If you have been following my blog recently, you know that I am in India now. I thought that I had changed all of my accounts to invoke enough security, but NOT! My Facebook account was hacked yesterday. The hacker did not spell my name correctly and from what my friends have shared, had poor writing skills. I was able to create two-factor authentication for the account this morning and have added a new level of security. Of course, it also meant changing the email passwords for other accounts. I have written about the importance of two-factor authentication before, but the Google video from YouTube below explains additional information. Hope that you find it helpful.
Today is the second day of the Indian Cancer Congress. Met many gracious physicians and nurses yesterday. I look forward to learning even more. One of the sessions where I participated as a panelist was a Psycho Oncology session on "How to Give Bad News." The discussion continued to help me to understand the importance and challenges of family members in relationship to cancer. The senior male in the family is often the person who makes decisions. That person may instruct the physician not to tell the patient about the cancer diagnosis. One of the physicians said that he is very honest about the type and extent of the surgery with the patient but may not mention "cancer" as the reason for the surgery.
In another session, a physician discussed genetics and cancer. She indicated that some families see cancer as a curse to their blood line. My friend, Savitri, is doing research on the psychosocial aspects of cancer in the Asian population. Interesting information.
I plan to incorporate information about what I learned into the legal and ethical issues course.
In another session, a physician discussed genetics and cancer. She indicated that some families see cancer as a curse to their blood line. My friend, Savitri, is doing research on the psychosocial aspects of cancer in the Asian population. Interesting information.
I plan to incorporate information about what I learned into the legal and ethical issues course.
I returned home from an 11 day stay in India on Thursday (Thanksgiving Day in the United States). I learned so much! First of all, India has an edge on use of technology! There were over 5,000 people who attended the Indian Cancer Congress 2013 in New Delhi. The WiFi coverage was outstanding in spite of the numbers of people using it. The Kempinski hotel had many backup generators to compensate for frequent electrical brownouts. I always had a WiFi connection.
The traffic was unbelievable. The car drivers were amazing in their ability to negotiate travel with so many types of vehicles on the road. I certainly would never be able to drive anywhere in India!
The poverty in New Delhi was tragic. There were so many people living in downtown area on the street and in tents on the side of the road. There was a stark difference between New Delhi and Kochi. Although the homeless probably exists, I did not see any evidence of the homeless problem in Kochi.
There is much opportunity for India to leverage the use of prevention strategies to improve their health. There are no widespread screening mammogram programs available. Many of the areas in India do not have mammogram technology nor physicians who are qualified to read the results. Routine dental care is not available to the mass population. The top three types of cancer are head and neck, breast, and cervical.
Head and neck is due to tobacco use. In addition to the types of tobacco used in the United States, many Indians use ground betel nut as their chewing tobacco. Betel nut is very carcinogenic! To compound things, when routine dental care is not used, the head and neck cancers are discovered in the advanced stages.
Breast cancers are commonly no identified until they are stage 3 or 4. To many, the word "cancer" means death because of the late diagnosis. Breast conservation surgery is not available in many areas of India because radiation therapy is not available.
Cervical cancer screening is not readily available. As a result, the cancer is not identified when it can be cured.
The traffic was unbelievable. The car drivers were amazing in their ability to negotiate travel with so many types of vehicles on the road. I certainly would never be able to drive anywhere in India!
The poverty in New Delhi was tragic. There were so many people living in downtown area on the street and in tents on the side of the road. There was a stark difference between New Delhi and Kochi. Although the homeless probably exists, I did not see any evidence of the homeless problem in Kochi.
There is much opportunity for India to leverage the use of prevention strategies to improve their health. There are no widespread screening mammogram programs available. Many of the areas in India do not have mammogram technology nor physicians who are qualified to read the results. Routine dental care is not available to the mass population. The top three types of cancer are head and neck, breast, and cervical.
Head and neck is due to tobacco use. In addition to the types of tobacco used in the United States, many Indians use ground betel nut as their chewing tobacco. Betel nut is very carcinogenic! To compound things, when routine dental care is not used, the head and neck cancers are discovered in the advanced stages.
Breast cancers are commonly no identified until they are stage 3 or 4. To many, the word "cancer" means death because of the late diagnosis. Breast conservation surgery is not available in many areas of India because radiation therapy is not available.
Cervical cancer screening is not readily available. As a result, the cancer is not identified when it can be cured.
The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Edge posted this recent information (copied below) in support of lung and pancreatic cancer month at http://www.onsedge.com/news/onsedge_lung_pancreatic/:
We want to thank all oncology nurses for their dedication to their profession and their patients.
Lung Cancer Resources for Patients*:
Lung Cancer Resources for Nurses:
Pancreatic Cancer Resources for Nurses:
We want to thank all oncology nurses for their dedication to their profession and their patients.
Lung Cancer Resources for Patients*:
- Lungcancer.org
- National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health: What You Need to Know About™: Lung Cancer
- MedlinePlus: Lung Cancer
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Lung Cancer
- American Cancer Society: Lung Cancer
Lung Cancer Resources for Nurses:
- Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) book: Site-Specific Cancer Series: Lung Cancer
- ONS Site-Specific Cancer Series: Lung Cancer Online Course
- ONS’s Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing article: The Challenge of Existential Issues in Acute Care: Nursing Considerations for the Patient With a New Diagnosis of Lung Cancer
- Pancreatic Cancer Action Network®
- National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health: What You Need to Know About™: Cancer of the Pancreas
- MedlinePlus: Pancreatic Cancer
- American Cancer Society: Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer Resources for Nurses:
- Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) book: Site-Specific Cancer Series: Pancreatic and Hepatobiliary Cancers
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