World Cancer Day is on 4th February and it gives the world the opportunity to come together to raise awareness and campaign on key issues to improve the care, support and treatment given to patients.
Organisers, the UICC, announced that the theme for World Cancer Day is #IAmAndIWill and this theme highlights that fact that whoever you are, you have the power to reduce the impact of cancer for yourself, the people you love and for the world.
The campaign therefore encourages everyone to make a commitment by using the hashtag and sharing who you are and what you will commit to in order to tackle cancer.
Our #IamAndIWill Commitment for 2019-2021
Our World Cancer Day commitment is to focus on children and raise awareness of the fact that overweight or obese children are more likely to become overweight or obese adults, and being overweight as an adult increases a person’s risk of developing cancer. In fact, the World Cancer Research Fund has found that being overweight or obese throughout adulthood is linked to an increased risk of developing 12 types of cancer.
Our campaign appeals to parents to reduce their children’s future cancer risk by ensuring they’re a healthy weight now, and this can be achieved by ensuring that children:
Are physically active and take part in 60 minutes of physical activity every day
Eat a healthy diet
Childhood obesity is a significant challenge here in St Kitts and Nevis. A PAHO report revealed that 33% of secondary school children in the twin island state were overweight and 14% were obese. More recently, in 2017, a UNICEF report stated that 26% of children in St Kitts and Nevis are obese. We have to tackle childhood obesity to improve the health of our children to ensure they become happy, healthy adults.
We believe that by beating childhood obesity we can also contribute to beating cancer, and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
“I am Lake Health and Wellbeing and I will make an impact by spreading the word
about childhood obesity increasing a child’s future cancer risk” – #IamAndIWill
What We’re Doing Beyond World Cancer Day
Our work doesn’t stop after World Cancer Day, we’re working to beat childhood obesity all year round through our new childhood obesity prevention project.
We’re currently working on developing innovative resources to get children active so they can easily get to and maintain a healthy weight.
How You Can Get Involved
You can get involved by raising awareness on social media and sharing your thoughts on this issue. You can use any of the images below or the short video clips below.
Also, we’d love it if you could support us by making a donation, which will go towards our childhood obesity prevention project.
You can make a donation below:
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Thank you for any support you’re able to provide and we hope you’ll join us for World Cancer Day to #BeatChildhoodObesity and #BeatCancer
In October 2018, we began consulting with the F.I.T. Wellness Center in Nevis to assist with the development and implementation of their NCD Prevention Action Plan, part of their NCD Prevention Programme.
On 27th November 2018, we were delighted to join F.I.T. in the launch of their NCD Prevention Action Plan and the announcement of their upcoming National Weight Loss Campaign.
The launch took the form of a press conference and was attended by the major media outlets in Nevis. The event was chaired by Mr David Walwyn, Director of the F.I.T Wellness Center and featured on the panel were:
Hon. Hazel Brandy-Williams, Junior Minister for Health, who provided an overview of NCDs in Nevis
Dr Judy Nisbett, Chief Medical Officer for Nevis, who discussed the cost of NCDs, this included direct and indirect costs as well as the impact NCDs have on families
Nadine Carty-Caines, Programme Coordinator, Health Promotion Unit, Ministry of Health, who took the press through all the statistics on NCDs in Nevis
Dr Raymond Moving, Internal Medicine, Alexandra Hospital, who explained the complications of NCDs focusing particularly on diabetes
Dr Samir Anadkat, Obesity and Diabetes Specialist, Professor (Neuroscience & Anatomy), Medical University of Americas, Nevis, who explored prevention and addressed some of the myths around weight loss
David Walwyn, Director, F.I.T. Wellness Centre, who spoke about F.I.T’s approach to tackling NCDs in Nevis
Abi Begho, Public Health Project Manager, Lake Health and Wellbeing, who discussed the upcoming National Weight Loss Campaign and also announced the slogan competition for the campaign
Why Focus on NCDs?
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and cancer are a major health challenge in St Kitts and Nevis with 83% of deaths in the Federation being due to these conditions.
