Health

TEN WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR RISK FROM BREAST CANCER

Article by Dr. Derek Berry Thorpe

Although there has been evidence of significant improvements in worldwide mortality from breast cancer, Afro-Caribbean statistics have not followed suit for a variety of reasons. Those reasons are beyond the scope of this article but many core aspects about cancer in general and breast cancer in particular, during this month of awareness, remain applicable.

The pinnacle of the success pyramid is still Prevention and Early Detection. With this as a framework it is vital, we appreciate that cancer can grow no larger than a collection of abnormal cells the size of a pin head, without creation of its own blood supply. This is known medically as Angiogenesis. The good news is there is a surprising number of foods and supplements that block angiogenesis and allow prevention to be possible, thus reducing one’s risk.

Lifestyle

1. In the absence of a family history of breast cancer, a screening mammogram is recommended every two years between the ages of 45 and 75 years. With a strong family history, personal and professional surveillance needs to be more frequent.

2. Maintain a healthy body weight for your height. Obesity is a known risk factor for cancer development.

3. Never smoke, limit alcohol consumption and breast feed your children if you become a mother.

4. Maintain a lifestyle of daily physical activity where you’re in deliberate motion with sweating and deep breathing because of your exercise.

Dietary

5. Frequent use of cruciferous vegetables is essential. These include broccoli, cabbage, kale, and cauliflower. The sulforaphane content is highest in broccoli sprouts and is potent in blocking angiogenesis. I recommend finding this in supplement form also for convenience.

6. Frequent use of brightly pigmented vegetables such as tomatoes, pumpkin, bell peppers, carrots which are high in lycopenes. Another useful weapon in anti-angiogenesis.

7. A high fiber diet (30 grams or more daily) from sources of non-GMO whole grains have been reported to reduce cancer risk by 50%.

8. Resveratrol, found in the skin of the red grape and in all types of berries, is proven to be an effective weapon against cancer growth. One can also find this preparation in supplemental form to achieve an effective concentration.

9. Soy and tofu, it turns out, do NOT contribute to the development of breast cancer in humans. There has been a reversal of scientific thought and use of soy milk is highly recommended to block the hormonal avenue of breast cancer.

10. Frequent use of green teas is known to have a significant anti-oxidant effect on cancer development. A powerful combination in use is alternate days of Matcha green tea and Moringa tea.

Dr. Thorpe is a nuclear medicine and functional medicine physician with post graduate degrees from Cornell School of Medicine and the University of Florida. He mentors clients through the ketogenic diet and treats pain and injury through optimization of blood flow.

momgo505@hotmail.com

Health

Antimicrobial Resistance Week, Mon Nov 18 – Sun Nov 24

Health

More Nurses Arrive From Ghana

Barbados’ nursing complement has been boosted with the arrival of 155 nurses from Ghana at the Grantley Adams International Airport, yesterday.

The nurses, who were accompanied by Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Health, Adelaide Ntim, were greeted by Minister of Health and Wellness, Senator Dr. The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott, and other officials.

This is the third cohort of Ghanaian nurses to be dispatched to Barbados since 2020, to address the local nursing shortage. Ninety-five nurses came in the first group during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, while 120 more arrived in 2022, some of whom are still employed here and have made Barbados their home.

Minister Walcott explained that the nurses would be assigned to various specialty areas of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ primary care facilities. These areas include cardiology, accident and emergency theatre, midwifery, psychiatric medicine, and geriatrics.

“So, we’re looking for these nurses to help improve the overall delivery of our healthcare,” stated Dr. Walcott.

Ms. Ntim said Ghana had a surplus of nurses, some of whom were not even employed. She said she welcomed the partnership with Barbados.

The Deputy Minister of Health added that nurses from the previous cohorts proved that they were more than capable of doing their jobs, and expressed confidence that the most recent cohort would also “deliver”. (PR/GIS)

Caption: Minister of Health and Wellness, Senator Dr. The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott, in discussion with Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Health, Adelaide Ntim, at the Grantley Adams International Airport yesterday. Senator Walcott was on hand to welcome 155 Ghanaian nurses to Barbados

Health

CHANGES TO HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

The Ministry of Health will soon roll out a number of changes to the island’s primary healthcare system, in order to drastically address the high numbers of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) seen among the Barbadian population.
This announcement was made by Senior Minister of Health and Wellness, the Most Honourable Dr. Jerome Walcott, as he presented a token of appreciation to Dr. Trevor Hassell in recognition of his outstanding efforts in educating Barbadians on the importance of addressing non-communicable diseases NCDs.
Walcott said, “I have a personal mandate that we should try to reduce the premature adult mortality from NCDs by a third. It is not impossible, it can be done, and in the course of the next few weeks, you will gradually see a roll out of parts of this process.”

He stressed “You will see the plans for primary healthcare; everybody is focused on QEH and tertiary healthcare, but the fundamentals of healthcare have to do with primary healthcare. The ability of early prevention, detection to get better health outcomes. We are looking at that in a project to be discussed soon.”
The Health Minister also revealed that additional screening for a variety of NCDs and cancers will also be made available.
“Within the ministry we are looking at a number of screening processes. We are looking to roll out before the end of this month a colonic screening process initially in two polyclinics, and thereafter we expand. We are looking at a cervical cancer screening process; we are looking at providing mammography services within the QEH again as was previously done up until 2008 where persons can have access to mammograms again for early detection and treatment for cancers.