Suryati Five Year Encroached Cista Ovary

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Tribune reporterreports Pontianak, Slamet Santoso Bowo

TRIBUNNEWS.COM, SINTANG - Suryati (32) of patients with ovarian cista (cistaovary-red) which are currently being treated in the maternity ward III class Ahospitals Ade M Djoen Sintang people need a helping hand.

The grant will be used to meet operating expenses and the drugs, since thefamily came from poor families.

Suryati is the wife of Ari Isnandar (38) Mangau Hamlet, Village Nanga Toran,Kayan Hulu Subdistrict Sintang District, West Kalimantan cista ovarian diseasesince the last five years, after giving birth to her youngest child about theyear 2005.

When this swelling of the stomach Suryati already crock, and cause the leg andbadanya looked very small.

When the Tribune confirmed in the delivery room class III A hospitals Ade MDjoen Sintang, Sunday (1/29/2012) Suryati husband claimed his wife was resignedto the condition. With still hoping there are people who care and are willingto lend a generous hand to cure his beloved wife, considering her family belongto families.

"I surrender to Allah SWT with this condition, hopefully there are peoplewho care about the condition of my wife and family. Everyday that I work asrubber farmers with an average income of less than Rp 100 thousand, from theUnited Kingdom and in Sintang I've not worked "said Ari Isnandar.

During five years of suffering from diseases such ovaries Cista, Ari admittedthat he had hurt his wife's attempts to order can be cured, including referringthem to hospitals Soedarso Pontianak. Only information necessary for operatingcosts reached USD 50 million, so that he could not confess.

"If I had that much money, maybe I do not need to bring my wife here andthere because it can be directly carried out the operation. So far in ourrecovery efforts rely more on traditional means just that there is no progress.From the medical side also never explains what drugs should be taken in orderto heal my wife, "he said.

While Suryati claimed not to feel disturbed by the disease they experienced thelast five years. He said over the past five years can still indulge as usual,only the condition of the stomach is getting bigger which makes it feel heavyand a little annoyed when the activity.

"Thank God it is not too disturbing their daily activities, I can stillcook and others. Only it's hard to bring this growing belly, when to eat, peeand so did not bother him at all the same as when they are pregnant, "hesaid.

For people who terketuk Suryati his heart to help the family can contact himwith the number 082 159 972 748 Hp. Or come to class IIIa Hospital deliveryroom Ade M Djoen Sintang.

Hospital director Dr. Ade M Djoen Sintang Sidiq Handanu Widoyono Suryati ensurethe illness is a kind of tumor that attacks the ovaries. And better known bythe name Cista ovary, medical treatment for his ministry has planned surgicalremoval of the fluid in the stomach is expected to be held week beginningFebruary 2012.

"We've formed a team of doctors who will perform the operation against thedisease experienced by these patients Suryati. The team consisted of doctorsobstetrician, surgeon and physician anesthesia. Currently we are conducting thedata collection needed any medication for the operations phase, so all wentwell, "he said.

For operating costs that will be implemented by the Hospital Ade M DjoenSintang, Handanu say will be using the Regional Health Insurance (Jamkesda).

Given the patient has been admitted to hospitals but returned toPontianak Soedarso Sintang, meaning that there should be a maximum effort fromthe Hospital Ade M Djoen Sintang to deal with such patients.


Source : http://id.berita.yahoo.com/suryati-lima-tahun-digerogoti-cista-ovarium-130557994.html

Cervical Cancer Virus is a Threat to The Men

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The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is known to be one of the major causes of cervical cancer in India. Doctors now say that it can cause cancer in men as well. The strain of HPV that causes cervical cancer gets transmitted sexually — primarily through oral sex — and cause oropharangeal as well as oral cavity cancer in men.
“Poor genital hygiene is the reason. If a man or a woman has multiple sexual partners, chances of transmission increase,” says Dr Anand Vijay Bakshi, senior consultant, oncology at LH Hiranandani hospital.
Bisexual men are particularly prone to this form of cancer, according to Dr Prasad Raj Dandekar, consultant radiation oncologist at LH Hiranandani hospital. “Men who have oral sex with other men tend to be more vulnerable than men who have it with women. The virus is more easily transferred through homosexual relations,” he says.
Cases of HPV-related oral cancer are much higher in the West as the incidence of oral sex is higher there, according to Dr Vedang Murthy, consultant radiation oncologist at Tata Memorial Centre. He adds that the incidence in India is thought to be rising, but no extensive data has been collected on the matter.
“The problem in India is that the rate of tobacco-related oral cancer is so high that it often masks the HPV-related oral cancer. We don’t regularly check for HPV, but we will start soon. Tata Memorial Centre is going to launch a large-scale study into the incidence of this form of cancer in India,” says Murthy.
However, there is some good news too. “The HPV-related oral cancer is more responsive to radiation and chemotherapy than other forms of oral cancers,” says Dr Boman Dhabar, oncologist at Fortis Hospital.
The only precautions that can be taken against the occurrence of this type of cancer are vaccination of women and safe sex.
“Women should take the HPV vaccine… Not only will this stop the spread of oral cancer in men, but also reduce the risk of cervical cancer.” “In the West, many men also take the HPV vaccine in the hope that it will shield them from HPV-related oral cancer. As of now, there isn’t any conclusive evidence to prove that the vaccine works on men, but clinical trials are on to check the same,” he adds.