One of the key factors driving NCDs in St Kitts and Nevis is the high rate of obesity. In 2012, PAHO reported that 32.5% of secondary school children in St Kitts and Nevis were overweight and 14.4% were obese and a more recent report published by UNICEF in 2017 stated that 26% of children in St Kitts and Nevis were obese. We know that children who are overweight or obese are more likely to become overweight or obese adults and this puts them at a high risk of developing NCDs like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Obesity rates in St Kitts and Nevis in adults aged 25 to 64 is high with a 2008 study stating that 33.5% of adults in this age group were overweight and 45% were obese.
F.I.T. has developed its answer to NCDs by developing its NCD Prevention Action Plan which will focus on supporting residents of Nevis to get fit, healthy and lose weight, and thus reduce their risk of developing an NCD. A core part of the action plan is the National Weight Loss Campaign which will start in January 2019.
The National Weight Loss Campaign
The National Weight Loss Campaign aims to help residents of Nevis lose weight through a fun six-month weight loss challenge that will support participants in getting active and eating a healthier diet. Participants will be guided through the six-month period with advice, tips, healthy recipes, fun events and one-to-one support. There will also be prizes for the person who loses the most weight in their category, recognition of those who have succeeded in losing their target weight and we’ll be following specific people on their weight loss journey.
Technology will play an important role in the campaign and we’ll be creating a web-based health portal where participants can come together, support each other, ask questions, share pictures and videos and receive tips and advice from experts in health and fitness. The health portal will consist of a forum and a chat facility, so we can keep in touch with all participants and provide them with support every step of the way.
How The Public Can Get Involved in the National Weight Loss Campaign
The National Weight Loss Campaign is open to everyone in Nevis – old, young, male and female. If an individual would like to lose weight or would like some support in adopting a healthier lifestyle then they are welcome to take part.
Businesses are strongly encouraged to take part in the National Weight Loss Campaign by either registering a team of their staff to get involved in the six-month weight loss challenge or they can play an instrumental role in improving the health and wellbeing of our community by becoming a corporate partner or sponsor.
For more information about this, businesses in Nevis can contact David Walwyn by email or phone (869)-662-8749.
Who is Behind this Initiative?
The National Weight Loss Campaign is an initiative of the FIT Wellness Center led by Mr David Walwyn with support from the Ministry of Health and Lake Health and Wellbeing
On 1st November, we attended the national consultation on the impact of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs). This event was organised by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) as an early step towards the development of the nation’s strategy for reducing the public’s consumption of SSBs.
The Ministry’s strategy for SSBs forms just a small part of their non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention plan which outlines actions that are needed to create a healthy environment and promote exercise.
Speakers Set the Scene
During the consultation we heard from an excellent panel of speakers which included:
Mrs Delores Stapleton-Harris, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health
Hon Wendy Phipps, Minister of State with Responsibility for Health, Community Development, Social Services and Gender Affairs
Dr Godrey Xuereb, PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean
Dr Keisha Liddie, District Medical Officer
Dr Lisa Powell, Professor and Director of Health Policy and Administration, School of Public Health, University of Illinois
Dr Marissa Carty, NCD Coordinator, Ministry of Health
Together the panel outlined the need for the development of a strategy on SSBs, reminding the audience that in St Kitts and Nevis NCDs, such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease and high blood pressure, are a major health challenge with 83% of deaths in the Federation being attributed to these conditions.
Hon Phipps described how NCDs are not only a threat to the health of the nation but are a significant socio-economic issue. Whilst Dr Xuereb provided information on the need for a SSB policy stating that it is just one of many strategies to improve the health of a nation and help countries achieve the sustainable development goal (SDG) on health. He stated that in order to achieve the SDG on health it is important to focus on improving the health of children as currently, in the Caribbean, childhood obesity is very common and is a major factor in children developing NCDs. He explained that what is driving NCDs is the increased consumption of sugar, and the major source of sugar is SSBs – SSBs make up 40% of children’s sugar intake with 70% of children in the Caribbean drinking one or more SSBs per day. He stated that data from Barbados, Mexico and Chile has shown that increasing the cost of SSBs through taxation has reduced the consumption of SSBs and therefore this is an effective strategy in tackling NCDs.
