FACTS ON CERVICAL CANCER

               Cervical Cancer is the 2^nd most widely occurring cancer in women. It is most common for women in the age group of 30 and older. Every year about 12000 cases of cervical cancer occur in women and estimated deaths in a year are approximated to be around 4000 worldwide.

Here are some lesser known facts about cervical cancer.

• HPV is considered to be one of the major causes of cervical cancer. HPV is a group of viruses present worldwide.
• High risk type of HPV infection results in cervical cancer in women. HPV viruses is available in 2 types (16 and 18) which cause 70% of cervical cancers.

    

• Cervical Cancer’s development is quite slow and begins with a precancerous condition known as Dysplasia. HPV spreads through genital contact, vaginal, anal, oral sex.
• Smoking, HIV, Birth Control Pills consumption for more than 5 years, giving birth to 3 or more kids, weakened immune system, Exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) during your mother’s pregnancy are some of the reasons for cervical cancer.

           

• A Pap test and HPV test are prescribed for cervical cancer detection. Screening for cervical cancer begins at 21.
• A Pap test needs to be taken every 3 years for age groups between 21 and 29.
• A Pap test and HPV Test need to be taken every 5 years for ages between 30 and 64.
• Lifestyle changes like limiting number of sexual partners, practice safe sex, Exercising regularly, Eating a healthy diet and to quit smoking are some of the ways to prevent cervical cancer.

          

• Vaccines are available for reduction in infections due to HPV. Girls in the age group of 11 or 12 should get 3 doses of Cervarix or Gardasil.HPV vaccines are not recommended for pregnant women.
• Consulting a health care professional/doctor for regular screening/early detection, treatment follow-up, a well maintained healthy diet along with having all the chemo, radiation sessions are a must for cervical cancer patients.    

Thanks for reading and please keep visiting our blog to discover and appreciate more Yoddhas. 
Feel free to contact the Yoddhas team at team@yoddhas.com 

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Author- Shashwathi.S

EVERYDAY HEROES: MRS. VANDANA MEHTA

Cancer is a taboo in itself. A positive outlook and a never give up mentality can bring back any individual from the clutches of cancer to the real world once again. Mrs Vandana Mehta has proved this statement in every way possible and has emerged to be a true Yoddha.

Mrs. Vandana Mehta, a computer programming school teacher in Delhi was living her normal smooth life, balancing between work and family, raising her two sons and getting them settled. After fulfilling her responsibilities towards the society and as a mother, she set out sailing with her husband, a Merchant Marine Captain. She traveled all around the world enjoying a care free life.

Mrs. Mehta managed to maintain a good health and exercised regularly even while traveling. Being a connoisseur of health related topics herself, she was careful about her weight and diet. But fate had something else in store for her. Unfortunately she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Faith is a very potent weapon they say, which helped her become a YODDHA.

She went through 6 months of aggressive chemotherapy and was very particular about the weekly doses. She practiced yoga throughout the therapy to manage stress as it was building up due to hair loss and Neurotherapy in her feet. The fear of death was no less to deal with since even the doctors had admitted that there was no cure.

The love and support of her family was like a glowing lamp in darkness, which helped her pass through this phase of her life. Also, reading spiritual books and faith in God kept her strong and motivated.
Today she is more self-aware. She says “My level of self-awareness medically and spiritually has increased by leaps and bounds”.

However, she often finds herself mentally preoccupied with the alternative solutions to her quest against cancer.
Although Cancer has taken away the carefree attitude from Mrs. Mehta, it has given her life a new direction.
She has discovered her love for nature and has become much more peaceful.
Small things make her happy and she has learnt to be grateful for everything.

It’s true that the best lessons can be learnt from the worst situations.
Mrs. Mehta has started believing in the unknown and feels closer to God.
She doesn’t feel the need to judge people instead she wishes to help those who are going through the same condition.

Mrs. Vandana Mehta, through her struggle has shown how positively, affectionately and spiritually a person can overcome any obstacle in life.

Your motivation and positive outlook is sure an inspiration to many, you are a true YODDHA...

Thanks for reading and please keep visiting our blog to discover and appreciate more Yoddhas. 
Feel free to contact the Yoddhas team at team@yoddhas.com 

Lastly,

Praise the Yoddhas; Support the Yoddhas ; Love the Yoddhas!

Cheers!

Author - Vaibhavi Kardale

Engineering student at VIT,Pune.Yoddhas Ambassador at Yoddhas - Indians Fighting Against Cancer

EVERYDAY HEROES: Ruchi Gokhale

At an age when love is in the air and class 12 board exams around the corner, no one really wants to do much apart from study, binge-eat on tasty food to beat the stress and steal time to talk to their respective love interests (or stalk them on Facebook). Obviously, there is no time for anything else!

Ruchi Gokhale is a feisty teenager with a great love for street food and dreams of a fabulous future. The only difference between her and the other aforementioned teenagers was that Ruchi had another, much deeper matter of concern on her mind- “How long until this cancer goes away?”

