Beware of breathing! All you need to know about Lung Cancer.

What is that something that you do every second of your life? 

Breathe!   
Without this action it is impossible to survive. 

This breathing action is done with the help of the lungs and it is the most active organ of the human body. It is very essential to maintain its health at all times. Knowing what you inhale in your everyday lifestyle is important. An unhealthy lung leads to many infections and also Cancer. Lung infections are curable but not Cancer. It is always better to prevent than to cure any disease.

Lung Cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in one or both of the lungs. These cells or tumors reduce the lung’s ability to provide bloodstream with oxygen.

A total number of 1,370,000 people have died of lung cancer which is more than the number of deaths caused by any other type of cancer. 

 

Some important facts:

• Lung Cancer is the most common diagnosed cancer around the globe.  
•  Most people die of Lung Cancer compared to other type of Cancer such has breast,colon and prostate Cancer. 
• Smoking is responsible for 90% of all cases of Lung cancer. 
•  More than half of the Lung Cancer patients pass away within a year of diagnosis. 
• Passive smoking increases the chances of Lung Cancer for about 20-30%

What are the causes and symptoms of Lung Cancer?

 

Causes:

• Smoking causes Cancer, smoking kills.
•  Exposure to tobacco smoke or passive smoking increases the chance of lung cancer.
•  Air pollution also causes Lung cancer. Air containing carcinogens and exposure to this increases the risk. 
• Smoke coming out of burning coal contains carcinogens is a significant risk of developing Lung Cancer. 
• Low intake of foods rich in beta-carotene.

Symptoms: 

• Loss in appetite and reduction in body weight. 
• Cough that does not quit. 
• Feeling weak or tiredness. 
• Chest pain which gets intense when coughing, laughing or heavy breathing. 
• Abnormal changes in loudness of the voice. 
• Shortness of breath.
• Coughing Blood.

Treatment for Lung Cancer:

 

 The treatment for this Cancer depends upon the type of lung cancer that the person is diagnosed with. The tumor is located and the stage of the cancer is identified. General health of the patient is also taken in consideration.

Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are common treatments used for lung cancer. These treatments are used alone or together.  

Home remedies: 

The patient experiences shortness of breath. To cope up with this there are few tips:

• Choose an activity such has music or meditation or any other activity that help you to relax. Fear makes it only harder to breathe. 

    

• Use your energy effectively. Save your energy for important tasks. Remove the non-essential tasks from your day.

      

• When you are in shortage of breath focus your mind on breathing.

                    

 Some other useful tips:

• Do not dehydrate your body. Take small sips of water frequently in a day. 
• Dry ginger or ginger-tea to reduce nausea. 
• Brush your teeth after you vomit which help to avoid tooth decay. 
• To have a good sleep avoid caffeine.

Tips for treating Constipation:

• Drink enough fluids to keep you hydrated. 
• Avoid alcohol containing drinks. 
• Increase your physical activity by exercise as advised by the doctor.

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- Akshith Vijaykumar

SMOKING..AIN'T IT SILLY? NOT SILLY ANY MORE..

Looking for a safe way to smoke so that you don’t get sick? There would be closed doors in front of you. Replacing any medium to smoke such as cigarette, hookah,pipe or any other tobacco carrier will make no use to your decaying body

. 

EFFECTS OF SMOKING:

• CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM- Nicotine is an ingredient in tobacco that is basically a mood shifter. It can generally make you feel energetic and later even more tired and crave. When it is taken in, the nicotine hits the nervous system and stimulates it. Tobacco can cause macular degeneration, poor eyesight and cataract along with a loose sense of taste.

• RESPIRATORY SYSTEM- Lungs basically have the ability to sense harmful chemicals and revert back but due to a repetitive intake, it can destroy this ability. Therefore, these substances get stuck in the lungs.

• MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM- Smoking frequently can reduce bone density and tighten certain muscles.

OVERALL EFFECT

Tobacco smoke can cause stomach and intestines inflammation and irritation. Digestive tract ulcer risk is on a high scale with the dangerous substances infusing in the other systems.

SMOKING CAUSES 10 TYPES OF CANCER:

• LUNG CANCER

                       

Lung cancer is the most commonly occurring disease associated to smoking. Most of the cases of lung cancer occur due to smoking. It is one of the most dangerous diseases when compared to the other diseases.

• BREAST CANCER

            

The older studies never found any association between breast cancer and smoking while the recent studies suggests there is a close relation between nicotine and breast cancer. There is nicotine that can increase breast cells causing breast carcinogenesis and also nicotine can right away give in to molecular mechanism of carcinogenesis.

• COLON CANCER

                        

It is cancer that causes in the large intestine in which the it begins with a small, clumps of cells known as adenomatous polyps that then generates to colon cancer or rectal cancer.

• LEUKAEMIA

                

The benzene in the smoke is known to cause myeloid leukaemia in adults whereas passive smoking can cause acute lymphoblastic leukaemia(ALL) in children.