We also heard from Dr Keisha Liddie who presented a very in-depth and comprehensive situational analysis of St Kitts and Nevis. Dr Liddie described the data and trends for NCDs in the Federation showing the increase in the incidence of specific NCDs year on year and their impact on the nation. Finally, Dr Powell explored the economics, practicalities and important considerations when introducing a tax on SSBs and provided a number of recommendations which included:
Implement a 20% SSB tax
Include all forms of SSBs in the taxation strategy e.g: soda, energy drinks, sports drinks, fruit drinks, sweetened teas/coffees, sweetened water and beverage powders/syrups). Exclude zero calorie beverages
Apply the tax to all imported and domestically produced SSBs
Earmark the tax revenue for public health initiatives with an emphasis on nutrition and physical activity
Carry out public awareness and education to inform the public about the SSB tax and its objectives
Ban the sale of SSBs in schools
Ban the sale of SSBs in hospitals and government buildings
Regulate the marketing of SSBs in and around schools
Develop a drinking water infrastructure in schools that provide reusable water bottles to school children
Provide local agricultural products as snacks in schools
Promote the implementation of school gardens as a learning tool and to improve access to fruits and vegetables
Explore appropriate sponsors for youth sports that align with the objectives of improving health
Provide funding to increase activity spaces
St Kitts and Nevis’ Proposed Approach to SSBs
Dr Marissa Carty outlined the Ministry’s initial ideas on their approach to reducing the consumption of SSBs and gave the audience the opportunity to provide feedback on all the policy areas. The Ministry’s proposed policy imperatives include:
A 40% tax on SSBs (update: the proposed tax is now 32%)
The tax will apply to calorically sweetened beverages including carbonated drinks (sodas), sweetened carbonated water, sugar sweetened juices, sports drinks, energy drinks, tea and coffee drinks, sweetened milk/milk alternatives, milk powdered blended drinks, powdered drink mixes and drink mix syrups
Sugar would no longer be zero rated when it comes to tax
Excludedfrom the tax would be: fresh fruit juice (no sugar added), unsweetened milk/milk alternatives, infused water, unsweetened carbonated drinks and non-caloric sweetened drinks
Alternatives to SSBs will be suggested to the public. These would include: fruit/vegetable infused water unsweetened water, plain water, unsweetened carbonated water, unsweetened herbal (bush) tea and artificially non-caloric sweetened beverages
Thetax revenue will be used to provide: a water infrastructure, water fountains in schools, reusable water bottles in schools, healthier school meals, public health campaigns, National Health Insurance, implementing a marketing ban to children and policy development for safe school zones.
Our Thoughts
We 100% support the government’s approach to SSBs as there is a need to tackle childhood obesity in St Kitts and Nevis and by reducing SSB consumption this can be achieved.
We believe a 40% (or 32%) tax is sufficiently high enough to deter consumption of all SSBs, anything lower than this could lead to consumers simply replacing expensive SSBs for more affordable SSBs. There was some evidence of this in Barbados where the tax is 10% and this suggested that this level of taxation wasn’t high enough to deter consumers from buying the lower priced SSBs.
We think it is important that the revenue raised from the SSB tax should fund public health initiatives particularly those that are aimed at childhood obesity and so we applaud the Ministry’s suggestions on the use of the tax revenue. We would also like to see the tax revenue being used to make healthy foods more affordable to ensure that parents and guardians don’t encounter any barriers to adopting healthy eating practices. It is also important for there to be full transparency on the expenditure of the tax revenue so that the public can be confident that the funds have been used to benefit the public’s health.
Next Steps
The Ministry of Health will collate the feedback received from this consultation as well as the consultation conducted in Nevis and continue to engage with key stakeholders to develop their SSB policy. This will then have to be approved by Cabinet.
We look forward to seeing this policy develop and will support the Ministry in any way that we can to see this policy developed, approved and implemented.
