World No Tobacco Day 2016: India cannot afford preventable burden of killer tobacco

Dr Raghav Gattani, CNS Medical Correspondent
Prof Rama Kant, WHO DG's Awardee 2005
[हिंदी] India's health systems are already significantly overburdened with tobacco-related diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (heart disease and stroke), a range of cancers, respiratory illnesses, diabetes, asthma, tuberculosis (TB) among others. "Tobacco diseases are preventable, avoidable, and evidence-based measures are already known to avert this public health disaster. Why are we failing to save lives? Tobacco-related diseases and premature deaths can be prevented. Tobacco kills. Why is the sense of urgency not driving our public health programmes?" said Prof Rama Kant, WHO Director-General's Awardee and former President of Association of Surgeons of India.

Cultural event to create awareness about TB

Urvashi Prasad, CNS Correspondent, India
Photo credit: Urvashi Prasad
The Stop TB Partnership, in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of India and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) organised a cultural event in Geneva on May 21, 2016 (in the lead up to the 69th World Health Assembly) to create awareness about TB and the need for all stakeholders to act urgently to eradicate the disease.

Advocacy for increasing access to care for people living with diabetes

Owen Nyaka, CNS Correspondent, Malawi
Monica Mkandawire is a 40-year-old mother of three who hails from Chikwa village, in Rumphi district. She has been living with diabetes for the last 21 years in Mtandire, a peri-urban area in Lilongwe city. She still vividly remembers her feelings of dizziness, irritability, fatigue, excessive thirst, poor eyesight, and insatiable hunger that she faced before being diagnosed with diabetes.

APLCC 2016 calls on governments to reduce lung cancer deaths by one-third by 2030

The biennial Asia Pacific Lung Cancer Conference (APLCC 2016) was successfully organized in Chiang Mai, Thailand (13-15 May 2016) by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), Thai Society of Clinical Oncology (TSCO), Chiang Mai Lung Cancer Group and Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University (CMU). 

[Webinar] World No Tobacco Day 2016



[Focus] Lung cancer prevention and early diagnosis can save lives in Bangladesh


Screening for breast and cervical cancer is a public health imperative

Akanksha Sethi
Breast and cervical cancers are two major cancers among women. For decades, cervical cancer was the most common cancer in women in India. But now, breast cancer has replaced cervical cancer and become the leading cancer in terms of incidence and number of cancer deaths among women in India. The most common risk factors for breast cancer cited by Dr Pooja Ramakant, Associate Professor, Department of Endocrine and Breast Surgery, Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, are: sedentary life style and lack of exercise; obesity; smoking; late age at first child birth; nulliparity; excess estrogen; early menarche and late menopause; not breast feeding; radiation hazards; junk food and at times genetic mutations which may run in the family.

Raising awareness to reduce asthma burden

Catherine Mwauyakufa, CNS Correspondent, Zimbabwe
(First published at The Minica Post)
Since 1998 the world has recognised May 3 as World Asthma Day and this has helped in raising awareness. Asthma is not curable but through proper medication and appropriate management the disease burden can be reduced. The causes of asthma are not wholly understood but include a mix of genetic predisposition and exposure to triggers.

Minimize air hunger and lead a quality life

Dr Amitava Acharyya, CNS Correspondent, India
The recent decades have seen a sharp increase in the prevalence of allergic diseases, including asthma and allergic rhinitis. Both are common long term diseases that affect the quality of life of patients. It is estimated that 350 million people worldwide suffer from asthma and this figure is projected to add more 100 million of people by year 2025.

How much should new drugs cost to worth the benefit?

Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant, CNS (Citizen News Service)
Dr Gilberto Lopez, Brazil
Decreasing prices of cancer drugs will increase their accessibility. One of the most pressing problems in oncology today is the rising costs of cancer treatment. Cancer medication costs in the US have doubled during the last decade from $5000 a month to about $10000-$12000 per month.

Challenges in using new lung cancer drugs in Asia Pacific

Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant, CNS (Citizen News Service)
Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, and especially in the Asian-Pacific region, is a major public health problem. In 2012, there were an estimated 1.8 million new lung cancer cases (13 percent of all cancers diagnosed), and 1.59 million deaths (19.4 percent of the total cancer deaths). Despite many recent advancements in the treatment of lung cancer, there are challenges in the use of novel regimens.

