Vinegar being used to test for cervical cancer
An inexpensive vinegar test, which has an accuracy comparable with Pap smears, offers a solution to that problem. The simple test has cut cervical cancer rates among Indian women by nearly a third, and could prevent 73,000 deaths worldwide each year, the authors of a large-scale study said. Cervical cancer is the leading cause of death by cancer among women in many developing countries. However, a simple vinegar test could change that! Wealthy countries have managed to reduce cervical cancer fatalities by 80%, thanks to regular pap smears that can detect the disease at an early, treatable stage. However, cervical cancer remains a leading cause of death by cancer among women in India and in many other developing countries, which lack the money, doctors, nurses or laboratories for widespread screening. How the vinegar test works A primary health care worker swabs the woman’s cervix with vinegar, which causes pre-cancerous tumours to turn white. The results are known a minute later when a bright light is used to visually inspect the cervix. The study The study is the first to identify a cervical cancer screening strategy that reduces mortality, and is feasible to implement on a broad scale throughout India and in other developing countries. The research noted that the vinegar test sidesteps the common problem of over diagnosis. The incidence of cervical cancer was essentially the same among the women who were screened every other year, and those who were simply taught how to watch for warning signs. How the vinegar test could save women’s lives Aside from the cost savings, the instantaneous results are a major advantage for women in rural areas who might otherwise have to travel for hours to see a doctor. The test could also be useful in the United States, where 40% of women do not get treatment following an abnormal Pap smear, according to Electra Paskett, a gynecological cancer expert at Ohio State University. “What is really wonderful in the program, is that they assured follow-up the completion rate was phenomenal.” Please don’t try this at home! 05 June, 2013 06:00:00 Sapa (from ALL4WOMANMAGAZINE)
BOOKREVIEW: A Whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the future. Daniel H Pink
A subtle shift has been happening over the last few years. For the last 100 years or so, the world has been dominated by a form of thinking that is deeply analytical. . It has been the age of the knowledge worker – the well educated manipulator of information and deployer of expertise. Dan Pink argues that we are entering a new age – an age of “High Concept” and “High Touch”. “High Concept” implies the capability detect patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and emotional beauty and to combine seemingly unrelated ideas into something new. “High touch” involves the ability to emphasise with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction and to stretch beyond the daily tedium in pursuit of purpose of meaning. The book identifies 6 key areas that will enable us to move forward into the new environment. 1. Design: It is no longer suffficient to create a product or service that is merely functional. It is economically crucial to also create something which is also beautiful, whimsical or emotionally engaging. When Bob Lutz took over at General Motors, he stated (when asked about how his approach would differ): “I see us being in the art business”. 2. Story: We are brimming with information and data, and it is no longer good enough to marshal an efffective argument as someone will be bound to be able to rebut your argument with different data. The essence of persuasion, communication and self-understanding has become the ability to also fashion a compelling narrative. Dr Howard Brody said: “Stories – that’s how people make sense of what’s happening to them when they get sick. They tell stories about themselves. Our ability as doctors to treat and heal is bound up in our ability to accurately perceive a patient’s story. If you cannot do that, you’re working with one hand behind your back.” 3. Symphony: What is in greatest demand today is not analysis, but synthesis – seeing the big picture, crossing boundaries and being able to combine disparate pieces into an arresting new whole. “The guy who created the wheel was an idiot. The guy who created the other three was a genius” – Sid Caesar. 4. Empathy: The capacity of logical thought is one of the things that make us human. In a world of advanced analytical tools, logic alone won’t do. Those that are able to understand what makes their fellow man tick, to forge relationships and to care for others will be clearly distinguishable. “People who lean on logic and philosophy and rational exposition end by starving the best part of the mind” – William Butler Yeats. 5. Play: Ample evidence points to the enormous health and professional benefits of laughter, lightheartedness and humour. There is a time to be serious, but too much sobriety can be bad for your career and worse for your general well-being. “The opposite of play isn’t work. It’s depression. To play is to act out and be willful, exultant and committed as if one is assured of one’s prospects.” – Brian Sutton Smith 6. Meaning: We live in a world of breathtaking material plenty. That has freed hundreds of millions of people from day-to-day struggles and liberated us to pursue more significant desires: purpose, transcendence and spiritual fulfillment. “We are born for meaning, not pleasure, unless it is pleasure that is steeped in meaning.” Jacob Needleman. This book provides a few interesting exercise to test and build your ability to perform in each of the 6 key areas. Our world moves at a furious pace. That means that the greatest rewards will go to those that move fast. The first group of people who develop a whole new mind, who master high concept and high touch abilities, will do extremely well. The rest – those who move slowly or not at all – may miss out, or even suffer.
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