Yesterday, we were delighted to attend the St Kitts World Cancer Day Luncheon. This was an event organised as a celebration of hope to honour the lives of cancer survivors in St Kitts and Nevis. The event was organised by the Health Promotion Unit at the Ministry of Health with support from Lake Health and Wellbeing and the Department of Youth Empowerment.
The event featured talks from high-profile guests including the Minister of State with responsibility for Health, Social and Community Services and Gender Affairs, Minister Wendy Phipps and Chief Medical Officer Dr Hazel Laws.
We also heard from cancer survivors who shared their experience very powerfully through poetry and testimonies. Carla Astaphan recited her poem Left Breastie which she wrote shortly after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and Agness Farell spoke of her experience of being diagnosed in 1998, she recounted her ups and downs and the formation of her support group Reach for Recovery.
In addition to these presentations, the Coordinator of Community Nursing Services, Nurse Eulynis Brown gave a very informative overview of cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine which will soon be introduced in St Kitts and encouraged attendees to support the Ministry in its roll-out as it’s a very effective method of preventing cervical cancer.
The highlight of the event was the presentation made to the longest living, oldest and youngest cancer survivors. It was moving to see the longest living cancer survivor being recognised, she was diagnosed 21 years ago and faced both breast and lung cancer. Despite all her challenges, now at the age of 82, she is so positive, happy and full of life; a true hero and inspiration to us all.
This was a positive and uplifting event which demonstrated the strength of the human spirit and we were honoured to have attended and been asked to deliver the vote of thanks.
Today is World Cancer Day, a day that gives the entire world the opportunity to come together to show solidarity on an issue that pretty much touches everybody – whether that be directly or indirectly through a family member, friend or colleague who has been diagnosed. The day aims to be a positive day with the focus being on empowerment, celebrating the lives of those who have been diagnosed and highlighting that everyone has a part to play in fighting cancer.
The theme for today is “We can. I can.” and is part of a three-year campaign exploring how everyone can contribute to reducing the global burden of cancer. Organisers of World Cancer Day, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), have developed a set of key messages that show exactly how everyone, as a collective or as an individual, can play a role in reducing the impact of cancer. These messages are:
We Can:
Inspire action, take action
Prevent cancer
Create healthy schools
Create healthy workplaces
Create healthy cities
Support others to return to work
Challenge perceptions
Improve access to cancer care
Shape policy
Build a quality workforce
Make the case for investing in cancer control
Join forces to make a difference
I Can:
Make healthy choices
Understand that early detection saves lives
Ask for support
Return to work
Take control of my cancer journey
Love and be loved
Make my voice heard
The aim of these messages is to reduce the millions of preventable cancer deaths that sadly take place throughout the world each year by giving everyone clear information and pushing governments to make cancer a priority.
World Cancer Day in St Kitts.
As you may know, we are now based in St Kitts, and for World Cancer Day we are delighted to have partnered with the Health Promotion Team at the Ministry of Health to take the key messages of World Cancer Day out in the community.
We started with a social media campaign using the wonderful resources developed by the UICC and of course the #WeCanICan theme but added #SKNCan (i.e. St Kitts and Nevis Can) to raise awareness of what residents of St Kitts and Nevis can do to reduce their cancer risk.
As part of our social media activity we took the messages (physically, on selfie cards!) to the streets of Basseterre and asked members of the public, businesses and government departments what messages resonated with them and did they feel they might consider taking forward to do their part in beating cancer. We then took pictures of people holding the selfie cards with the message that best represented what people thought would be most effective and these were used to raise awareness last week, in the run-up to World Cancer Day.
This was a great way to raise awareness in the community, it was fun and a bit light-hearted, but still got important messages across to the public whilst creating some teachable moments as people asked questions about what they could do specifically to prevent cancer.
We’re also in the process of organising a cancer awareness lunch to be held on 11th February where we’ll be celebrating survivors, providing information on what the public can do to reduce their risk of developing cancer and promoting early detection through awareness of signs and symptoms and seeking help promptly.
You Can Get Involved
There is still time to get involved in this campaign.