APLCC 2016 Insight: Issue 3 (15th May 2016)

APLCC 2016 Insight is the official newsletter of IASLC Asia Pacific Lung Cancer Conference (APLCC 2016) being held in Chiang Mai, Thailand: 13-15 May 2016. CNS is the official media partner of APLCC 2016 and managed content for all three issues of APLCC 2016 Insight. Third final issue of APLCC 2016 Insight is online here.

Senior leaders from different countries in Asia Pacific and globally who have contributed significantly on different aspects of lung cancer prevention, diagnostics, treatment, research, care etc, were interviewed by CNS Correspondents in lead up to APLCC 2016. Here is the third final issue of APLCC 2016 Insight.

[Focus] Lung cancer in Philippines: Progress made but challenges remain


Psychological effects of Asthma

Dr Richa Sharma, CNS Correspondent, India
When asked to describe her asthma, Rushali (name changed) says, “It is like a bubble that envelopes me and does not let me breathe. I am always so scared of getting an attack, it makes me very sad.” Asthma, a chronic disease of the airway characterized by heightened response of the trachio-bronchial tree to irritants is often considered a nightmare for the people living with this condition. It is marked by frequent attacks of breathlessness and wheezing.

Dealing with stage IIIA N2 non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant, CNS (Citizen News Service)
Dr Francoise Mornex, Member, Board of
Directors, IASLC and APLCC 2016 Committee
The treatment of locally advanced Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) is becoming a significant challenge because of a growing proportion of patients with unresectable stage III disease. Despite a multimodality approach consisting in concurrent chemo-radiotherapy, the prognosis remains poor. “Before starting treatment, the stage IIIA or IIIB status of the patients need to be confirmed. They should have had their CT scan, brain MRI and PET scan done and, additionally, if possible, their N2 status must have been proven either by mediastinoscopy or by endobronchial or endo-esophagus ultrasound. This ensures that they do not have metastasis, their N2 status is known and the size of the tumour is in the stage IIIA or IIIB” said Dr Francoise Mornex, Professor of Oncology at the University Claude Bernard in Lyon, France.

The promise of immunotherapy

Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant, CNS (Citizen News Service)
Prof David Carbone, President, IASLC
The five-year survival of lung cancer patients is historically low. Drug toxicity is another major challenge when it comes to cancer therapies. There is recent strong evidence that a new therapy – immunotherapy, which focuses on inhibiting either PD-1 or PD-L1 - has low toxicity and long-lasting anti-cancer effects in a subset of patients. This therapy promises to be a groundbreaking new approach to lung cancer. This new science also poses new questions: It works incredibly well for only some patients, so identifying a robust biomarker is essential.

SBRT holds the promise of curing early stage NSCLC

Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant, CNS (Citizen News Service)
Prof David Ball
Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT), also known as Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy (SABR), has been in the spotlight for the treatment of lung cancer in the last few years. It holds the promise of not only curing early-stage operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but does so with minimal toxicity and offers the patient more comfort and convenience. SBRT is a course of very high dose radiation treatment, capable of sterilizing or getting rid of the cancer with one to five abbreviated doses over one to seven days. This treatment dramatically reduces the inconvenience of six-week courses of conventionally fractionated radiotherapy.

APLCC 2016 Insight: Issue 2 (14th May 2016)

APLCC 2016 Insight is the official newsletter of IASLC Asia Pacific Lung Cancer Conference (APLCC 2016) being held in Chiang Mai, Thailand: 13-15 May 2016. CNS is the official media partner of APLCC 2016 and managed content for all three issues of APLCC 2016 Insight. Second issue of APLCC 2016 Insight is online here.

Senior leaders from different countries in Asia Pacific and globally who have contributed significantly on different aspects of lung cancer prevention, diagnostics, treatment, research, care etc, were interviewed by CNS Correspondents in lead up to APLCC 2016. Here is the second issue of APLCC 2016 Insight.

Highlights of the Asia Pacific Lung Cancer Conference (APLCC 2016)

Preventing lung cancer is a public health imperative
The 2016 IASLC Asia Pacific Lung Cancer Conference (APLCC 2016) is being organized under the aegis of International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), Thai Society of Clinical Oncology (TSCO), Chiang Mai Lung Cancer Group, Faculty of Medicine at the Chiang Mai University (CMU) and the local organizing committee of APLCC 2016.

"Cure" for lung cancer: More hype or new hope?

Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant, CNS (Citizen News Service)
Dr Paul A Bunn Jr
former President, IASLC
"Historically most patients of lung cancer were smokers with advanced lung disease, advanced cancer, and treatments were not very successful. So there was a high degree of pessimism about lung cancer and lung cancer therapy.