Source : http://www.dnaindia.com/health/report_cervical-cancer-virus-is-a-threat-to-the-men-too_1646376

Cervical Cancer And Hepatitis

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SIGNS OF CERVICAL CANCER:
There are no signs of early cervical cancer. It is therefore necessary for every woman to have regular pap test. A woman with cervical cancer sometimes have example Unusual vagina bleeding including vaginal bleeding after menopause, spotting or discharge, pains during sex.

WHO IS AT RISK OF CERVICAL CANCER?
Men do not have cervical cancer, only Women are at risk of having cervical cancer. Women child bearing age and beyond.

PREVENTION OPPORTUNITY;
Regular screening for early detection using the pap test. Women should have regular pap smears from the age of 21 years or three years after the onset of sexual intercourse. Regular pap smears detect abnormalities of the lining of the cervix years before it progresses to cervical cancer many of this abnormalities can be tested if detected early. Correct and consistent use of condom may provide some protection against HPV.
Avoid risky sexual behaviors.

Human Papillona Virus[HPV] is a sexually transmitted virus and a major cause of cervical cancer. HPV comes by having multiple sex partners, having partners who have multiple sex partners, having sex at an early age. HPV VACCINE before a woman becomes sexually active. The vaccine is routinely given to females of age between 11, 12, 13, and 18 to catch up missed vaccine or complete the vaccination.

HEALTHY DIET
Healthy diet including eating fruits and vegetables and avoiding smoking also reduce the risk of developing cervical cancer.
Hepatitis is a disease condition of the liver in which the liver becomes sore, swollen and red as a result of the infection by a virus. This inflation [swelling] of the liver continues to increase because of the environment pollution of alcohol use, drug abuse and poor diet. Also, over use of paracetamol has been discovered to be highly responsible for increasing incidence of Hepatitis, HEPATITIS A and B are the most common.

THE SIGNS OF HEPATITIS INCLUDE:
vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, yellowness of the eyes, muscle and joint aces and pains, more on the right side of the body.

CAUSES OF HEPATITIS A AND B;
Hepatitis A is caused by infected food and common where there is poor hygiene, It spreads trough contaminated water. Hepatitis B is common in Nigeria and is caused by infected blood, It is spread through unprotected sex, sharing injection needles, blood contact or transfusion. It can also be transmitted from an infected mother to her baby during labor and delivery.
Mother to child transmission of Hepatitis B can be prevented by immunizing children with Hepatitis vaccine.
TREATMENT;

Cancer is a very deadly and expensive disease but if treated early,can be effectively managed at very good health facilities. Cervical cancer is often treated with a combination of surgery radiation and chemotherapy.




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6412402

The Signs of Cervical Cancer

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Cervical cancer is the second-most common cause of death from cancer in women. But unlike breast cancer (the leading cause), cervical cancer usually has no early symptoms.
It's not until the cancer grows into nearby tissues that symptoms begin to show, says Gynecologic Oncologist Yvonne C. Collins, M.D. If you have any of these symptoms, see your doctor right away. While their cause might not be cancer, it's important to have them checked out.

Unusual Vaginal Discharge
The cervix is shaped like a doughnut, and often cancer grows inside the opening. When this happens, the cells around the opening of the cervix will slough off, producing profuse watery discharge.

Vaginal Bleeding or Pain
Cervical cancer can also grow around the perimeter of the cervix, causing the edges to become dry and cracked, like chapped lips. That means any disturbance, from having sex to walking, can tear open the cracks and cause bleeding. And that's not comfortable.

Anemia
Symptomatic abnormal vaginal bleeding can reduce the number of red blood cells and the amount of oxygen in the body, producing extreme fatigue.

Ongoing Pelvic, Leg, or Back Pain
Cervical cancer can cause the cervix to swell until it pushes against neighboring blood vessels. The cervix can then block blood flow from the bottom of the legs to the rest of the body, causing pain and, often, "cankles."

Urinary Problems
Cervical cancer can lead to a blockage of the kidneys and the muscles that propel urine to the bladder, making it difficult to urinate.

Bleeding from the Rectum or Bladder
When the cervix swells a lot, it can crowd the nearby bladder and rectum, creating small fistulas, or tears, in the tissues.

Weight Loss
Cancer—no matter what type—suppresses appetite. Plus, in advanced stages of cervical cancer, the cervix can swell to press against the stomach, limiting the space available for food. All can result in extreme or sudden weight loss.




Source : http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/cervical-cancer-symptoms#axzz1m3fN68Rj

Promising ovarian cancer drug is being tested in Sarasota

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Sarasota Memorial Hospital is the first site in the world to enroll participants in a study using newly diagnosed ovarian cancer patients’ immune systems to create a personalized drug designed to target and destroy their deadly disease.
Should the custom-blended medicine, called CVac, succeed in keeping the cancer from returning, it could extend the lives of more than 22,000 U.S. women whose cancer is diagnosed each year. There is even a chance that CVac — called a vaccine because of its potential to immunize the patient — could be made powerful enough to prevent ovarian cancer in the first place.
The experimental vaccine, developed by Primo BioMed in Australia, has passed safety studies and won approval for marketing in the Middle East. Other clinical trials have involved women with advanced ovarian cancer, but this is the first study of effectiveness in newly diagnosed patients.
The enthusiasm of one local women’s cancer specialist thrust Southwest Florida into the global picture in ovarian cancer research. This is the kind of advanced-stage study once confined to major academic centers. But new technologies are enabling people in places like Sarasota to participate in cutting-edge research without leaving home. Three local women have already been accepted in the study, said James Fiorica, the principal investigator in the research who pushed for trial here.
The Sarasota collaboration also involves other oncologists and radiologists, the hospital’s oncology research department and Suncoast Communities Blood Bank.
Ovarian cancer most often strikes women over 55, and has a high fatality rate because its symptoms are usually so subtle — bloating and abdominal discomfort — that the cancer spreads to other parts of the body before detection. CVac is designed for the 80 percent of ovarian cancer patients whose tumors contain an antigen called mucin-1, which the vaccine was developed to seek out and kill.
There is no guarantee the vaccine will work, and 50 percent of patients in the study will be getting a placebo instead of the real thing. But vaccines will be created for all participants, Fiorica said. If during the trial it becomes clear that the vaccine is working, those who have been given placebos would receive it as well.
And those who are chosen for the CVac trial will have little to lose, since there are no other preventive treatments currently available.
A novel approach
Surgery is the current standard treatment for ovarian cancer, followed by chemotherapy, Fiorica said. After that, there is little a doctor can do but observe the patient, hoping tumors will not reappear. CVac has the potential to prevent a relapse.


Read here for the rest of article...





Source : http://health.heraldtribune.com/2012/02/08/promising-ovarian-cancer-drug-is-being-tested-in-sarasota 

AIDS Drug Re-Evaluation

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In April of 2011, an AIDS drug- Truvada- was pulled from clinical trials after several African women participants were getting infected with the virus. These participants were in relationships where their male partners were infected with the virus.

This week, however, scientists at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections showed that the results may not have come from a lack of efficacy on the drug's part. Blood samples taken from the participants revealed that only one in four women who had gotten infected during the trials had any trace of Truvada in their blood- suggesting the pills were never taken. This new information leaves researcher and physicians alike with conflicting feelings- on one hand, the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis may decrease one's probability of viral infectivity, on the other, even if the stated case is true, behavioral choices may prevent these forms of preventative care from working. The behavioral choices may be influenced by social norms and stigmas- the presence of AIDS medication in several African regions (as well as regions worldwide) have negative stigma associated with them.

In the United States, incidence rates have plateaued at approximately 50,000 annual cases with a good portion of these cases being identified as black women from lower socio-economic statuses. New efforts have been implemented aimed at proper screening and diagnostics for "at-risk" groups including the Center for Disease Control's new "Take Charge. Take the Test." initiative.