You can visit the World Cancer Day’s website, download a selfie card, take a picture and post it on social media to show what you can do to help in the fight against cancer. Don’t forget to include the hashtags #WorldCancerDay, #WCD2018 and #WeCanICan. If you’re in St Kitts and Nevis, then go ahead and add #SKNCan.
For all the St Kitts residents out there, you can attend our cancer awareness lunch next Sunday. Stay tuned to our events page for all the details!
Over the years there have been numerous questions and concern about the impact chemicals in hair products have on our health. This concern has been heightened in the black community for some time, particularly with respect to relaxers (chemical hair straighteners).
Several studies have been conducted exploring if there is a link between hair products and fibroids, cancer and other conditions, but these have been inconclusive. When a link has been shown researchers have been cautious explaining that association doesn’t mean causation – i.e. they couldn’t prove that relaxers actually contribute to the development of fibroids or cancer and therefore they all recommended that more research should be conducted.
Latest Research
In June of this year, researchers from Rutgers University in New Jersey published the results from their research into specific hair products and whether their use is associated with an increase in breast cancer risk. In this study, researchers looked at 4,285 African America and white women; 2,280 had breast cancer and 2,005 didn’t. The study compared those with breast cancer to those who didn’t have breast cancer to determine if differences existed that may be linked to breast cancer risk. The women were aged 20-75 and were from New York City and ten counties n New Jersey.
The study aimed to determine if hair dyes, relaxers and deep conditioners containing cholesterol or placenta were associated with an increased risk in developing breast cancer. In order to explore this researchers collected vast amounts of data on the women who took part in the study. This included socio-demographic data and their exposure to known risk factors such as family and personal history of breast cancer, smoking, alcohol consumption and more. They also asked participants about their use of the previously mentioned hair products, what shade of dye they used and how long they used these products for.
What did they find?
The researchers found that for African American women there was a 51% increase in their risk of developing breast cancer among those who used dark brown or black hair dye. They also found that in African American women there was a 72% increase in oestrogen-positive breast cancers amongst those who used dark brown or black dyes and a 36% increase in oestrogen-positive breast cancers in those who used dyes more frequently.
In white women they found a 74% increase in breast cancer risk in those who used relaxers and a large increase in risk in women who used both relaxers and hair dyes. They also found that use of hair dyes resulted in a 54% increase in risk of developing oestrogen-positive breast cancers whilst relaxer use caused a 2.6 fold increase in oestrogen-negative breast cancers.
There was no link between deep conditioners and breast cancer.
What does this mean?
The researchers concluded that “these novel findings support a relationship between the use of some hair products and breast cancer.”
When speaking about their work, lead author of the research paper, Adana Llanos said
“Just because we found these associations doesn’t mean that if you dye your hair dark, or any colour, you’re going to get breast cancer, but at the same time, the study points to something else we should be mindful of.”
The results exposed a significant association with oestrogen-positive breast cancers so the current hypothesis is that the dyes may contain chemical compounds that are similar to oestrogen or stimulate pathways that cause the production of oestrogen. It was hard to determine this as women in the study weren’t asked what brands of products they used so researchers couldn’t explore the actual chemicals within these products that women were exposed to. But Alana Llanos said:
“There must be some role for oestrogen for sure.”
Her research team recognise that there were limitations to the study and that further work is needed to truly understand the link between hair products and breast cancer risk.
Our Thoughts
The Lake Foundation is pleased to see more research in this area being conducted and this work needs to continue until we have a definitive answer as to whether hair products affect our health or not. In the meantime, we would advise that women take a look at this research and make an informed decision as to whether they should continue using hair dyes and relaxers. We always say people should exercise caution in the use of products where there is found to be a credible association with cancer, or any disease, until a clear answer can be provided on whether that association means that a particular product contributes to the development of a disease.