There was no way to diagnose lung cancer early, and most patients presented with metastatic disease which could not be cured thereby further increasing the pessimism about it,” said Dr Paul A Bunn Jr, Distinguished Professor, Division of Medical Oncology, University of Colorado and James Dudley Chair in Lung Cancer Research, USA.

Lung cancer screening: The Thailand perspective

Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant, CNS (Citizen News Service)
Dr Natthaya Triphuridet
The survival rate for lung cancer is strongly related to the stage of the disease. The earlier its detection, the better its survival rate. “Currently, low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) is the standard technique for lung cancer screening. The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), launched in 2002, found that screening with LDCT resulted in a 15-20 percent lower lung cancer-specific mortality and 6.7 percent lower all-cause mortality relative to chest radiography (X-ray) over a median of 6.5 years of follow-up,” said Dr Natthaya Triphuridet, Pulmonologist and Assistant Director for Medical Affairs at Chulabhorn Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand.

Tobacco control must be a priority for health professionals

Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant, CNS (Citizen News Service)
Prof Prakit Vathesatogkit
As lung cancer treatment outcomes are difficult and five-year survival is abysmally low, preventing lung cancer is a top public health priority. Up to 90% of lung cancer cases are because of tobacco use. Therefore effective implementation of evidence-based and comprehensive tobacco control policies will make a huge difference in slashing new cases of lung cancer as well as preventing a large number of other diseases, disabilities and premature deaths attributed to tobacco use” said Professor (Dr) Prakit Vathesatogkit, Executive Secretary of Action on Smoking and Health Foundation of Thailand.

APLCC 2016 in Thailand: Preventing lung cancer is public health imperative

Asia Pacific Lung Cancer Conference (APLCC) to Open in Chiang Mai, Thailand: 13-15 May 2016
The biennial Asia Pacific Lung Cancer Conference (APLCC 2016), organized by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 13-15 May 2016.

APLCC 2016 Insight: Issue 1 (13th May 2016)

APLCC 2016 Insight is the official newsletter of IASLC Asia Pacific Lung Cancer Conference (APLCC 2016) being held in Chiang Mai, Thailand: 13-15 May 2016. CNS is the official media partner of APLCC 2016 and managed content for all three issues of APLCC 2016 Insight. First issue of APLCC 2016 Insight is online here.

Senior leaders from different countries in Asia Pacific and globally who have contributed significantly on different aspects of lung cancer prevention, diagnostics, treatment, research, care etc, were interviewed by CNS Correspondents in lead up to APLCC 2016. Here is the first issue of APLCC 2016 Insight.

[Focus] Why despite HC order, children of government staff are not studying in government schools?



A holistic approach is needed to tackle India’s asthma burden

Urvashi Prasad, CNS Correspondent, India
It is estimated that India has around 30 million people living with asthma. Approximately 25% of the Indian population is suffering from allergy and 5% are living with asthma. As highlighted by Dr Jeremiah Chakaya Muhwa, Member, Board of Directors, International Union Against TB and Lung Disease (The Union) during a recent webinar organised by CNS and The Union, asthma is often not taken seriously. He went on to add that the condition is frequently either not diagnosed or not treated even when diagnosed, resulting in several social, economic, psychological and physical problems.

[Call to register] Webinar for media in lead up to World No Tobacco Day 2016

[Webinar recording] We welcome you to register for an exclusive media webinar in lead up to this year's World No Tobacco Day. Our governments have committed to achieve Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs - by 2030, one of which (SDG 3.a) is to strengthen the implementation of the global tobacco treaty (formally called World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control or WHO FCTC) in all countries, as appropriate. We need to ensure that the implementation of WHO FCTC is on track for the world to meet the SDG targets by 2030 or earlier!

Innovation: Yoga to relieve asthma-related problems

Owen Nyaka, CNS Correspondent, Malawi
Yoga has gained global popularity as a form of exercise with general life-style benefits, and recent studies have investigated the potential of yoga to relieve asthma-related problems. A global independent network of researchers, professionals, patients, carers and people interested in health (Cochrane) recently published a systematic review on the benefits of Yoga for asthma patients. The authors reviewed 15 randomised controlled studies, which involved 1,048 men and women with asthma.