Ruchi’s cancer diagnosis stunned her because she wasn’t the kind who was prone to falling sick- she was always the bubbly girl bursting with energy. This ray of sunshine was not one to let cancer take away who she was as a person- one of her major worries was that she wouldn’t be allowed to relish her favourite street food anymore and of course, that her beautiful hair would fall out.


However, Ruchi’s mother was not one to let her daughter despair over the loss of her hair. She donated her hair and stood strong by her daughter.

Ruchi

 Ruchi, a true yoddha, a fighter has two amazing things to share from her experience.

-If you have Cancer, let Cancer not have you!
-Like every other thing in this world, Cancer will pass too!

This brave Yoddha followed and still believes and preaches the mantra of never giving up on life.

On her experience with Yoddhas-Indians Fighting Cancer, Ruchi said, "When I first came to know about my cancer, I quickly hopped on to the internet to find some cancer stories or other people who are going through the same ordeal. I couldn't find any Indian communities so I had to start my own channel. I wish I knew about Yoddhas.  Yoddhas is a great initiative by Rahul Yadav. Here we discuss about everything....from doctors to hospitals to various other treatments. It is really helping so many people within India. I'm proud to be part of it."

Ruchi was diagnosed with Stage 1 Hodgkins Lymphoma just before her  12th board exams. She was cured a few months later but she relapsed in 2013 with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Post a stem cell transplant, she has recovered completely and today she is a budding YouTube star. To know more about her, follow her at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdjxsgUSRz5jUh0ytrbyU-Q

And please keep visiting our blog to discover and appreciate more Yoddhas. Feel free to contact the Yoddhas team at team@yoddhas.com 

Lastly,

Praise the Yoddhas; Support the Yoddhas ; Love the Yoddhas!

Cheers!

Written by: Shatakshi Tripathi

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Everyday Heros - Rahul Yadav

Issue #01

Rahul Yadav - IT professional detected with blood cancer at age 28.

1. When did you discover you had cancer?

I was 28, had been doing very well at an IT company in Bangalore, and had just tied the knot with my girlfriend. I was just getting started. We had moved into a new house and  were setting it up. I used to cycle to office. (One city in India where you can do so)

Then suddenly one day I fell sick.

2. What was the first thought that came to your mind when the news was broken to you?
The diagnosis itself was a huge shocker. I was being treated for dengue after a blood test showed I had a low platelet count. But the dengue tests were negative and I was told I have this. The first thing I did was google what Multiple Myeloma was and the very first website told me that its an Incurable form of cancer and the average survival is 2-4 years for this disease. I was devastated. (I later realised that it is true that its incurable but it IS manageable and the survival data was 15 years old. But imagine what my over active mind was going through)

3. Can you talk about the emotional toll the cancer diagnosis took on you? How did you deal with the knowledge of having cancer?

It was like being hit by a 300 km/hr train. I had never even heard of the name Myeloma before. I was told that I had Myeloma. I was lost. I did not know whom to talk to or what to expect from Life. Would I be fine or am I dying. How much time do I have.

But I was in a situation where I had a choice to either lament or to do something about this. I cannot see myself just sitting silently hoping things would get better as I started to realize through personal experience that there were various aspects of cancer care that could be improved. Not that somebody is doing a poor job but the acknowledgement that there is a lack of certain programs. I decided to fill these gaps myself.

4. Who along your journey helped you get through some of these challenges and what was their impact?

Getting the big "C" news(!) was a big shock not only for me but for the entire family. What is interesting are the reactions from friends. It is like a sea of support. Old friends, with whom I had not even spoken for years called regularly to check on me and wish me good health. Also some so called friends kind of disappeared. But later I decided that not all can cope with bad news and I never bothered with such people.

Anyway, My wife who's my companion and my friend and my caregiver was and always has been my guiding light. My support system. I also realised its not the 1000s on facebook but 10 close friends and your family and your loved ones that will always be by your side. Cherish them!!

5. Cancer treatments take time and energy. What are some if the things you do to maintain an optimistic and positive outlook?

Everybody has been telling me to be positive, to have faith, trust me the will and desire to remain so is extremely tough to maintain. How can one stay positive in a situation like this, where every day is a new battle, every night I pray to God not to give me that dreaded pain tonight, I do not want to go to that Emergency Room tonight. And any test results makes me more anxious than those board exams results.

But l have realized that Some days are good and some bad…And I try to ignore the bad ones and look forward for the good ones…So I still try to enjoy the good days. Also I love the lines. "Get busy living or get busy Dying". I keep myself so busy that I get no time to think about how much time I have. I work harder than I ever have. People ask me what do I do in my free time. My answer - I got no free time.

6. Does the knowledge of having cancer change the way you react to situations? How do you deal with the anxiety on a day to day level?

One good change that I see in me is that somehow I now can see how others are also suffering. Everybody has his or her own set of problems. And yes those problems are huge. We only focus so much on our issues that we just ignore the issues others are facing. If you just (with a very selfish motive) make an effort and genuinely try to understand what the other is facing. You will find that your problems are trivial. That your problems are small.

7. Do you now have a motto that you live by?

No matter how tough the situation may look, Never give in and keep fighting. This will pass. Hope is something that keeps us going. Always keep hope alive.

If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside. NEVER GIVE UP.