More Information
You can read the full research paper for this study here
Friday 17th November was the second annual Caribbean Alcohol Reduction Day. This year’s theme was: Drink Less, Reduce Cancer and to mark the day the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, in collaboration with PAHO, CARPHA and CARICOM, hosted a webinar on Alcohol and Cancer in the Caribbean. This was a very informative and interesting webinar which featured three speakers:
Dr Kevin Shield – Alcohol Consumption and Cancer in the Caribbean
Dr Maristela Monteiro – Alcohol Policies in the Caribbean
Dr Rohan Maharaj – Alcohol use among the elderly in the Eastern Caribbean: Associations with NCDs and psycho-social issues
Alcohol Consumption and Cancer in the Caribbean
The first presentation was delivered by Dr Kevin Shield. He started by providing some background into cancer in the Caribbean explaining that the latest data, from 2012, shows that in the Caribbean about 21,000 new cancer cases are diagnosed every year and just over 13,000 deaths per year in the region are due to cancer. When we look at the number of cancers in the Caribbean caused by alcohol, it is estimated to be 650 cancer cases per year or put another way 3.1% of all cancers diagnosed in the Caribbean are due to alcohol consumption. Looking at the number of cancer deaths in the Caribbean due to alcohol, 2.9% of all cancer deaths are due to alcohol consumption or 387 deaths per year.
Dr Shield stated that in the Caribbean, on average, an adult consumes 1.2 alcoholic drinks per day, but there is a difference amongst countries with some countries drinking less and other drinking significantly more.
Infographic from Cancer Research UK
Dr Shield explained the link between cancer and drinking stating that numerous studies have been conducted that have determined how drinking causes cancer. Data suggests that alcohol causes cancer in the following ways:
By our bodies converting alcohol into a cancer-causing chemical (i.e. a chemical that can damage our DNA)
By affecting our hormone levels and various pathways in the body
Through research links have been found between alcohol and cancers of the mouth, upper throat, food pipe, voice box, breast, bowel and liver. The number one cancer impacted by alcohol is breast cancer.
Based on all of these factors the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified alcohol as a type 1 carcinogen, which means there is the highest level of evidence to suggest that it does cause cancer. So drinking is a major problem.
The question then is: how can we prevent the cancers that are caused by alcohol? The solution is to reduce alcohol consumption and Dr Shield stated that there are three cost effective and feasible approaches that can be taken:
Infographic from Cancer Research UK
Restrictions on access
Banning advertising
Increasing excise taxes
This presentation ended on a fairly positive note highlighting that many Caribbean countries have not fully introduced these three measures which means that there is potential to make a huge difference in tackling alcohol and cancer in the Caribbean.
Alcohol Policies in the Caribbean
We then heard from Dr Maristela Monteiro who gave an overview of alcohol policies in the Caribbean. She started by explaining that as part of the voluntary global non-communicable diseases target for 2025 there is a goal to reduce harmful use of alcohol by 10%. WHO and PAHO, in consultation with a number of organisations, developed a global strategy to reduce harmful use of alcohol and they provided recommendations on 10 policy areas and countries are to try to implement as many as possible. They describe particular recommendations as “best buys” especially for low to middle income countries and these were the three areas mentioned by the previous speaker (restrict access to alcohol, enforce bans on advertising and raise taxes on alcohol).
Dr Monterio then went through each of these three policy areas giving an assessment of how successful Caribbean countries have been with their implementation. She started first with whether countries have a national alcohol policy in place. Out of the 14 Caribbean countries that they looked at only three had some form of national policy.
Dr Monterio then looked at policies to restrict access to alcohol:
Licensing: most Caribbean countries have a licensing system, 12 out of the 14 countries. Licensing systems restrict access by imposing rules and penalties to those who wish to sell alcohol such as not selling to minors, the license also has a fee and this may limit the number of businesses who choose to sell alcohol.
Restrictions on hours, locations and days of sale of alcohol: only three Caribbean countries were fully compliant in this area.
Minimum drinking age: most Caribbean countries have a minimum drinking age, only three don’t. The majority of countries in the Caribbean with a minimum drinking age have set this at 18, some have set this at 16. It was felt that 18 was a relatively low age restriction and this could be increased to 21 to have more of an impact.
Dr Monteiro then discussed taxation. She stated that in the Caribbean most countries have some taxation of alcohol, but these taxes were introduced many years ago and have not been adjusted for inflation. This means that taxation is not having the impact that it should as taxes are fairly low and are not acting as a deterrent.
