3 DECCAN

AN HERA
RALD Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Travel&Living Reasonsmuch WHO says around one third of

deaths from cancer are due to five behavioural and dietary
risks: high body mass index, low fruit and vegetable intake,
lack of physical activity, tobacco use, and alcohol use.

COMBATMODE VITALSIGNS
Ski
kip a beat over
irregu
gular periods
I
rregular periods can be one of the many
symptoms of granulosa cell tumour
(a ttyype of ovarian cancer), but it can
also be a result of other underlying factors
such PCOD, obesity ty or sedentary lifesty
tyle.
Irregular periods, along with pain in the
Cruciferous abdomen or pelvic region, bloating, fatigue,
vegetables can help sudden loss of weight and an upset stomach

&
fight the HPV are some symptoms of ovarian cancer.

SUP
UPERF
P RFOODS
F
infection which Who are at risk for ovarian cancer?
causes cervical „ It is high in post-menopausal women.
cancer „ If a women is overweight or obese. A per-

CAN
ANCER
N
son is obese when their BMI is above 30.
„ Other factors include nulliparity ty (woman
who has never given birth), non-breast
feeding mothers and women who have ex-
perienced menstrual cycle at an early age.
„ Women who have had a family history of
cancer.
Not every woman
has regular periods.

RII
RISKS
It could also be due
to diverse underlying

C
issues like:
Stress: Stress affects
ervical cancer is a big scare among women as it is the hormones which
second most common and leading cancer, next to can lead to irregular
breast cancer. periods.
According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) High body weight: If
report in India, about 160 million women, aged be- your body weight is
tw
tween
w 30-59 years, are at the risk of developing cervi- 10 per cent more than
cal cancer. Close to 77,300 new cases are diagnosed the required weight
annually with 37,800 deaths due to cervical cancer. for your height.

Nearlly 30-500% off alll cancer cases are Cervical cancer is mainly caused due to Human Papillomavirus
(HPV) V) infection. Other factors such as early marriage, multiple sexual
partners, multiple pregnancies, poor genital hygiene, malnutrition, use
Obesity/excess weight leads to hormonal
changes.
Thyroid issues: Thyroid issues cause
preventable. Dr C Reddy Jyothsna suggests of oral contraceptives, and lack of awareness play a significant role in
developing cervical cancer.
hormonal imbalance which can lead to
irregular periods. The menstrual cycle
some foods one can include in their diet to Fortunately, nearly 30-50% of all cancer cases are preventable. Cer-
vical cancer is one among them. Immunisation with the HPV vaccine
not only helps women experience moth-
erhood later on, but also ensures that the

keep cerv
rvical cancer at bay could reduce the impact of cervical cancer. Therefore, it is important for
young women to get vaccinated against HPVs, identify fy the early signs
and symptoms such as pre-cancerous lesions, lead a healthy and hygien-
body functions efficiently. It is important
to watch out for these symptoms and seek
medical help to be diagnosed and treated
ic lifesty
tyle and get timely treatment. at the right time. If diagnosed at an early
Eating certain foods also helps in protecting ting against stage, ovarian cancer can be treated easily
HPV. The idea is to include foods which havve low and the chance of survival is high.
glycemic index, are rich in vitamin E and C, Dr R Suchitra
zinc, include moderate protein and reduce (The author is consultant gynaec-oncology,
foods with nitrate. Fortis Cancer Institute, Bengaluru)
Superoxide dismutase enzymes in zinc
help destroy the free radicals to fight
against cancer. It boosts the immune sys-
tem and helps eliminate abnormal cells
before they become cancerous.
‘THE ENIGMA
According to a study published in the
journal Cancer Research, women who
CALLED CANCER’

