CITY LIFE & LIVING
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Bangalore, Wednesday, September 16, 2009
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CITY ONCOLOGISTS SAY SURVIVAL CHANCES ARE DISAPPOINTINGLY LOW AGAINST PANCREATIC CANCER THAT CLAIMED THE LIFE OF HOLLYWOOD STAR PATRICK SWAYZE
Cancer's unkindest cut Elizabeth Soumya. BANGALORE
In January, 2008, Patrick Swayze, bumped into an uninvited stranger in his life, who not only refused to leave, but had Swayze meander way too far to ever return. Swayze, 57, the hunky actor who danced his way into viewers' hearts with "Dirty Dancing" and then broke them with "Ghost," succumbed to pancreatic cancer on Monday. Dr Somorat Bhattacharjee, Radiation oncologist from HealthCare Global Enterprises Ltd, elaborates on the cancer that vanquished Swazye. He spans through the years and admits that little research has been done on the malignancy. "It's one of the few cancers where prognosis hasn't improved over the years, it's pretty much the same as it was 25 years ago," he informs before continuing, "In the case of this cancer, the duct from the liver which takes bile to the intestine gets blocked. And the disease moves fast to the liver and stomach."
askthedoctor He says that prevalence of the disease is as high as 10 per cent of the total number of people suffering from cancer while the survival rates are disappointingly low. Neelesh Reddy, Oncologist, Columbia Asia Hospital, echoes Bhattacharjee's comment at the stagnant progress in research for pancreatic cancer. "The prognosis has been slow for pancreatic cancer, it is also among the most aggressive cancers that has a low survival rate," he says. According to Reddy early stages of the cancer treatment can involve surgery followed by chemotherapy. While Bhattacharjee elaborates: "If the tumour is in the head of the pancreas, surgery can be performed, but if it's on the body or tail of the pancreases, it's not an option." He also shines light on 'cyberknife', a frameless robotic radiosurgery system, which is the new method of delivering radiotherapy. "Cyberknife helps in the treatment of cases such as pancreatic and prostate cancers. It is 100 per cent accurate and the radiation therapy that will take weeks is cut down to three to five days. But when surgery can't be done, the chances of survival are low," he adds.
Cyberknife helps in the treatment of cases such as pancreatic and prostate cancers. It is 100 per cent accurate and time needed for radiation therapy will be less
SURVIVOR AND VICTIM: Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, (top) is recovering from a rare form of pancreatic cancer—called islet cell neuroendocrine tumour while actor Patrick Swayze (right) lost his battle with the silent killer on Monday What lifestyle alterations do patients of pancreatic cancer need to make? Reddy admits that there aren't any recommendations that are specific to the disease. "There are general guidelines such as no drinking or smoking, leading a hy-
gienic lifestyle, exercising and eating healthy food." Bhattacharjee shares some advice. "They should avoid fatty and spicy food and consume fresh food. Cold food like ice cream should be skipped. Drinking and
smoking may aggravate the disease and a patient shouldn't indulge in them." He also encourages people who are above 50 to go for regular health check ups. He also believes that psychotherapy can be of much help to patients. "Counselling is definitely needed for patients and family members and can reduce trauma in any kind of cancer." On a positive note he adds that we have all it takes to deal with the disease. "Family members mustn't become negative instead they should look for the facilities available in the country. Going abroad for treatment doesn't make sense anymore, since we are equipped with the latest technology." e_soumya@dnaindia.net
Helping the terminally ill cope Therapists can help patients and families cope with terminal illness
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FALLEN STARS: (clockwise from top left) Pink Floyd member Syd Barret, American jazz bandleader Dizzy Gillespie, English film actor Rex Harrison and Bollywood actress Nargis Dutt, all lost their battles with cancer
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eath is certain. Yet, knowing it’s creeping up on you slowly yet surely can be an inconsolable feeling. Psychologist Sulata Shenoy talks about this universal truth. “We all know about it, but nobody can face death with the equanimity it deserves,” she says. While coming to terms with a terminal illness completely maybe emotionally arduous, she explains why little help from a ‘mature’ psychologist
or therapist can go a long way: “Pain is largely a perceived sensation of the mind and for a terminally ill patient who is in real physical discomfort, therapy will help take his or her mind off the disease.” That apart, she points out that someone cornered by an incurable disease such as cancer has a lot to deal with emotionally. “Fears, anger, anxiety will be natural emotions that surface and acceptance of impending death also needs to be dealt with. Coming face to face with death is not a situation that the rest of the society can identify with.” Shenoy also advocates therapy for the family of a terminally ill
patient. “Counselling family members is crucial. They’re in a tough spot as they start grieving and need to come to terms with their emotions and yet need to remain strong,” she says of the dilemma family members may be trapped in. It’s not just emotional adjustments that need to be made, she reminds: “Apart from coping emotionally, there are various amendments that families need to make. The transition may involve making room for changes, financial situations, thinking about other family members such as seniors or children in the family and strengthening social networks.” e_soumya@dnaindia.net
You could be missing out on an opportunity to learn more about an individual by analysing the person’s handwriting Shivani Dave. BANGALORE In the age of SMSes and keyboards, handwriting seems to be a forgotten priority for many. Since few venture to write love letters these days, gazing at the inky scrawl does not excite much passion. But, then, you could be missing out on an opportunity to learn more about an individual, may be, his or her dark secrets, by analysing the person's handwriting. It's time you figured out graphology. Graphology, commonly known as handwriting analysis, is a fascinating field. In the US, it has many takers and is a fully developed field of study. In India, graphology is slowly gainLEARN IT NOW ing in popularity. Something as simple as one's THE HANDWRITING handwriting can actually define ANALYSIS INSTITUTE one's character and traits. A #16, Church Rd, graphologist or one who has Behind New studied handwriting analysis Generation School, would say: "Our heart controls Basavanagudi, everything in our body. Blood Bangalore- 560004 is circulated throughout the Contact: 41312038/ body, but where does all this 41312039 end? At one's finger tips. Thus, INTERNATIONAL whatever one writes, speaks of GRAPHO RESEARCH his/her personality. This is why CENTRE it is important and becomes an Jeevanbhima Nagar, efficient method to explore perBangalore-560075 sonality traits." INSTITUTE OF With two main institutes in RAFIULLAH BAIG the city, The National Institute Jayanagar, of Graphology and The HandBangalore-560011 writing Analysis Institute offering four-day to two-month courses, several individuals are heading towards this field. Abhishek Mohan, a 19-year-old student, says: "I have finished the first two levels and will definitely be doing the third level soon. The third level is a two-month long course which will enable one to decipher an individual's character in depth through his handwriting. Abhishek adds: "After completing the third level, there is an examination which can be taken to obtain a certified graphologist badge. With this certificate, a person can work in corporate companies, open their own institutions or become a grapho-therapist."
Pancreatic cancer is sometimes called a “silent killer” because early pancreatic cancer often does not cause symptoms, and the later symptoms are usually nonspecific and varied. Therefore, pancreatic cancer is often not diagnosed until it is advanced.