Finally Dr Monteiro discussed restrictions on advertising and explained that this was the least developed area of policy in the Caribbean. She explained that this is a major problem as 20% of students are exposed to alcohol advertising daily and research has shown that this is associated with an increase in alcohol consumption. She explained how persuasive these advertising campaigns are and some of the tactics used to encourage people to drink – companies focus on alcohol as an antioxidant, that consuming alcohol causes weight loss and improves your mood (this communicates the message that alcohol is healthy) and equating drinking alcohol to business success.
Action needs to be taken to address advertising as research as shown that youths are more exposed to advertising than adults so there is a concerted effort by the alcohol industry to reach young people and make them life-long drinkers.
Alcohol Use and the Elderly
Finally we heard from Dr Rohan Maharaj who summarised a very interesting piece of research carried out across four Caribbean countries on alcohol use and the elderly. The research consisted of participants from Puerto Rico, Barbados, the US Virgin Islands and Trinidad. The data was collected from April 2013 to May 2015 and they determined whether people were ever-drinkers, current drinkers, problem drinkers or heavy drinkers and related this to various psycho-social and health issues. Their main conclusions were:
Generally there was wide use of alcohol across all participants
5-6% of participants were involved in potentially harmful alcohol use
Males were more likely to be problem or heavy drinkers
There was an association between alcohol use and stage 1 hypertension
There was an association between alcohol use in ever-drinkers and cancer
A higher proportion of those with lower educational achievement admitted to alcohol use
Those who were employed were more likely to be drinkers (thought to be because they had more disposable income)
Those who reported earlier initiation of sexual activity reported heavy drinking
Those who had issues with domestic violence (current or past) had reports of problem drinking
Heavy and problem drinkers tended to be lower educated males, living in Trinidad, married, physically active and employed with high rates of hypertension and being diabetic.
Dr Maharaj and his team will be doing a follow up study with participants in the next 2 to 3 years and this will give them the opportunity to further explore the link between alcohol use, cancer and other non-communicable diseases.
Conclusion
This was a very informative webinar and it’s so important that we get some of this information out to the public as we know that many people are not aware of the link between cancer and alcohol consumption.
For more information you can listen to a recording of the webinar here
We recently came across this really interesting video on TED and thought we’d share it with you. In this video you’ll hear from Dr Elizabeth Wayne, a biomedical engineer, who discusses the work her lab is undertaking to explore a more effective method to treat cancer. They researching how they can develop “a mean killing machine on wheels” by using cells in our immune system to target cancer cells.
A couple of weeks ago government representatives from across the world met in Montevideo, Uruguay for the World Health Organisation’s Global Conference on NCDs (Non-communicable diseases, e.g: cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease etc). The objectives of the conference were: to guide countries on how to reach sustainable development goal target 3.4 by 2030; to launch a new set of global initiatives to help countries accelerate progress in tackling NCDs; to share and exchange experiences; and to discuss how the health sector can be a key example of the benefit of enhancing policy coherence to achieve the sustainable development goals.
Making A Commitment to Tackle NCDs
At this conference governments endorsed the Montevideo Roadmap 2018-2030 on NCDs as a Sustainable Development Priority. By endorsing this roadmap they have made a commitment to take significant steps towards reducing the premature deaths due to NCDs by a third. They recognised that NCDs are one of the major challenges of the 21st century and that progress to tackle them has been uneven and insufficient. The roadmap states that 15 million 30 to 69 year olds per year die from a NCD and 80% of these premature deaths occur in developing countries. There are a number of challenges associated with tackling NCDs and with this is mind they committed to the following actions:
Reinvigorate political action
Enable health systems to respond more effectively to NCDs
Increase significantly the financing of national NCD responses and international cooperation
Increase efforts to engage sectors beyond health
Reinforce the role of non-State actors
Seeks measures to address the negative impact of products and environmental factors harmful for health and strengthen the contribution and accountability of the private sector and other non-State actors
Continue relying on WHO’s leadership and key role in the global response to NCDs
Act in unity
Our Thoughts
We were delighted to see world leaders come together and make this commitment and look forward to seeing these actions being taken forward.
