Second free cancer camp by MIOT at Euromedical |17 July 2019
The two oncologists talking to the press yesterday about the cancer screening camp
A second free consultation camp of the ‘A TO Z Cancer Camp – Adult and Paediatric’ is currently taking place at the Euromedical family clinic at Eden Island and is being conducted by MIOT International.
This second camp is in continuation of the 1st ‘A to Z Cancer Camp’ (free consultation camp) organised by MIOT in January 2019 in which more than over 120 patients benefitted.
Seychellois will be able to benefit from the free camps until July 19.
Two oncologists from India – Dr Chezhian Subash and Dr Suman Kalyan – are the visiting consultants from MIOT international for this camp.
Speaking to the press, Dr Kalyan noted that “Seychellois are getting more concerned about their health status. We planned to come once a year but due to public demand, we had to make it twice a year. Cancer is unfortunately a worldwide phenomenon that we saw an increase in cancer and Seychelles is not spared from this trend. It is forecasted that in 2040, cancer mortality will overtake cardiac mortality”.
He added that Seychelles does have a growing number of cancers compared to the countries surrounding you. One of the many reasons is not having a healthy life style. If we start adopting a healthy life style, it goes a long way and we will see the effect in 10 years’ time. We will have a younger population coming up. Second thing is that there are already families with cancer, so we saw cancers generating from the family and that we cannot explain as it is in the genes. Third element is that more people get diagnosed nowadays, that is also a common reason to have an increase.
“If you are a regular working adult around 40 + what do you do? Cancer is related to your age and family history. If in your family there have been cancer patients then you have to be bothered. Risks of cancer increase with these two factors,” said Dr Kalyan.
Talking about how to protect our children, Dr Chezhian Subash noted that “unlike adult cancers, there are no actual signs behind child cancers. There are specific types of genes that bring on cancers but blood cancers are extremely difficult to know why and when. The most common type of cancer during childhood is Leukaemia and unfortunately the most aggressive one too. They do not have proper symptoms apart from weight loss and some do not have a proper growth”.
“Being on a tropical island, sunscreen is a must and for children use SPF 30 or more. Skin cancer is more common in elderly. Seychellois work very hard and sometimes in the sun a lot. By 50 years of age, people who work in these conditions might develop skin cancer,” added Dr Kalyan.
Both doctors also advocate for healthy food as “fast food has lots of preservatives. Most of the preservatives will come in the list of carcinogens. What you should tell your children is to adopt a healthy life style. If we change our diets and lifestyle, you will see a different nation in 15 years. Alcohol and drugs also add to the list. Seychellois work for 8 to 10 hours a day and you are very stressed. Take care of yourself and the country will take care of itself,” advised the two doctors.
Signs you need to be alert
Cancer often has no specific symptoms, so it is important that people limit their risk factors and undergo appropriate cancer screening. Most cancer screening is specific to certain age groups and your primary care doctor will know what screening to perform depending on your age. People with risk factors for cancer (for example, smokers, heavy alcohol use, high sun exposure, genetics) should be acutely aware of potential cancer symptoms and be evaluated by a physician if any develop. The best way to fight cancers is by prevention (eliminating or decreasing risk factors) and early detection. Consequently, individuals need to know which symptoms might point to cancer. People should not ignore a warning symptom that might lead to early diagnosis and possibly to a cure.
The signs you have to be alert are : breathlessness, unexplained vaginal bleeding, very heavy night sweats, croaky voice or hoarseness, persistent heartburn or indigestion, mouth or tongue ulcer that won’t heal, persistent bloating, difficulty swallowing, a change in bowel habit, such as constipation, looser poo or pooing more often, sore that won’t heal, appetite loss, unusual breast changes, blood in your poo, blood in your pee, problems peeing, unexplained weight loss, new mole or changes to a mole, coughing up blood, persistent cough, unexplained pain or ache, unusual lump or swelling anywhere.
MIOT Institute of Cancer Cure is highly equipped in the fight against cancer. We give our best to remove every burden that comes in the way of cancer treatment and recovery for our patients. Be it diagnosis or treatment (surgical, medical or radiation therapy), one can find them all together under one roof at MIOT.