Different stages of cancer - cancer treatment - Indian Medical Tourism - indiatreats

By stages of cancer we mean the extent up to which it has grown and what is its current condition. As soon as a doctor diagnoses cancer he conducts different tests to understand how big the cancer has grown to and how far they have spread to the surrounding tissues. He also checks to see whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

Importance of cancer staging

Knowing the present stage of a cancer is very essential as it help the doctor to decide the course of action to be taken. If cancer has not spread to other organs of the body then a local surgery or treatment such as a surgery or radio therapy will be enough. In a local treatment, only one area in the body is treated. For cancer which has spread to many organs, a local treatment will not be sufficient.  A treatment that circulates medicine through the blood stream like hormone therapy, chemotherapy, biological therapy etc is the suitable modes of treatment for such a cancer.

Sometimes doctors are not sure about whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.  On such occasions they search the nearby lymph nodes to see whether they are cancerous. Presence of cancerous cells in lymph node is a sign of the beginning of the spreading of cancer. If cancer cells are found in the lymph nodes doctors go for adjuvant treatment. This is treating the primary tumor as well as treating for the cancer spread to the nearby organs. Chemotherapy after surgery is an example of adjuvant therapy.

Staging systems

In general there are two main staging systems in practice. They are the TNM system and the number system. In TNM system T stands for denotes the size of the tumor and how far it has spread to the nearby tissues. It is represented by digits 1 to 4, digit 1 representing the smallest size and digit 4 representing the largest size. N stands for the information regarding whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or not. This also is represented using digits 1- 3, 1 representing zero nodes and 3 representing lots of lymph nodes. M stands for metastasize which represents how far it has spread  to other parts of the body, 0 representing cancer not spread to any other body parts and 1 representing the spreading of cancer to other parts of the body.

A cancer that has spread only to lymph nodes and not to any part of the body can be represented by T2N1M0. Similarly a more advanced cancer that has spread to other organs may be represented by  T4M3N1

Numbering system

Most types of cancer can be classified into 4 stages of cancer. Doctors usually use Roman letters  to represent cancer stages.

Stage 1: In this stage the tumor is relatively small and is not spread to any organs or lymph nodes other than the organ in which cancer is found.

Stage  2. In this stage a cancer cells have reached the nearby lymph nodes, but has not spread to any distant lymph nodes or organs.

Stage 3: In this stage the cancer has spread completely in the organ where it was formed and to nearby lymph nodes. The size of the tumor has also increased considerably.

Stage 4: Stage 4 refers to the stage where the cancer has spread to other organs also. This stage of cancer is known as metastatic cancer. Sometimes doctors add letters also to indicate the the cancer of the organ where it was developed originally.

Signs and symptoms of caner - Cancer treatments- Indian medical tourism, indiatreats

Cancer is not a single disease, but is a group of diseases caused by the abnormal growth of human cells which has the potential to spread to different parts of the body.  There are about more than 100 verities of cancer that occur in human beings. There cannot be a single symptom or sign which can foretell the formation of cancerous cells. Depending upon the part of the body where cancer affects, its symptoms may be different. But the common symptoms which can be caused by other diseases as well as cancer are detailed below.

1.       Fatigue

2.       Lump felt under the skin

3.       Change in the color of the skin like yellowing, redness, darkening etc.

4.       Change in bladder or bowel habits

5.       Trouble in breathing accompanied by persistent cough

6.       Difficulty in swallowing

7.       Hoarseness in sound

8.       Difficulty after eating followed by indigestion

9.       Muscle and join pains which cannot be explained

10.   Night sweats and persistent fever

11.   Bleeding or bruising without any reason

These symptoms can appear due to various reasons. But if you are worried about risks of cancer, it is better you meet your physician and act according to his opinion. If he suggests to undergo the appropriate screening tests for diagnosing cancer, do it without hesitation.

These symptoms can appear due to various reasons. But if you are worried about risks of cancer, it is better you meet your physician and act according to his opinion. If he suggests to undergo the appropriate screening tests for diagnosing cancer, do it without hesitation.

Causes for cancer

Changes or mutations taking place within the cells to the DNA are the causes for the formation of cancer. DNA of every human being consists of a large number of genes which contains instructions to tell the cell how to grow and divide and what are the functions it has to perform. When errors in these instructions occur, they can cause the cell to become cancerous and the stop it to function normally.

What are duties of gene mutations?

Allow rapid growth of cells: Gene mutations instructs a cell when to grow and how to grow. It can also ask a cell to grow more rapidly. This can lead to the formation of more cells with the same mutation.

Sometimes they are unable to prevent uncontrolled growth: As normal cells know when to stop growing, they are always available in the right quantity. But cancerous cells do not have this controlling mechanism and hence they do not stop growing when sufficient numbers are reached. This rapid growth of cancerous cells results in the formation of tumor.

Make mistakes in repairing DNA errors: The DNA repair genes always search for errors in cell’s DNA.  Whenever some error is found, they are corrected immediately. When mutation occurs in DNA repair genes, it implies that repair in DNA errors are not possible leading to the formation of cancerous cells.

How gene mutations are caused?

Genetic causes: Some people have inherited gene mutations form their parents genetically. Only a small percentage of cancer patients belong to this category.

Gene mutations that occur after you are born: A number of causes like smoking, viruses, radiation, cancer causing chemicals, hormones, obesity lack of exercise etc are  capable of producing gene mutations.

During a normal growth process gene mutations may occur naturally. But the cells has some inherent mechanism to find out such mutations and repair the mistake immediately. Occasionally  a miss occurs resulting in the formation of cancerous cells.

Interaction between gene mutations:  If you are a person born with inherited gene mutations, that will not make you a cancer patient from the date of birth onwards. You will become cancer patient only when some other acquired gene mutations combine with your genetic gene mutation. Inherited genetic mutation only makes one person  more susceptible to cancer than a normal person.

  The number of gene mutation required for the formation of cancer is not known till date. It depends upon the type of the cancer and the body organ subjected to cancer.

Risk factors:

Though doctors have sufficient knowledge about the risk factors, in experience it is seen that cancer generally  affects people who are free from risk factors. However, let us examine the common risk factors.

1 Age: Cancer takes decades to develop to its fullest extent. For this reason cancer is usually found among people who are  above 65 years of age. Cancer is not an adult disease or not a male disease.

2. Life style and habits:  Like style factors like smoking drinking, over exposure to sun, obesity, unsafe sex etc are considered to be major causes of cancer.

3. Family history: In fact, only a small percentage of cancer patients are found to have inherited genetic mutations as the cause of cancer in them.

4. Health condition: Chronic and sever health conditions like ulcerative clitoris etc have found to increase the risk of cancer in patients.

5. Your environment:  Environment  in which you live may be containing harmful elements and this can be a cause for the formation of cancer in you. Secondary smoke inhaled by the relatives of a regular smoker  can lead to the formation of cancer in a secondary smoker.  Chemicals like asbestos and benzene are also capable of producing cancer in its users.

Complications

Cancer and its treatment has often  been found to be followed by certain complications. Some of them are explained below.

Pain:  Pain is a natural accompaniment of cancer and its treatment, though all cancers are not painful. There are medications and other approaches which can reduce the pain caused by cancer and its treatment.

Fatigue: People affected by cancer are often subjected to fatigue especially those who are undergoing radiation therapy or chemotherapy.

Breathing difficulty:  Cancer patients who undergo cancer treatment often find being short of breath. Proper treatments can bring relief to this condition.

Nausea: Occurrence of nausea is commonly experience by cancer patients. Your doctor will be able to predict the occurrence and give medications to reduce its severity.

Diarrhea/constipation: Your bowels are often affected by cancer as well as cancer treatment resulting in constipation or diarrhea.

Weight loss: Cancer takes away food form normal cells and this makes the patient lose weight considerably  resulting in severe weight loss. This is a very serious condition and even artificial nutrition through tubes have been found to be ineffective.

