Wednesday, February 04, 2015
U.N. agency says 2014 was warmest year on record
The U.N. weather agency says 2014 was the warmest year on record, though the temperature difference with 2010 and 2005 is so small that it’s impossible to say for sure which of the three years was the hottest.
The World Meteorological Organization’s analysis on Monday mirrored findings two weeks ago by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and also included data from the Met Office in Britain.
The Geneva-based WMO said surface temperatures were 0.57 degrees Celsius above average last year.
That’s slightly warmer than 2010 and 2005, but the difference was within the uncertainty margin of 0.10 degrees Celsius.
With 14 of the 15 hottest years recorded this century, WMO chief Michel Jarraud said warming is expected to continue as atmospheric levels of heat-trapping CO2 rise.
Keywords: NASA, World Meteorological Organization
Conquering intimidation
Unpleasant but a reality, intimidation takes many forms. How can youth deal with it?
“I was scared of my class teacher. Hence I messed up my speech.” “Her loudness always silenced me.” “For some reason, I wasn’t comfortable around him.”
Does this sound familiar to you? Bullying, ragging or peer pressure often leads to intimidation. Saras Bhaskar, counselling psychologist, Bloom Mind and Body Care, defines it as “a form of behaviour in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort. There is a thin line between intimidation and bullying. It can be verbal or non-verbal and can also take a physical form.” The surrounding peer and work pressure is what gives birth to this emotion. Khadija, a second-year psychology student, says, “Speaking in front of a gathering intimidates me. Hence, I’ve taken an initiative to participate in more public speaking events. This will help me overcome my fear of crowds and relieve me of stress.” Factors like one’s outward appearance, academic excellence, popularity, bullying, favouritism by college management, insults from friends and faculty and extra-curricular activities can trigger this emotion.
The challenge
Dr. Vasuki Mathivanan, counselling psychologist, says, “For college students, humiliation and ridiculing by seniors is a major factor behind their losing confidence. Students find facing it a challenge. Usually, the victims of intimidation are first and second-year students. It can be in the form of verbal and emotional abuse which is not visible. This affects them psychologically and they always live in fear.” Intimidation usually starts to stem from these factors and finds its way into a varying range of situations.
“I have witnessed cases of intimidation in class. This usually happens when peers of a student become a bit too assertive. This causes him/her to lose self-confidence and self-esteem,” she adds. The ill effects start to manifest in their work capability and demeanour, which stymies their progress and performance in college.
Choice factors
Sometimes, students are intimidated by the course they are pursuing. This could be because they were pressured into it or because initially, they took it willingly but later realised that it was not their cup of tea. Choosing a course one is not adept at puts him/her at a major disadvantage. Also, something as simple as being casually reprimanded in class by a faculty or losing out on a competition could threaten a student’s self-esteem and cause intimidation.
It is not wrong to feel intimidated, but constantly succumbing to this emotion is a cause for concern. If not tackled promptly, it can have several harmful effects on students. It can cause depression, strain in their interpersonal relationship, get them involved in harmful habits, lead them to think they lack skills or knowledge, render them socially inept, and, sometimes, lead to extreme measures like suicide attempts. A tall person, a tattooed arm or loud tone of a dominating speech is all it takes to cause a sliver of intimidation. Fortunately, this emotion can be tackled with ease sans psychologists or councillors. Talking to close friends or faculty about the issues bothering you might prove to be the start to recovery. A person who feels intimidated should never take the things said to him personally and must always try facing the intimidator with confidence. Students can involve themselves in dramatics or theatre. This is a great form of recuperation for one’s pent-up frustration and stress. Also, being on stage and performing will work as a tailwind to the student’s self-esteem and confidence. This is applicable to other forms of art such as music and dance, too.
Find a mirror
Another way of responding to intimidation is to identify the trait you find intimidating in the person causing it and try deciphering or exploring it within yourself, in your own unique way. This will help you re-identify with the person who intimidates you.
Saravanan AK, Practising psychologist at Tranzend Hypnotherapy Service, says, “Intimidation is something that develops at an age as early as one or two years when a child goes to school and sees people towering over him. It is something that’s directly or indirectly innate in every being. It’s up to us to channelise it in a healthy way.”
If you can take things in your stride, then intimidation can be channelled into a positive force as well.
It has been found that intimidation can make a person grow cognitively and emotionally.
When people feel threatened, they start to work harder in order to deal with cut-throat competition. It acts as a source of motivation for them too. Shreyas, an engineering student, says, “The fact that someone is better than me at something I love doing intimidates me. When at times I knew I could’ve done better, I make sure I work harder and do a better job next time.”