Common symptoms include: Pain in the upper abdomen that typically radiates to the back
Loss of appetite and nausea, significant weight loss
Painless jaundice
Tracking customers on Twitter becomes easier Now brands can track customers on Twitter thanks to twtCRM, a product devised by a Bangalorebased company Cheese Care
Deconstruct handwriting for that extra edge
IT’S A SILENT KILLER
Himanshu Sahani Co-Founder and CEO, Cheese Care
NT Balanarayan. BANGALORE There are more than 100 Indian brands which have a presence on Twitter, ranging from laptop companies (@acerindia, @lenovo_in) to movies (@quickgunmurugan, @saawariya). So how do these brands go through thousands of tweets posted on the micro-blogging site? Bangalore-based company Cheese Care tries to address this issue with their latest product twtCRM (CRM-Customer Relation Management). The product makes it easier for brands to track mentions of the company name online and also enables people in the support team to respond to them. According to Himanshu Sahani, Co-Founder and CEO, twtCRM does this by using the direct message feature in twitter. "Whenever a brand is mentioned on Twitter, a DM is sent to all members of the support team who can then respond to the issue," he says. To activate brand tracking, all one needs to do is authorise the Twitter account of a brand on twtcrm.com and add Twitter accounts of people who are part of the team handling the account. The twtCRM software will do the rest. "We are now working on a dashboard so that users will be able to handle more than their own brands. Very soon, companies will also be able to track competition and not just their own brands, as companies are interested to know what their immediate competition
TICTALK
YOU CAN ACHIEVE A LOT MORE IF ONLY YOU DECIDE TO FIGHT THE ‘BUTS’
COOL MESSAGE: Bangalore-based company, Cheese Care, has come up with a product to make customer relations management effective on Twitter is doing on the platform," he added. "Apart from brand tracking, we'll also provide analytics based on responses such as mood tracking. This helps to find out how many people are happy with the product and how many are not. We do this by tracking certain words and smileys used in tweets," Sahani added. The product was launched a month ago but doesn't have many users as of now. Sahani says that they have played it quite and that
they'll publicise it more after they get through their next level of updates. The product is now available for free and the company might start charging users in the future. "As of now, we are more focussed on making the product better, and to make more features available. Monetising comes later," he added. The company is now in talks with other CRM companies to make their technology available through their service.
YOU HAVE A TWEET twtCRM might be the first Indian product who allows brand tracking on Twitter, but before them came CoTweet. CoTweet lets you use twitter from its own website but does not provide updates via direct messages like twtCRM.
So if you want to continue using your favourite Twitter client and still track your brand, twtCRM is the way to go.
balanarayan@dnaindia.net
OVERCOMING THE ‘BUT’ BARRIER
W
ASHA CHOWDARY
“We are now working on a dashboard so that users will be able to handle more than their own brands. Very soon, companies will also be able to track competition.”
hen I find my friend, a self proclaimed, self-help junkie sprawled on the sofa reading, 'Kicking the Big But syndrome', I should have known the book had nothing to do with cigarettes. But you never know with her….one moment she is reading about how to make a million dollars and the next minute, she is totally into a large tome on how to talk her way to the top. None of which, I must say, I have actually seen her implement. But the 'big but' in her book is quite intriguing and so I ask her about it. "This wonderful book is about the 'yeah, buts' that stop us from getting ahead," she explains. Strangely enough, I remember her little spiel the very next day. It is
a lazy Saturday morning, sunlight streaming through the windows after a rain soaked night, and I am on my computer, idly surfing and forwarding foolish jokes. Suddenly, there it is. A wonderful clip on U-Tube about an amazing woman called Susan Boyle. As a contestant on a show called, 'Britain's Got Talent', Boyle comes on stage, in a frumpy dress and dated hair do, all set to sing. The judges look dubious, the audience sniggers. A minute later, Boyle begins to sing, and there is pin drop silence as some of the most beautiful notes they have ever heard ring through the auditorium. The rest, as they say, is history. Not only did her powerful voice win over the hard-to-please American Idol judge Simon Cowell, she also
People hold on to so many favourite ‘buts’ all through life and never see their dreams come true managed to touch the hearts of millions of listeners across the world. Today, her debut album, I Dreamed a Dream has reached the number one spot three months before it has been released. It is just as my friend said…life is all about fighting the 'buts'. I have to tell her all about it and so I ask her to meet me for a lunch of pasta with pesto sauce (her favourite) and chicken escalopes (mine). As we eat, we discuss the 'But I am too old' that could have pre-
vented Susan Boyle's success, the 'But I am a mother' that could have come in the way of Kim Clijsters who won her second US Open title and the 'But I am unwell' that could have quenched Lisa Ray's positive spirit. We discuss how people hold on to so many favourite 'buts' all through life… like the "But I am so stupid', 'But I have no talent' and the 'But I have no time'…and therefore, never see their dreams come true. I've enjoyed this conversation so far, but when I see another book peeking out her bag, I groan. It's another self-help book, this time about how to become a gourmet cook in five days. Having sampled her nonexistent skills in cooking several times, I am quite sure, this is one 'but' that she might just not be able to conquer. c_asha@dnaindia.net