APLCC 2016: Latest updates on lung cancer science

Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant, CNS (Citizen News Service) 
Dr Ekaphop Sirachainan, Vice President
Thai Society of Clinical Oncology
Dr Ekaphop Sirachainan who is the Vice President of Thai Society of Clinical Oncology (TSCO); faculty at Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University; and a member of the Local Organising Committee of APLCC 2016 shared the highlights of some of the interesting oral and poster presentation abstracts. Asia Pacific Lung Cancer Conference (APLCC 2016) took place in Chiang Mai, Thailand (13-15 May 2016). It is organized by International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), Thai Society of Clinical Oncology (TSCO) Chiang Mai Lung Cancer Group, and other lead partners.

You can control Asthma

Alice Tembe, CNS Correspondent, Swaziland
While many non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are associated with stigma, discrimination and fear it has notably been of interest that people living with asthma actually get cool nicknames associated with this disease. A chat with Joseph Jele (name changed), a 49 year old male telephone technician, revealed that from his teenage years he has been nick-named ‘Wizzy Joe’, due to the wheezing fits he used to get when playing with other young boys. This is an identity he has carried with him through adulthood and, as he jokingly noted, will carry it to his grave.

Addressing asthma is a big challenge

Pritha Roy Choudhury, CNS Correspondent, India
This is the fourth day this week that Ashmi has been absent from school. A student of Class 4, Ashmi has been performing very well and has been an academic achiever for the third consecutive year. Mrs Hemvat, her class teacher is really worried— “She is not only a bright student but also is a very active child who takes part in most of the activities. But this year she has been absent most of the days.” Ashmi has been suffering from breathing problems for the past two years, but the problem has increased this year.

How to prevent premature deaths from asthma?

Francis Okoye, CNS Correspondent, Nigeria
(First published in Nigeria Politics Magazine)
In a webinar organised for media by Citizen News Service (CNS), in lead up to this year’s world Asthma Day on May 3, 2016, it was revealed that about 2.4 million premature deaths from Asthma can be prevented, if certain doable actions are put in place. This premature death prevention would also result in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.

Asthma: A manageable burden

Josephine Chinele, CNS Correspondent, Malawi
Every day, Talimba (name changed), cooks using firewood which produces lots of smoke. She does not have any affordable alternative source of energy. 20 year old Talimba dropped out of school to take up the responsibility of looking after her household, including her siblings, after the death of their parents. “I live in the rural area where there is no electricity at all. I even use paraffin lamp for lighting at night. That’s what we can afford,” says Talimba.

Do not ignore your asthma

Tuyeimo Haidula, CNS Correspondent, Namibia
Despite the fact that asthma affects over 300 million people globally, very little attention is given to this chronic and persistent disease. Speaking during a webinar organized by Citizen News Service and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Jeremiah Chakaya, of Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) lamented that asthma is under diagnosed all over the world, and not just in poor countries, and when it is diagnosed it is under treated.

Moderate quality evidence that yoga reduces impact of asthma

Aarti Dhar, CNS Correspondent, India 
[First published in Theindiasaga.com] 
Researchers have found moderate-quality evidence that yoga probably leads to small improvements in quality of life and symptoms in people with asthma, but there is more uncertainty about potential adverse effects of yoga and its impact on lung function and medication usage. According to a new Cochrane Review, the results of randomised control trials (RCTs) has found evidence that practicing yoga might be able to improve asthma quality of life and symptoms to some extent.

Asthma: We can beat it but not kill it

Shobha Shukla, Citizen News Service - CNS
 
World Asthma Day is Tuesday, 3rd May 2016
Asthma is a common chronic non-communicable disease (NCD) that is usually characterised by inflammation of the bronchial tubes or airways of the lungs. 10,000 litres of air and blood pass through our lungs and, as a result, they deliver 350 litres of oxygen every day. If this delivery is hampered in any way it leads to respiratory distress or breathlessness. The episodic onset of respiratory symptoms is called an asthma attack.

Achyut Patwardhan Bal Sabha formed

Achyut Patwardhan Bal Sabha of Socialist Party (India) was formed in Lucknow on Thursday, 2nd June 2016. Socialist Party (India) has formed this group (Achyut Patwardhan Bal Sabha) with the objective of educating children about constitutional values and working towards an egalitarian society.

[Focus] Curtain-raiser to Asia Pacific Lung Cancer Conference (APLCC 2016)



CNS around World No Tobacco Day 2016

Prof Rama Kant being interviewed by India News (TV)
CNS in association with key partners globally and in Lucknow, India was actively involved in a range of activities around World No Tobacco Day 2016. Here is a WNTD 2016 snapshot: