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Peptic Ulcer - A Brief Overview

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Have you ever had that gnawing pain somewhere between your breast bone and your belly button? Sometimes worse when you eat, other times worse when you are hungry? So annoying right?? Well, you could have peptic ulcer, and you are most certainly not alone. According to Harvard Health Publishing, 1 in 10 people develop peptic ulcer at some point every year. So it is indeed common, and can affect all ages.  What is peptic ulcer? Peptic ulcer, or ulcer as it is commonly referred to, is a break in the lining of the stomach wall. Let's back it up a little bit to give you some context.  The stomach is a muscular sac that plays 3 key roles: 1. Serves as a storage for food eaten and releases this food in small bits into the small intestines. 2. Contract and relax to further breakdown the food and to mix the food with the secretions for digestion.  3. The stomach lining produces and secretes digestive enzymes into the stomach to begin the digestive process. As part of these secretions is a v

Cervical Cancer FAQs

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  Cervical cancer as already established is among the leading causes of cancer death amongst Ghanaian women. In fact cervical cancer kills over 2,000 Ghanaian women annually. Now if you consider the fact that cervical cancer is also the only cancer that is almost entirely preventable and 100% curable if detected early it really does not make sense that it is killing so many of our women Pap smear test, develop by Papanicolaou in the 1920s, is the single most important intervention when it comes to cervical cancer. Cells go through various stages before they eventually develop into cancer cells. Some of these changes can be detected microscopically and interventions put in place to prevent progression to cancer. During a Pap smear test cells from the cervix are taking to the lab for microscopic evaluation. This measn that a Pap smear is done even before the cells show signs of cancer, very early; this is why we can achieve 100% cure rate. What is the cervix? The cervix is the mouth of

Cervical Cancer, almost 100% preventable, definitely 100% curable if....

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  Cancer is a disease in which the cells of the body grow out of control. Cancer is always named based on the part of the body it started from, even if it spreads to other parts. The cervix is the mouth of the womb, and holds the developing baby in place until it is time for delivery. Cancer arising from this part is known as Cervical Cancer.   What makes cervical cancer unique from all other cancers is that it is almost entirely preventable! In most western countries, the incidence of cervical cancer has been significantly reduced, with the introduction of effective screening tools and vaccination programs. If detected early, the cure rate is 100%. It is however baffling that in Sub-Saharan Africa, thousands of women die annually, from this highly preventable disease. In Ghana alone, 2000 women die annually from this disease.   Over 90% of cervical cancer cases are caused by Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). HPV is a sexually transmitted infection. In most people, the immune

DO THESE 3 THINGS EVERY MORNING IN 2023

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  Yes we made it to 2023. But it looks pretty much like 2022 or am I confused? 😅 Well, that's because time is always a cycle, with one cycle not much different from the other. What makes the difference is us. What we do with that cycle is what matters. My mantra, if nothing changes, nothing will, definitely holds true.  In 2023, you ought to do things a little differently if you want a different outcome compared to your previous years. And I strongly believe that these 3 things will make a major difference if you apply them consistently to your morning routine.  In 2023 work on your mindset, your healthset and your soulset daily and you can be sure that your outcome will be extremely different from what you experienced in 2022. First you need to commit to waking up 1 hour earlier than you need to. Note before you give me a lecture about how little sleep you do get, remember that you are also not satisfied with your past outcomes, so it's time to shake things up a bit. And if y

Dealing with a Hangover

It's the end of the year, which for many people means party after party!   After an education session earlier in the month of December, during the q n A session, an attendee stood and his comments began as follows “…. As for the drinking , this month, we go drink, but what happens after the drinking is what we don't like. So, doctor, how can you help us.” Suffice it to say the laughter and applause from the crowd was an unequivocal endorsement of the fact that December in Ghana is certainly the month for drinking, and that realization has culminated in the writing of this article.   I would not be a good doctor though if I did not point out that you can live without drinking alcohol; there is nothing that alcohol can add to your life that you cannot get from other healthier sources. If you decide to indulge, however, as a man, you are allowed 2 drinks a day while a woman is allowed only 1, due to their metabolic limitations regarding how their bodies process alcohol