Chemical changes in the body: Cancer upsets the normal chemical balance of human  body and chemical imbalance so produced can lead to frequent urination, excessive thirst, confusion, constipation etc.

Paralyses the brain and nervous system: Cancer has often found to affect the brains and nervous systems of its patients resulting in headaches and stroke like situations.

Paraneoplastic syndrome: This is a special condition formed as a result of cancer which affects the human immune system and healthy cells are being attacked .Symptoms like difficulty in walking seizures etc are caused as a result of this phenomenon.

Metastasize of cancer: Spreading of cancer to other parts of the body is known as metastasize of cancer.  The area where the cancer spreads is determined by the type of the cancer.

Return of cancer: Cancer survivors who have escaped from the clutches of cancer are liable to the return of cancer. Ask your doctor and devise a course of action for non recurrence of cancer if you are a cancer cured person.

(NB: More articles about cancer will be published shortly)

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Crooked nose correction - Cosmetic surgery - Indian Medical Tourism - indiatreats.blogspot.in

Nose plays a very important role in a person’s appearance as it occupies the central position in human face. The beauty and symmetry of a face will be destroyed if it has a nose which is abnormally placed. Poor alignment of nasal bridge results in crooked nose. Crooked noses are congenital and some are caused as a result of an accident or trauma. If you are unsatisfied about the shape and position of your nose, discuss the matter with a cosmetic surgeon. He will be able to explain what are the possible solutions available now.

The surgical procedure followed for correcting or reshaping the nose is considered to be more difficult than all other cosmetic surgeries connected with nose. The end results of a crooked nose correction surgery have always been very dramatic. The nose alignment will be completely changed and the patient will be able to feel the change immediately after the bandage is removed. The nose functioning will also be improved after the surgery.

For this surgery no incisions are made externally. The repairing of the bridge will be attempted through the nostrils only. In the first step the height of the bridge will be reduced resulting in easy movement of nasal bones.  This procedure is called osteotomy. Other procedures for making the nose’s shape balanced with other features of the face will also be carried out.

Neck lift - Cosmetic surgery - Indian medical tourism - indiatreats

                  

Neck lift is a surgical procedure followed to improve the appearance of the neck of a person. If people around you consider you as old and if you feel that this opinion was caused as resulted of the neckbands formed in your neck, and then it is time for doing neck lift surgery and rejuvenate your physical appearance.  As you age, you start losing excess skin, muscle mass etc and it starts affecting your overall appearance. This is the time for consultation with a cosmetic surgeon and ascertain whether he can help in you any manner. If he says okay and if you have enough money, there is nothing to think again. Go for it, get the surgery done and let you look younger.

Nick lift are usually carried out in there different manners depending upon the individual needs and merits of each case. They are botox injection, fat removal by liposuction, and platysmaplasty which is a surgical procedure in which platysma muscles are involved.

Botox injection : By injecting botox into the neck muscles, the appearance of neck bands under the chin can temporarily be controlled. Advantages of botox are that it does not require any anaesthesia and no recovery time is needed. You will be able to resume routine activities soon after the injection is taken. It will take only  one hour. After completing the procedure, the incision is closed with sutures and proper bandaging is provided. This procedure is usually done under local anaesthesia.

Liposuction: In liposuction procedure, the surgeon makes small incisions below the patient’s chin. Extra fat is removed through this incision with the help of fine cannula. This procedure is often done as part of a neck lift procedure or it can be done independently also. Five to ten days time will be required for complete recovery. Your surgeon will guide you during the recovery period.

Neck lift surgery: This cosmetic surgery is known as cervicoplasty.When platysma muscles are operated it is known as platysmaplasty. The time taken for completing the surgery may vary according to the procedure selected and other relevant aspects of individual cases. For undergoing a neck lift procedure the patient should be mentally and physically healthy. Surgeon makes incision in the creases of the neck and the face and the excess fat is removed carefully. After removing the required amount of fat the surgeon will close the incision with the help of sutures. Proper bandage will be provided over the area and follow up steps needed will be informed by the surgeon. Normal inconveniences of a surgical procedure will be there in this case also which include swelling, infection, bruising, discomfort etc. Complete recovery will take 10-14 days. During the recovery period the candidate should strictly adhere to the instructions provided by the surgeon.

   

Double chin correction - cosmetic surgery - Indian medical tourism - Indiatreats

Double chin usually formed as a result of formation of excess skin or fat under the chin. When such a person flexes or bends down his neck this becomes more visible. In young people double chin is usually seen as a result of fat gain due to increase in body weight. Some people have smaller chin and this contributes to the appearance of double chin.

As a person ages his skin on the neck and the underlying tissues begins to sag progressively.  The jowls and neck bands are formed as a result. In some people neck band appear prominently at a younger age as a result of variation in the anatomy of the platysma muscle. As age increases the volume of tissues in face and neck reduces contributing to skin laxity and diminishing jaw.

A well defined jaw line is   desirable feature that adds to the beauty of the individual concerned.

There can be some situations like excess fate deposit under the chin,  small chin, sagging tissues of the jaw as a result of aging etc which blunts the cervico-mental angle.  Some common medical procedures used to overcome this situation are discussed below.

1.       Facial liposuction: In young people facial liposuction has been found to be extremely useful for correcting the double chin. The small marks of using a very fine canula are hidden behind the neck-chin crease. In most cases excess fat is found on the lower parts of the patients face producing a ‘chubby face’ look. Facial liposuction is used to remove this fat. In some cases removal of the cheek fat pad becomes unavoidable to produce a chiseled look for the face.

2.       Chin augmentation: Small chin creates a facial imbalance. This may make the double chin more prominent. Inserting a pre fabricated implant made of silicon without creating any external marks is the solution for this problem. Chin implant surgery can be performed along with facial liposuction.

3.       Neck life/ chin lift: Rejuvenation surgery can lead to correction of sagging of facial skin.  The procedure helps to re position the tissues and helps in tightening the face and neck skin and create a tout jaw line. The incisions for this procedure are made in the skin creases and therefore they remain invisible. Plastymoplasty technique  is adopted by some surgeons  to make neck lift long lasting.

4.       Botox:  In some patients prominent neck bands are seen in  younger age of4 0s and 50s. This happens due to the prominence of platysma muscles margin lines. Botox or Neuronox injection can correct these defects. Botox affect has been found to last for 4-6 months.  Forehead lines, frown lines, etc can also be removed by taking Botox injections.

Important features

 Lipo sculpting or facial liposuction are usually carried out as an outpatient service. The patient will have to wear a chin strap for two weeks after the procedure. Swelling and bruising will vanish within two weeks. Well chiseled jaw line and youthful face are obtained. Neck lift is desirable for people who are in the age of 45-80. It can be performed separately or as part of other related surgeries.

As cosmetic surgeries are related to face, careful planning and implementation are very important.

Haematoma which is temporary nerve damage can happen in some cases. Smokers, diabetic patients, people with high blood pressure etc are prone to more complications.

House boats- Indian Medical Tourism -indiatreats

House boats are beautiful artifacts originated in Kerala,  God’s own country and the paradise of the tourists worldwide. The land of Kerala is famous for its unique backwaters which cannot be seen in any place around the globe. The wonderful ecosystem existing in Kerala backwaters that teems with life, the  interconnected canals that are still used as  modes of transportation, serpentine water world extending roughly  to 900 kms, Kumarakam and  Alappuzhe the holiday spots of millions of  international tourists etc. have elevated  the native boats to the present state wonderful houseboats. These  are  floating residential spots with almost every facility available in a five stare suite.

The age old cargo vessels of Kerala known as Kettuvallam have been converted to house boats after artistically combining craftsmanship and modern living facilities. These house boats which measure in length to about 120 feet are meticulously constructed by tying huge planks of jack wood by coir ropes, taking care not to use a single nail. These modified houseboats which are improvisation of large country barges fully satisfy the needs of a holidaying family or group of people. There will be an open lounge and two bath attached bedrooms and a kitchenette in bigger house boats. Each house boat has a three member crew consisting of a cook a guide and an oarsman.

House boating has been found to be very relaxing and rejuvenating experience for tourists of any age, type or size of group.  The groups of people generally coming for house boat cruising can generally  classified into the following categories

1.       Family members and relatives: Some large families are there which are capable of completely occupying the facilities available in a house boat. Such groups will be able to enjoy some meaningful interactions and experiences. An annual reunion or an occasional gathering of all cousins and family members can be executed by booking house boats with five or more rooms.

2.       Group of friends:  Forming a group of single people which includes both men, women and couples are another common group of people who gather together to enjoy the tropical climate far from the maddening crowd of city life.  For such purposes mammoth vessels which can accommodate up to 40 people are available.

3.       Group of colleagues or co-workers: To improve the friendship among co-workers and make the working place a happy habitat, some companies arrange for the get together of their staff in house boat cruising through the backwaters enjoying the rural life in its natural settings.  This unforgettable experience has found to liberate the travelers from the drudgeries of day to day life, rejuvenate them and make them thick friends. One can also think of adding family members or making it an all male or all female outing depending upon the availability of participants and the probable group size.

4.       Two-three unrelated families: It has been found that sometimes groups of people belonging to unrelated families combine themselves and holiday out enjoying house boat cruising and local sightseeing. The children in such groups get maximum enjoyment and unforgettable memories whereas the adults make use of this time enjoying  maximum fun and frolics

Facial rejuvenation - Cosmetic surgery - Indian medical tourism - indiatreats

Human face is considered to be the reflection of a person’s physical and mental appearance or well being.  A beautiful face always gives confidence and power to one’s life.  As a person grows older, signs of aging like  wrinkles, fine lines, age spots etc begin to appear and your skin losses its attractiveness and softness.

Youthful look makes you feel more energetic. There are some scientific and surgical procedures used to rejuvenate the face and make a person look younger, attractive and more energetic. It is considered as cosmetic or medical procedure followed to improve or get back the younger age to a person’s face. In this procedure an attempt is made to recapture the facial geometry. An attempt is made to bring a glowing appearance to skin through a combination of surgical as well as non-surgical procedures.  Special kind of procedures known as face lift, brow lift, chin lift, eye lift etc combined with functional radiofrequency and the techniques of Ultherapy are also made use of. Botox injections, dermabrasion, chemical peeling microdermabrasion etc are some of the common procedures used in this regard.

I am going to explain them clearly  in the successive articles so that a person who is thinking about undergoing cosmetic surgery for improving his physical  appearance with special reference to improvement in his facial appearance.

The information given in these articles are only a general introduction intended to give a firsthand knowledge about this matter. Any how the reader is requested to consult a cosmetic surgeon and get his detailed opinion about the procedure that you are planning to undergo in relation to your health conditions and expectation levels.

Persons who suffer as a result of shallow appearance to his face are a good candidates for facial rejuvenation and fat injection as well as fat transfer. The following type of candidates is considered to be more suitable for fat injection or fat transfer.

·        Candidates with a diminished jaw line

·        Candidates with less facial volume in some isolated regions

·        Those with deep creases between the mouth and the bottom of the nose

·        Wrinkles on face or on neck

·        Persons who wish to enhance the appearance and boost self confidence

·        Persons who wish to remove unhealthy skin and make it more shining and soft.

This surgical procedure is usually done under anesthesia and it takes approximately two hours for completion. After administering anesthesia the surgeon will mark the areas where he intends to modify. This area is again numbed by applying local anesthesia. After this,  fat harvesting is done with low suction. The harvested cells are processed with the help of a centrifuge pump and transferrable cells are isolated. After completing the procedure special bandages will be provided for safeguarding your face. There will be some pain initially, and when the pain diminishes you can start your normal activities. The bandages will be removed after about a week. After three to five days you will be able to return to work. You are not supposed to engage in any strenuous work for two weeks after the completion of the surgery.