October, BCAM

October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, not day not week a full month. Though I happened to know about breast cancer and its consequences, a bit also about its causes and symptoms, it was only after I took the quiz by indusladies.com that I realized how ill-informed I was, not only was I having some myths and misconceptions about this widespread dreaded disease, but also was missing out on some serious facts. You could also test your Breast Cancer awareness by taking the quiz yourself, but before that read on so that you get all the answers right (unlike me)!

Like for instance I was under the impression that Breast cancer can affect only women over the age of 40years, but now I know this was my false impression, cause although breast cancer in women is a common form of cancer, male breast cancer also occurs and accounts for about 1% of all cancer deaths in men.

Likewise, young women are being diagnosed in their teens, twenties and thirties. Even if the percentage is very low compared to that of older women aged 40 years and older, the point is it does happen. So it is more than necessary that we all spread the awareness message to all and sundry.

Research has yielded much information about the causes of breast cancers, and it is now believed that genetic and/or hormonal factors are the primary risk factors for breast cancer.

Staging systems have been developed to allow doctors to characterize the extent to which a particular cancer has spread and to make decisions concerning treatment options.

Breast cancer treatment depends upon many factors, including the type of cancer and the extent to which it has spread. The options are Mastectomy - Removal of the whole breast including cancerous tissues or Lumpectomy - Surgical removal of involved breast tissue with a bit of healthy tissue.

Some Simple facts:

An Indian woman has a chance of 1 in 28 of getting breast cancer in her life.

(Is this higher or lower than that of an American woman? After all we have to compare ourselves with them on all counts.)

Four hours of moderate exercise per week reduces the risk of breast cancer

(Another great excuse to get on that treadmill right now!)

A low fat diet with enough vegetables and fruits reduces the risk of breast cancer

(Don’t we always read this for keep away from of all diseases?)

Alcohol in take in excess of 60ml per day (of 70% spirit) increases the risk.

(That means we can drink 50ml per day! Cheers!)

Age is a risk factor in the development of breast cancer.

(There another reason to hide my real age.)

Male gender's not exempt from breast cancer.

(Talk about gender equality.)

Some Serious Facts

Annual Examination by a breast physician /breast surgeon is recommended when a screening mammogram is done.

Oestrogen replacement treatment in menopausal women increases the risk of breast cancer.

Oral contraceptives used for over 10 years in women under 35 increases the risk of breast cancer. However 10 years after discontinuing, the risk ceases to exist.

Mammography in women younger than 40 years has a low yield owing to density of the breast.

Breast feeding for over 6 months reduces the risk. The more children you breast feed, the more you reduce the risk.

You have higher chance if a first degree relative (mother/sister) has the disease

Self Examination +annual doctors Examination + periodic mammogram has decreased the mortality from breast cancer.

But the good news is Breast cancer has a cure rate nearing 90% when detected early. It is advised to conduct a Breast Self-Exam after the age of 20 every month and an annual

Clinical Breast Examination after the age of 30 by a Qualified Doctor and then after the age of 50 an annual Mammography is a must.

Pictures courtesy emedicinehealth.com 

Sasuraal Genda Phool

Being away from the net made the telly my obvious next choice or rather my other best friend. I was “hooked booked and cooked” – as the designer duo Abu-Sandeep say on their show “The First Ladies”.

In school I was taught that India is a land of diverse religions, traditions and customs, had they showed me these shows in those days I would have learnt my lessons much easier and faster. Now I’m almost an expert on customs and traditions of not just the Gujrati culture but also Bengali, Marwadi, Rajasthani and Marathi households.

Now I know more about these cultures then my mom too, like last week when the Gujju family of “Saath Nibhao Saathiya” was fasting and then celebrating some teej I asked my mom why she never did it! Likewise I know much in advance when Karwaachot or any other Ashtamis or Teejs are around the corner. I remember in the “Yeh Rishta Hya Kehlata hai” series (also known as Akshra wala at home); they stretched pulled and dragged the holi celebrations for more than a month!

Then in the Aanandi series, “Balika Vadhu” I learned the way they greet each other with a “Ghanni Khamma” I’m not sure what it exactly means but from whatever little I understand of the language I think it is a sort of an apology, please correct me if I’m mistaken, I’ve come to this conclusion on the basis on the 2 words, Ghanni meaning lots and Khamma meaning sorry, I could be completely wrong also. But on the other hand, in most of the other regions people greet with their Lord’s name, like Jai Shree Krishna or Jai Jinendra, or Jai Matadi etc. I rarely hear a Namaste, which is supposed to be our national greeting.

These shows create make-believe scenes so close to their natural environments that even if I dint know much about India I would always associate a Marwadi person with Rajasthan, and similarly a long sari draped in the special Marathi style with someone from Maharasthra. Though I have lived in Mumbai for some time, I dint know then that mother is “aai” then, now I do!

Similarly I’ve also come to know more about their cuisines and special food items they prefer and prepare for particular seasons. Like for instance, for Parsi a lamb and meat preparation called Dhaan-Shaakh, a lovely dish even in the vegetarian form.

Though there are also some regions and cultures that we are completely clueless about like the eastern and the southern Indians regions are largely ignored and then there is an absence of Muslim and Christian families’ completely from the screens too. Though these are mentioned in the passing in some of the “haat ke” serials like “Tarakh Mehta Ka Ulta Chashma” and others but not in the main stream line.

These days I love this show called “Papad Pol” on SUB TV, for its romantic humor. I also enjoy Suhana in “Sasuraal Genda Phool”, this show portrays how a family can make life so much easier if they all come together and accept the new girl as their own, letting her be herself and loving her unconditionally. 

These things can only happen on television, but here wishing people learn from these examples and practice them in real life too. 

Customer is king??

Customer is king, bait or a fake feel good statement!

For the past some weeks, almost 2 months now, I have been facing regular problems with my broadband connection. On complaining to the guy whom I hand over my payment to, I’m told not to worry, it will be done soon; and it is. But he forgets to mention that it will be a temporary relief. Within 2 days I’m again facing the same problem again.

Then I take matters further and call their “customer care” number, which for the customer’s convenience they keep toll free, because of which you have to keep trying a zillion times to get through, throughout I’m wondering how many other users are having similar difficulties with their connections too!

My call is finally answered by a computer, who asks me so many (useless) questions about me, my account, my location and so on, that I almost forget what I had called for. Then after being transferred through the maze, I call it a maze coz that’s how I felt, press 1/2/3 for language selection, then again go through a dozen numbers to tell them what service I’m using, then I have to tell them which connection I’m using, and then I have to select which department I want to talk to, accounts, recharge, technical, etc etc!

Just when I was on the verge of hanging up a polite and friendly human is on the other side of the line, I say hello too and she asks me who I am, where I am calling from (how does it matter?) what connection I have and all the same series of questions all over again! And as it is as soon as I give them the name of my connection they will have all these same details in matter of seconds on their monitors as well. But as I needed my net to be working again so I oblige her though very sardonically! 

Oh did I tell you even after selecting English as my preferred language I am made to converse with a Marathi speaking executive, we both somehow manage to understand each other. And after going through all their procedural requirements for almost all afternoon she tells me I am in the wrong department! I had selected technical and now I had to go to the complaints department! I ask her if there is a short cut of some sort, coz I’ve already spent more than an hour to get till her. But I realize she’s hung up- all the hospitality and politeness don’t with!

So I’m off calling them again. Anyone out there have any ideas how I can make this happen faster and easier, like life is supposed to be with developing technologies?

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Birthday Bash!

 For the last couple of weeks I’ve been a bit busy and tied up, I’m hoping some of you noticed, well there were many reasons, but to keep a long story short, I shall blame it all on my, recently turned, 4 year old daughter, thank you thank you. First it was her various infections, I don’t know if it is with all kids or just her that she picks up all the viral and bug infections floating around the city. But the core reason I was tied up, was cause she made me promise her a “BIG” birthday party (In her words), in exchange of her taking her medicines and letting me put her eye drops as per schedule! I dint have a choice you see.

As it is planning a kid’s party is a tough job, now I had to do it as she says! So from the venue to the menu I had to get her approval and then her dad’s, after all he was the financer! As compared to our parties, I think and now I even know, after 4 years, that its more tough to work out their parties, coz in case I miss out on something for my friends, its ok, we are more relaxed and chilled, we meet to gossip not to gobble, but with kids you have to make sure they everything is right for them, starting with the invite, then they have to like the place, have something interesting to do, eat right, and enjoy otherwise all our mehnat (hard work) goes down the drain. Basically they should not get bored and have lots of fun activities to keep them occupied.

After spending so much time and energy on organizing the event, I thought why not share it with you guys and even ask for more pointers to be considered next year while organizing the party again! I also realized that the whole thing with a kid’s party can be just as easy or as complicated as you're willing to make it. Just remember a few simple rules for planning a children's birthday party.

You could start with the guest list, (trust me don’t ask your kid whom all he/she wants, as this can make the list never-ending!)  then accordingly set a budget and also make a list of possible venues available in your city.

Budget

Ofcourse this needs to be done first and in accordance with it all your other planning will follow up. Set an amount that you are willing to spend on the party and also allocate funds for all other purposes.

Guest list

You could add as many guests as you like, but then be prepared to splash that kind of money. Ideally your guest list should be a mix and a balance at the same time. For example if your party is for a 10 year old kid, it should have only children, but if your child is in the age group of 1-5 years then it would be a good idea to invite either parents or their caretakers with them.

Here try and avoid kids who don’t gel well with your child, like in my case, my daughter was disappointed that I had invited an unavoidable cousin of hers for the party.

Venue

Keeping the budget and the guest age group in mind you can select your place. In case you want to keep it at your place there are also lots of options available these days. You could choose to celebrate the birthday anywhere from your own garden or your local garden, or you could also use your terrace area, or just use your house. Incase your room sizes are small, then use separate rooms for the kids and parents! There are buildings which allow residents to entertain in their garage, basement or terraces too. You should check with the concerned authorities though.

For those who want to keep the party outdoors, you have various options too. From regular Pizza and Burger joints to food courts and ofcourse your neighborhood hotels also have banquet halls and party areas.

I personally like doing it at the home; it gives you much scope for making it special and entertaining at the same time.

Theme

More recently the word “theme parties” has cropped up like mushrooms, and now a days, there this other word I’m coming across more often “Flavor”. Well call it what you wish, but themes can me as varied and as diverse as your imagination.

You could opt for basic themes or flavors, like colors to numbers (age of the birthday child), to more exotic as World tomorrow, Royal Kingdom or anything as elaborate as you can imagine. Then there are the all time favorites like Disney characters, Ben Ten for boys and Hanna Montana for the girls. My 8year old niece tells me Barbie is “Oh so old fashioned”!

For older kids, you could use your child’s favorite book or movie for the same and then incorporate its reading or watching in the party too.

It is also a good idea to use the season or any other festival that happens to fall in the same period as the party theme too. Like for example in India, in the months of July and August monsoons are a favorite choice. During Diwali and Navratri you could keep a more traditional idea.

But all in all do sit down and ask your child what she/he wants specifically wants. You could ask the child to give 2-3 ideas as to what a party should have as per him and then finalize the theme. Sometimes kids want something specific like clowns or tattoo makers, you could either hire professionals or just get someone you know to do it for you.

Invite

You will need to send written invitations to your child’s friends with whom you don’t have personal or telephonic contacts with. Even otherwise it is a nice way to announce your party and also introduce the guests to the theme and set the mood of the party too.  People will also not be confused in regards with the date time and venue of your celebrations too, so it is a nice idea to send a written invite rather than an oral one.

There are lots of ready made options available in the market but keep in mind your theme and them select the one that best fits your requirement. There are also lots of options available on the net that can be downloaded and printed too; these can also be personalized to suit your requirements.

You could also make the invites on your own if you start planning early on. For example if your theme is Balls, send a fancy transparent bag with lots of small balls and circular chocolates with it and write the party details on top of the bag.

Incase you want your theme to be monsoons inviting kids with an umbrella printed with the required details on the underside is also doable.

Décor

The décor of your venue should be corresponding to the theme of the party. It would be very convenient to hire professionals in this too, but then if that was the case you would not be reading my blog! So for decorations you could use balloons, balls, cut outs, ribbons, toys etcetera etcetera. Incase of a movie or book theme, get large cut outs made from the pictures available and set up a projection area, away from all the noise and chaos.