Feeling intimidated has nothing to do with the intimidator, it’s just how we perceive and respond to the oncoming wave of emotions.
Cancer: Not beyond us
On World Cancer Day today, The Union for International Cancer Control calls the doctors, institutions and the community at large to come together and unite in the fight against cancer
It is estimated that in the next year, nine million people will die of cancer and these numbers will unfortunately only rise, if steps towards cancer prevention and control are not put in place now. This year’s World Cancer day programme focuses on taking a proactive role in the fight against cancer under the tagline “Cancer- Not Beyond Us”.
Adopt a healthy lifestyle
Recent research has shown that physical activity brings down the incidence of cancers as well. About 50 per cent of common cancers can be prevented by reducing alcohol consumption, giving up smoking, a healthy diet and regular physical exercise and that is a pretty good incentive to help in making the right lifestyle choices.
Get regular check ups
Very commonly, people are not aware of the importance of seeking care when symptoms are present, nor are they aware about recommended screening tests such as pap smears, HPV tests for cervical cancers and mammograms for breast cancers. This holds true for women across the socio-economic strata and varied educational backgrounds.There is now clear evidence that deaths due to cervical cancer can be reduced by 80 per cent in screened women. In fact, even a single screening for cervical cancer in women between the ages of 30 -40 years can bring down a woman’s risk of cervical cancer by 25 to 36 per cent. Cervical cancer can be easily prevented by a combination of HPV vaccination and regular screening. The question is how do we get women to access health care and who pays for it? Cancer is a complex disease and often needs a lot of psycho-social input apart from a multidisciplinary medical treatment.
Spread awareness
In spite of improving levels of education and economy, discussion about cancer is often considered taboo. While people would not hesitate to talk about their symptoms and the various medications they are on for their hypertension and diabetes, a diagnosis of cancer is one topic they do not feel they can talk about.
In spite of improving levels of education and economy, discussion about cancer is often considered taboo. While people would not hesitate to talk about their symptoms and the various medications they are on for their hypertension and diabetes, a diagnosis of cancer is one topic they do not feel they can talk about.
There are a lot of myths and misconceptions that surround a diagnosis of cancer – a common one is that cancer is contagious which it is not. There is still a huge stigma attached to a cancer diagnosis especially in rural areas, very often leading to the person being ostracised from society.
Get involved
As a priority, levels of public and professional awareness about cancer screening and early cancer warning signs should be improved and we would like the health sector, government and the media to be part of this important initiative.
As a priority, levels of public and professional awareness about cancer screening and early cancer warning signs should be improved and we would like the health sector, government and the media to be part of this important initiative.
Cancer control has to begin with cancer awareness amongst the community at large. Understanding local cultural beliefs and practices is important and screening programmes will have to factor this into their programmes to succeed.
It is ‘Not Beyond Us’ to meet the challenge of cancer control, if communities and governments realise that prevention of cancer is better and definitely cheaper than cure, if cancer awareness is given priority and screening programmes are integrated in to existing health systems. On the occasion of World Cancer Day, let us all take a pledge to fight against cancer.
Valavadi Narayanaswamy Cancer Center, GKNM Hospital, and Coimbatore Cancer Foundation collaborate to give cancer awareness talks in schools, colleges, corporate offices and others, both in urban and rural areas as part of their community oncology programmes.
Dr. Latha Balasubramani is DGO, MD, MRCOG, Consultant - Gynaec Oncology at G K N M Hospital and a trustee at the Coimbatore Cancer Foundation.
Feb 04 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)
Cancer strikes more Indian women, but kills more men
Malathy Iyer
|
Mumbai
|
More Indian women than men are diagnosed with cancer every year. It is reflected in insurance statistics that show more women in our cities claim medical insurance for cancer treatment.Blame it on physiology or the stereotypical image of an Indian woman who chooses to ignore her symptoms for long, but fact is the Big C exhibits a clear gender divide.
But when it comes to cancer-related fatalities, the figures turn upside down: more men die of cancer annually than women.
In all, 5.37 lakh Indian women were diagnosed with cancer in 2012 as against 4.77 lakh men, according to the World Cancer Report. The same year, 3.56 lakh men died of the disease in comparison to 3.26 lakh women.
In the past four years, 62-65%of cancer-related insurance claims were for women while the figure for men was only 35-38%, according to data released by private insurance firm ICICI Lombard. The claims were more for cancers of the cervix and breast, which are, according to the Indian cancer registry, the leading cancer types among women.
