that they are guided on its proper management soonest possible.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail obolobeste@gmail.com
Omolo_ouko@outlook.com
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