These days, the market is virtually filled with novel and unique decoration ideas just find something that suits your purpose and mood. Using some imagination and creativity, you are sure to create a strikingly stunning look for the room. After all, it is a very special day that comes just once a year. just once a year.

Games

Games again will vary as per the age group and also the theme of the party. Though some favorite kid party games are more or less in lines of musical chair (substitute chair for a parcel), four corners (named with relevance to your theme, eg. For a jungle themed party corners can be named as animals), or a simple Simon Says for your little tot’s friends.

The trick is to keep it simple and easy to follow for younger kids, and a bit of skill and luck based too. But in the end all kids should be happy, so don’t give away gifts to only some; all should be awarded for participating.

Food

Now for my favorite part, my daughter did not want to serve food only! But try to keep your menu in accordance with the party time. Serve finger foods and easy to eat foods if the kids are unaccompanied but don’t forget something to drink, after all the play and fun I’m sure they will be famished and will gobble up whatever you serve.

This is a never ending subject, I just think I will have to write individually on each topic so as to be able to give more and also receive more helpful hints. Don’t forget to share your experiments and experiences with me. I would also like to know which topic I should start with first. FOOD?

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 Image Credit Google Images.

Suicide Awareness Week – 3rd-10th September

This is in view with the suicide awareness week – 3^rd-10^th September! I know I’m late, but better late than never.

Life is like a rented house, you have to leave it one day and go, go to unknown lands, anonymous destinations, but still at times you feel so low, so distressed that those unknowns look more promising than the present that seemed “promising yesterday”. What is it about life and its circumstances that make one succumb seemingly easy to end ones life?

Recently I came across an article that said India has the highest suicide rate in the world, a staggering and ever rising 10% in which about 40% are adolescents! Various reasons and circumstances have been cited as their excuse to end their lives, but none worthwhile. The foremost excuse being education and then it was peer pressure.

As per Asiaone, an Asian news portal, in India, at least 125 people aged 29 years or below are committing suicide every day and 51 per cent of the total suicide victims are graduates, college students or younger. Unbelievable ain’t it? But true.


I came across another site, maithrikochi, (Ive also used the graphs and pie chart from them too.) a Cochin based NGO, working for suicide prevention in Kerala, who told me that state wise it is amongst the developed and more progressive states that the suicide rates are much higher as that compared to the urban regions, than why do I always keep reading more and more about farmers killing themselves?  

Like from this graph, I gathered that Bihar has the lowest suicide rate average at 0.7 whereas Pondicherry has the highest average, astounding 50.2. And it was other southern states that also surprised me, like for example Kerala its average comes to 26.8. Now does his mean that education and literacy have a negative impact on our suicide rate? Bihar had the lowest literacy rate and at the same time Kerala is supposed to have 100% literate population. Amongst the top 6 slots for states with the highest average rate of suicide 4 are from the south. Tripura with 22.3, Karnataka with 21.7 followed by Tamil Nadu at position 7 with an average of 18.7, all this when the combined Indian average is 10.5 and this is the highest as compared to the world numbers.

It is also bizarre that we keep reading about students ending lives cause of all the above stated reason, but then their contribution to the suicide pie on basis of profession is a mere 5%, on the other hand housewives, ya my fellow ladies, are better donors, their share is that of 21.5%; second only to self-employed (who and what does this segment comprise of?) who are holding the biggest slice with a whopping 41%. I was thinking if they have included females working on their own under the self-employed section, then how does one decide the exact reason for taking their lives? I mean, take for example, a house-wife, working as a freelancer, but committing suicide cause of some household fight? Which sector does she fit in? Similarly, if a working student killed himself, how can we blame the education system for the same?

Since the 80’s our national suicide rate has gone up by 67%, it is not that life has become difficult and more turbulent as compared to that those days, it is just that we have become less tolerant and more demanding in life. I had read somewhere that these years are the best times to live in as per a survey, but then if this is the case why is our youth giving up so easily? What is it that makes a person end his or her own life? There was this instance in the movie 3-idiots, I would like to remind all those who ever feel suicidal at some point or the other in their lives, to keep a  picture of your parents or your loved one with you, and to look at it and think again if you want to end it all or not.

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