The main reasons for the gender divide in cancer are hormones and habits. “Physiologically, women’s cells are exposed to more hormones and more hormonal fluctuations, leading to an increased susceptibility of cell dysplasia (abnormality),” said Dr Boman Dhabar, medical oncologist with Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai Central.
He believes “oppression of Indian women” leads them to neglect their own health. “There are also socio-economic reasons such as lack of hygiene and toilets that lead to an increased incidence of cervical cancer,” said Dr Dhabar.
Dr Surendra Shastri, who heads the preventive oncology department of Tata Memorial Hospital, had another reason. “There is an increase in the incidence of lifestyle-related cancers, for example breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Moreover, better awareness and detection rates have contributed to the increasing numbers of cancer in women in India.” His colleague Dr Rajesh Dikshit, who heads the epidemiology department, pointed out that if incidences of breast and cervical cancers are removed, women have a very low and almost negligible incidence of cancer in comparison to men.
“Claims from men are usually limited to oral cavity and lungs, where the root causes are tobacco and occupational exposure to hazardous material such as asbestos and silica. We find men who suffer from these cancers come from classes that primarily stay away from taking any health insurance,” said Amit Bhandari of ICICI Lombard.
Interestingly, data for 2014 from Metropolis Healthcare, a chain of laboratories, shows how different cancer rates are among men and women (see box). Dr Kirti Chadha from Metropolis India said of the 1,151 samples that tested positive for cancer in Mumbai, 214 were of breast cancer alone. “Breast cancer is the most common or largest cancer in our country.
This is our finding from each of our laboratories across the country,” she added. There is an age difference pattern too in cancer’s gender bias. “If you look at age-wise cancer incidence, the peak period for women is 60 while for men it is 70,”said Dikshit.
A 2006 paper from Duke University in US titled, ‘Difference between male and female cancer incidence rates: How can it be explained?”, said the peak of hormonal imbalance in women is between 45 and 55, when the reproductive system ultimately stops functioning. In males, this peak is shifted to 55 and 65.
But when it comes to cancer-related fatalities, the figures turn upside down: more men die of cancer annually than women.
In all, 5.37 lakh Indian women were diagnosed with cancer in 2012 as against 4.77 lakh men, according to the World Cancer Report. The same year, 3.56 lakh men died of the disease in comparison to 3.26 lakh women.
In the past four years, 62-65%of cancer-related insurance claims were for women while the figure for men was only 35-38%, according to data released by private insurance firm ICICI Lombard. The claims were more for cancers of the cervix and breast, which are, according to the Indian cancer registry, the leading cancer types among women.
The main reasons for the gender divide in cancer are hormones and habits. “Physiologically, women’s cells are exposed to more hormones and more hormonal fluctuations, leading to an increased susceptibility of cell dysplasia (abnormality),” said Dr Boman Dhabar, medical oncologist with Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai Central.
He believes “oppression of Indian women” leads them to neglect their own health. “There are also socio-economic reasons such as lack of hygiene and toilets that lead to an increased incidence of cervical cancer,” said Dr Dhabar.
Dr Surendra Shastri, who heads the preventive oncology department of Tata Memorial Hospital, had another reason. “There is an increase in the incidence of lifestyle-related cancers, for example breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Moreover, better awareness and detection rates have contributed to the increasing numbers of cancer in women in India.” His colleague Dr Rajesh Dikshit, who heads the epidemiology department, pointed out that if incidences of breast and cervical cancers are removed, women have a very low and almost negligible incidence of cancer in comparison to men.
“Claims from men are usually limited to oral cavity and lungs, where the root causes are tobacco and occupational exposure to hazardous material such as asbestos and silica. We find men who suffer from these cancers come from classes that primarily stay away from taking any health insurance,” said Amit Bhandari of ICICI Lombard.
Interestingly, data for 2014 from Metropolis Healthcare, a chain of laboratories, shows how different cancer rates are among men and women (see box). Dr Kirti Chadha from Metropolis India said of the 1,151 samples that tested positive for cancer in Mumbai, 214 were of breast cancer alone. “Breast cancer is the most common or largest cancer in our country.
This is our finding from each of our laboratories across the country,” she added. There is an age difference pattern too in cancer’s gender bias. “If you look at age-wise cancer incidence, the peak period for women is 60 while for men it is 70,”said Dikshit.
A 2006 paper from Duke University in US titled, ‘Difference between male and female cancer incidence rates: How can it be explained?”, said the peak of hormonal imbalance in women is between 45 and 55, when the reproductive system ultimately stops functioning. In males, this peak is shifted to 55 and 65.
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