We’re particularly happy to see that efforts will be made to engage with a variety of stakeholders. As a small organisation that is passionate about improving the health and well-being of our community we do get frustrated at the lack of engagement with grassroots organisations. We have many times reached out to local and national governments with our enthusiasm and ideas, ready to play a role but have received lukewarm responses or no responses at all. We hope that governments will see the value of working with small organisations and we have been grateful for the funding provided by Croydon Council, Sports England, Macmillan and Eli Lilly for some of the work we’ve conducted on NCDs. We look forward to continuing to work in this area and making our own small contribution.
You can read the complete Montevideo Roadmap below.
Today is World Stroke Day giving us the perfect opportunity to put the spotlight on this condition. The organisers of World Stroke Day, the World Stroke Organisation, as part of this year’s campaign are asking the question: what’s your reason for preventing stroke? Our reason is because strokes are more common in the black community and we would like to prevent this condition from affecting so many people in our community. This is achievable as 90% of strokes are linked to avoidable risks.
Stroke is the second leading cause of death in the world with 6.2 million deaths per year being due to stroke. It is also the leading cause of disability with 5 million people being permanently disabled every year after suffering a stroke.
What is a Stroke?
A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off resulting in damage to or death of brain cells. You can think of a stroke as a similar to a heart attack, but it takes place in the brain, people sometimes refer to it as a brain attack.
There are two types of stroke:
Ischaemic strokes – this is where something blocks an artery to the brain. The blockage can be caused by a blood clot, air bubble or fat globule.
Haemorrhagic strokes – these occur when a blood vessel bursts and bleeds into the brain.
It is estimated that members of the black community are twice as likely to suffer from a stroke as the white population. This is thought to be related to the fact that stroke is a complication of diabetes, high blood pressure and sickle cell; these are all common conditions in the black community.
You can watch the video below to find out more about what a stroke is.
Warning Signs of a Stroke
When someone has a stroke it is very important that they get medical care quickly to ensure that any damage to the brain is kept to a minimum. Strokes happen suddenly so the person who has the stroke or those around him/her may not recognise what is happening until it is too late. There may be warning signs just before a stroke occurs so it is very important that everyone is aware of what these are so that you can get help immediately from the emergency services.
The warning signs of a stroke are:
Numbness or weakness in your face, arm, or leg, especially on one side
Confusion or trouble understanding other people
Trouble speaking
Trouble seeing with one or both eyes
Trouble walking or staying balanced or coordinated
Dizziness
Severe headache that comes on for no known reason
Who is at risk of having a stroke?
Older people – most strokes occur in people over the age of 65 but younger people have strokes too with 25% of strokes being in younger people
People with a family history–if a close family member has had a stroke your risk of having a stroke is higher
Particular ethnic groups – South Asians, Africans and Caribbeans are more likely to have a stroke
People with a medical history – if you’ve already had a stroke, heart attack or a mini-stroke you are more likely to have a stroke. Also if you have diabetes, high blood pressure and sickle cell.
Smokers – smoking doubles your risk of having a stroke
Drinkers – alcohol can increase your risk of having a stroke
Prevention of Strokes
You can reduce your risk of having a stroke by:
Eating a healthy diet – a low fat, high fibre diet is recommended including plenty of fruits and vegetables
Regular exercise – this will make your heart and blood circulation more efficient
Not smoking
Reducing your alcohol intake
Think FAST
If you or someone you know are ever worried that you may be having a stroke it is important to think FAST:
Face: weakness of the face. Can you or the person smile? Has your face fallen on one side?
Arms: weakness in the arms. Can you or the person lift their arms?
Speech: has your speech been affected. Are you experiencing slurred speech?
Time: if any of the above are experienced then call 999/911 immediately
More information
This World Stroke Day let’s all make a commitment to work towards preventing stroke by changing our lifestyle and being aware of the symptoms. This is so important for the black community as we are twice as likely to develop stroke.
For more information on stroke you can visit the following websites:
