INFECTION AND CANCER

Cancer can happen because of an infection by a virus, bacteria or parasites:

• Hepatitis B & C can cause liver cancer (Hepatocellular Carcinoma) (Maupas and Melnick,1981)
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical and head and neck cancer (Bosch et al, 1995)
• Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can cause Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC) and Burkitt lymphoma (Thompson and Kurzrock, 2004)
• Malaria infection may interact with EBV to increase risk of Burkitt lymphoma (Brady et al, 2007)
• Schistosomal infestation can cause bladder cancer.
• Helicobacter pylori can cause stomach cancer

It is estimated that 18% of all cancers are caused by infections.(That is almost 1 in every 5 cancers!).

By treating or preventing the infections (through improved hygiene and public health measures, vaccination and screening), cancer occurrence can be reduced by 26% in developing countries. (Parkin, 2006)




   

Facts & Figures about Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is a major global health problem and the leading cause of death among women of all ethnic backgrounds. Each year, an estimated 1.6 million new cases are diagnosed worldwide. In Malaysia, breast cancer is the most common cancer where 1 in 19 Malaysian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 85. Around 4000 women are diagnosed each year and it occurs mostly in women aged between 35 and 60 with 40% affected aged below 50. Although rare, men can also develop breast cancer.

Sources:

• Cancer Facts & Figures 2014, American Cancer Society. Atlanta, Georgia, 2014
• National Cancer Registry of Malaysia 2005-2007.

Status of Cancer in Malaysia

Cancer is increasing in incidence and today, it would seem that each of us knows at least a friend or a family member that has been affected by cancer. Based on the latest Health Facts 2013 released by Ministry of Health (MoH) Malaysia, cancer is one of the top ten causes of hospitalisation and one of the top five causes of death in both MoH and private hospitals. The salient truth is that cancer has overtaken hearth disease as the number one killer this year (2014).

Although the USA death toll from cancer has declined for 2 decades, cancer deaths continue to rise globally according to the annual cancer statistics report from the American Cancer Society – largely due to effective treatment and with an increasing population ceasing smoking in stark contrast to the rest of the world.

In Malaysia, the incidence of cancer increased from 32,000 new cases in 2008 to about 37,000 in 2012 (approx 100 new cases per day!). Mortality due to cancer stood at 20,100 deaths in 2008 and has increased to 21,700 deaths in 2012, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Globocan of the World Health Organisation (WHO). More than 50% of Malaysian Malay men smoke, more than 30% Malaysians are obese, yet we still do not take screening and prevention seriously.

• 15% of Malaysian population will get cancer before 75 years old.
• 9% of Malaysian population will die from cancers before 75 years old.

Cancer Statistics in Malaysia (2012)



Sources:

• Health Facts 2013, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Health Informatics Centre Planning Division, July 2013.
• GLOBOCAN 2012 v1.0, Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide: IARC CancerBase No. 11, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Ervik M, Dikshit R, Eser S, Mathers C, Rebelo M, Parkin DM, Forman D, Bray, F, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
• National Cancer Registry Report, Malaysia Cancer Statistics – Data and Figure 2007, Ariffin OZ, Saleha IT, Ministry of Health, Malaysia, 2011.
• Global Trends, Cancer and High Drug Prices, Khor M, Third World Network Mar 2014.

*Head and neck cancer includes cancer incidences for nasopharynx, larynx, tongue, mouth, nose&sinuses, salivary gland, hypopharynx, other oralpharynx, tonsil, pharynx unspecified and lip.

The Story of A Man with 4 Wives

I promise not to spoil the fun. Find out the story yourself :)

How Quickly Do Different Cells In The Body Replace Themselves?

Our body does not spend a lot of time on fixing old cells. If the cells get hurt, our body is going to spend a little bit of time repairing, but if it cannot fix it, our body quickly replaces it. The table below illustrates how quickly different cells in the body replace themselves:

• Rods and Cones in the eyes: 48hrs
• Stomach: 2-9 days
• Cervix: 6 days
• Skin epidermis: 10-30 days
• Sperm (male gametes): 2 months
• Liver hepatocytes: 6 months- 1 year
• Fat cells: 8 years
• Cardiomyocytes: 0.5-10% per year
• Central nervous system: life time
• Skeleton: 10% per year
• Lens cells: life time
• Oocytes (female gametes): life time
• 2 to 3 million cells are renewed in our body per second! [0.6% renewal per day]
• There are 37.2 trillion cells in the human body! [37,200,000,000,000]

Our body is on a continuous state of REGENERATION. Our body is in the state of 'becoming', it is not something that happened. So if you had a condition last year and you have it this year also, it is because YOU are continuing on producing it.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO CONTINUE TO PRODUCE IT IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO!

(This is a very empowering message)

If you have an 'X' condition in your body, stop producing condition 'X' then! 

If you don't plant durian seeds, you can't get durians. So if you don't want certain disease in your body to exist, then STOP giving the disease the chance to stay in you body.

THE CHOICE IS YOURS