A
consumed a diet rich in fruits and vegetablees t the University
t of Virginia,
cleared off their HPV infections faster when n I continued to learn, with
compared to others, which lower the risk off dreams of taking my learning
developing cervical cancer. One can consideer some back to India one day. I continued to
food items to help increase immunity ty and reesist- absorb what I could. I was put on dif-
ance in fighting against HPV infection. ferent rotations in the one year I spent
Carrot, yellow coloured fruits & vege- there as a resident surgeon. Once I
tables: They contain beta-carotene and ca- was posted in the ENT (Ear, Nose and
rotenoids. Carotenoids act as antioxidants Throat) department.
in the human body. They have strong As I did the rounds of the wards,
cancer-fighting properties and help fight what I saw made me change my
Curcumin is an
off the damage done by carcinogens (sub- choice of speciality in medical stud-
antioxidant found stances which cause cancer). Include car- ies. For long, I had set my heart on
in turmeric rots, pumpkins and other yellow coloured cardiology, because it had been my
fruits and vegetables in your diet. favourite subject in medical school.
Cruciferous vegetables: Vegetables such h I had been very good at it. I was dead
as cabbage, caulifl flower and broccoli belong g certain I would be specializing in car-
to cruciferous family. They are rich in a naturalural diology in the US.
compound known as Indole 3 carbinol (I3C). This com- At the university hospital, I saw
pound helps in the reduction of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), something that changed my mind.
development of abnormal cells in the narrow neck of a woman’s uterus Here, I observed cancer patients
(the cervix) and its progression to cervical cancer. inwards. They looked like they had no
I3C has anti-estrogenic activities which provide extra protection hope. Patients were
against cancer. It also helps in body detoxification. One can consider called ‘victims’, or
including these vegetables in the form of salad, cooked or boiled, etc. spoken of as ‘ter-
Turmeric : Curcumin is an antioxidant found in turmeric. It helps the minal’ cases. Treat-
body to fight against HPV and protect against cervical cancer by slowing ments discussed
down or limiting the activity ty of the virus. were palliative
Fruits - Apple and tomato: Apples are rich in ffllavonoids, a plant — which treated
compound. They have the ability ty to protect against cancer. Flavonoids only the symptoms
are concentrated in the skin of the apple, so it is important to eat its skin and the pain — and
too. Flavonoids are also found in spinach, onion, sprouts, garlic, black never definitive —
beans, soy, etc. Tomato has high lycopene content, which is a carotenoid which treated the
that boosts cervical health. You can eat it raw or in the form of cooked root cause of the
tomato products like sauce, fresh tomato puree and paste. disease. No
Legumes and dairy products: Foods rich in Folic acid and Vitamin one talked of conquering the
Apples are rich in B12 like legumes, chicken, egg yolk, fresh fruits and vegetables and dairy disease.
flavonoids, which products can increase the Folate levels and reduce the HPV infection This reminded me of a similar
protects against thus reducing the risk of cervical cancer. mindset that used to prevail at St
cancer (The author is HOD & Chief Clinical Martha’s Hospital in India, where I
Nutritionist, Sakra World Hospital) had done my senior housemanship
in 1973–74. There, too, cancer had
become a terror of mythical propor-
tions. I was struck by how people

WELL-BEING
were treating cancer patients. I
remember a young girl in St Mar-
tha’s Hospital, who had a type of

Nothi
hingsweetaboutsugary
ry d
drriin
nks
leukaemia. It almost seemed like she
was fobbed off in the ward with some
treatment, and eventually died. She
was the only daughter in her family.
An interaction with her father made

F
ried food and a sweetened beverage
are often teamed up and relished by
many. Sometimes people enjoy the drink
so much that they end up over-consuming
more of it without knowing the repercussions.
Most beverage companies add extra sugar to
make these drinks tastier. This sugar eventually
gets added to one’s diet.
Does sugar increase the risk of cancer?
Ultra-processed foods have proven to cause
many chronic diseases, including cancer and
an added risk of death.
Consumption of sugary drinks leads
to an increase in health issues like di-
abetes, obesity and hypertension.
Sugarydrinksareassociatedwiththeriskofobe-
sity
ty which can contribute to cancer.
Diabetes, on the other hand, has an age-old
relation with cancer. Diabetes can double the
risk of breast, liver, pancreas, endometrial
and many other cancers.
Not all sugars are equal
Though fruits are high in sugars, they also
contain nutrients that prevent cancer. Milk
also has sugars, however the protein it con-
tains is safe for the body.
On the other hand, ultra-processed foods
like drinks with added sugar, sweets, candies,
cookies and cakes, which have a high-sugar
content, are dangerous.
The sugary connection
According to research, an increased risk of
cancer is not related to sugar intake. Instead,
it is related to how the body responds to sugar.
It is called glucose intolerance.
The problem occurs if the body is resist-
ant to insulin, leading to more insulin being
produced to overcome this resistance. The
increased insulin level in the body is said to
help cancer cells to multiply. Making life-
style changes plays an important role in the
well-being of the human body. It is best to
avoid excessive consumption of sugary drinks. me realize they didn’t understand or
„ In order to stay hydrated, it is best to drink internalize the severity of her disease.
water and an unsweetened drink. No one knew what to do and every-
„ Satiate the sweet tooth by consuming one felt nothing could be done.
whole fruits. Avoid including saturated fats, I asked myself: Why not? Why can’t
trans fat and processed foods in your we do anything about cancer? The
diet. more I thought about it, the more
„ Most of the time, people these questions started haunting me.
do not think much about Cancer is an internal problem, so why
their diet, but it plays can’t it be solved? Why does it cause
a vital role in keep- so much pain? What is this enigma?
ing diseases at bay. So, I decided to go deep into it. It was
It is important to be a challenge. A tough challenge. And
proactive for proper I was not about to back down. I loved
functioning of the such challenges. I was always a ‘why’
body. and ‘why not’ kind of person. This
Dr Sandeep Nayak came in handy throughout my medi-
(The author is cal career and other future ventures.
director, surgical (Excerpts from the book ‘Excellence
oncology, Fortis Has No Borders’ by Dr B S Ajaikumar
Cancer Institute, with Hemanth Gorur, reproduced
Bengaluru) with permission from Penguin India)