• BLADDER CANCER

                          

Smoking can cause bladder cancer in both men and women. Passive smokers are at a higher risk of bladder cancer as inhaling the smoke which has poisonous chemicals can enhance the bladder cells to cause cancer.

• LIVER CANCER

                      

It is not just alcohol that causes liver cancer but smoking is a dangerous agent to this disease. People who already have hepatitis B are at a higher risk of falling prey to liver cancer.

• PANCREATIC CANCER

The harmful chemicals in tobacco give in to damaging DNA resulting in pancreatic cancer.

• VAGINAL CANCER

                      

There is a six-fold increased risk in women to have vaginal cancer due to smoking. It gets elevated even after five year of quitting smoking.

• MOUTH AND THROAT CANCER

          

Smoking tobacco can directly affect the larynx, oral cavity and oesophagus causing mouth and throat cancer. Around 85% of the mouth and throat cancer occur because of smoking and tobacco chewing.

• KIDNEY CANCER

        

Kidney cancer mainly occurs in men than women in the worldwide ratio. This happens due to the harmful substance which can slowly but powerfully enhance the growth of cancer cells.

5 STEPS TO QUIT SMOKING.

• Tell your friends and family on your decision to quit smoking.

              

• Make a plan on how to quit and what is your schedule of the day.

                                  

• Stay busy. Watch a movie, go out with friends and family, chew gum or hard candy, deep breath breaks, keep your hand busy with a pen or pencil and so on.

                        

• Avoid areas that trigger you to get onto smoking again. Places like pubs, beer bars and hotels. Eating healthy and not that always ravishes your taste buds can be included in your diet.

                    

• Think about quitting smoking for an hour or a day and not forever! Take it slow and steady.

                          

It is not just a quitting that comes within, there is a life that is given birth again and you will the hero in it!

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 - Shruti Manmadhan Nair 

DRY MOUTH REMEDIES

Dry mouth or Xerostomia is the condition where the mouth is dry as a result of reduced saliva production by the salivary glands. Dry mouth is often considered as a side effect of medication.Saliva prevents tooth decay and also washes off the neutralizing acids produced by bacteria, so when there is a reduction in the saliva level, tooth decay becomes one of the major issues.The level of this can range from a mere discomfort to a serious impact on the teeth and also result in a reduced appetite.

What Causes a Dry Mouth?

Chemotherapy or any radiation treatment damage the salivary glands and make them thicker in size which eventually leads to a dry mouth. This symptom is temporary which clears up about two-eight weeks after the treatment ends.

Therapy directed to face, neck or head also causes dry mouth. It can take eight months or more for the salivary glands to recover and start excreting saliva at the normal rate after the completion of the treatment.

Ways to prevent a dry mouth:

This effect is temporary and cannot be avoided but there are few tips on managing the dry mouth.

• Brushing your teeth after each meal with soft-bristle tooth brush and use fluoride toothpaste. You can also soak your brush in warm water to make it softer.

• DO NOT SMOKE OR CHEW TOBACCO as it further makes your mouth dry.

• Moisten your mouth by taking sips of water very often in a day.

                                                 

• Avoid spicy food and alcohol containing dental products as they will burn your mouth.

                                   

• Rinse your mouth after very meal with salt and baking soda. A solution of half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of baking soda mixed in one cup of lukewarm water is proven to be very helpful.

                                 

Tips from other Cancer fighters:

Dry mouth is often faced by many Cancer fighters as it is a side effect of radiation and chemotherapy. Here are some tips from them which are authentic and are based on purely their personal experiences.

• Use Betadin Gargel product for mouthwash and do it frequently in a day.
• Use anti-sensitivity toothpaste such as Sensodyne,Rapid Relief or Vantej.
• Gargle with baking soda couple of times in day.
• Avoid using toothpicks and use a soft-bristle toothpaste
• Baking soda and warm saline rinses is very helpful.
• Clogen lozenge product is also very helpful.

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- Akshith Vijay Kumar

EVERYDAY HEROES : Pranjali Pande.

The word cancer itself gives us goosebumps. But when cancer casts Its dark shadow, there are few courageous people with warrior spirits who leave everyone awestruck. 

One such warrior is  Mrs Pranjali Pande, a very simple Indian housewife and a motherly figure. She thought her life would pass off as a mediocre, like most of others. But after what she has had to endure, having contracted cancer a couple of years back, she has emerged strong. 

With a very positive attitude she considers this life as her second birth and that God has a bigger plan for her. She is now living life to the fullest, fighting, winning and relishing every moment. She no longer has the urge to ask God 'Why me? ' .

Mrs.Pande who got married at an early age was always an art enthusiast and an avid reader. Currently , pursuing her masters in Sanskrit for the love of the language, she dreams of teaching it in a professional course. 

She also counsels cancer patients and lights in them the hope of a new beginning on recovery.
She serves as an inspiration not only to cancer patients but to everyone around her.

We salute you Mrs. Pranjali , 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, 
Yoddhas Ambassador at Yoddhas - Indians Fighting Against Cancer