-Angela Ceseña

Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/09/health/research/setback-on-aids-pill-is-re-evaluated.html?_r=1&ref=health

Prospects of HIV - treatment, prevention, challenges

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One of the greatest hindrances in HIV treatment is the fact that these viruses remain in latent stages, making them hard to target by drugs. At the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, Dr. De Cock (director of the Center for Global Health at the CDC) stated the necessity of drugs to trigger viruses to come out of their latent state in order for treatments to be effective in killing the virus.
The article also talked about the difficulty of developing a HIV vaccine. In order for a vaccine to be effective, the body must recognize aspects of the vaccine and mount an immune system stimulating production of memory lymphocytes that would recognize the wild type virus. However, HIV is integrated into the host genome and avoid antibody response.
A new drug developed by Merck, Zolinza (vorinostat) can disrupt latent HIV infection and may aid in HIV treatment. However, it seems like we are far from curing HIV since only one provirus is needed to maintain infection.
I'm most interested in the development of HIV vaccine - it seems like the largest road block in developing a vaccine is the integration feature of HIV. If we use a integrase inhibitor in combination with vaccine, would that make the vaccine more effective? Wonder if anyone experimented with the use of prophylactic integrase inhibitor.


-Michelle Jin
-Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/354072/progress-no-big-breakthrough-hunt-hiv-cure

Clinical Trials for Dengue Vaccine

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Another Dengue vaccine is about to move from monkeys to humans! The vaccine, developed by the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Center in Cuba (Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología) and the Pasteur Institute, acts on all four serotypes. Clinical trials will begin later this year. Interestingly, the drive for a dengue vaccine in Cuba was lead by Fidel Castro after the 1981 outbreak that killed hundreds.

There are also at least five other vaccines in the pipeline, all of them tetravalent for reasons we all know. There's one by Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKlein, the NIH, Inviragen (CDC), and Merck. The Sanofi Pasteur vaccine is probably entering Phase III trials and can possibly be licensed as early as 2015; the others are entering Phase I or II. There are live attenuated chimeric and genetically modified vaccines, purified subunit vaccines, vaccina-recombinant vaccines, and even DNA vaccines. Reference.

Let's hope at least one of them can make it out and become a much-needed, internationally useful vaccine.

-Annelise

Tracing Rabies in Europe

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This article provides an exemplary account for en epidimiological tracing. While this is particularly about a rabies case in the Netherlands, this process and study can and should be applied to any sort of epidimiological investigation.

At the end of January, a rabid dog was imported from Morocco to the Netherlands. The puppy was acquired by a Dutch couple, who give an account for the progressive behavior change in the puppy. On February 14th, they contacted their local veterinary agency, explaining that they had both been bitten by the dog. A few days later, the puppy's behavior became uncontrollable, and it was euthanized by officials. Post-exposure prophylaxis was arranged for both of them, and all 43 contacts were informed and categorized into degree of exposure.

Why did this puppy manage to get imported, adopted, given a pet passport, etc. without any single person checking its rabies status? Illegal animal imports and bad veterinary practices continue to be the major cause for rabies showing up in Europe, where it is a common practice to adopt animals.

http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=20112


Pooja

Less HPV Screening Recommended

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Based on data from the past 30 years, the United States Preventitive Agency has released new guidelines recommending pap smears to occur no more than every three years. The data indicate that no significantly greater amount of cervical cancer cases were discovered by pap smears, as explained by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. One reason for the recommendations was the reducing the number of false-positives, and therefore preventing unnecessary painful biopsies and pregnancy difficulties.

Many have accused the task force of altering their recommendations based on the cost of the tests, but they insist that this is not the case.

The relevant part of this is also the recommendation to avoid testing women under the age of 30 for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). They say that even though women under 30 can get HPV, they can almost all clear the virus from the body themselves and need no treatment. It will not affect the rates of diagnosis, since so many positives are currently false positives.

http://news.yahoo.com/hpv-testing-recommended-women-over-30-223201980.html

Pooja

Rwandans Who Inspire Me

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I want to take this blog post to highlight some of thepeople from my village who have been inspiring to me personally and to me represent the best of Rwanda.
EmertheEmerthe is in her mid-twenties and owns the house I live in.She is a genocide orphan yet somehow she still managed to become an infinitelywarm hearted person whose patience and kindness I so heavily depended on when Ifirst arrived at my site. Emerthe was born andraised here in Rwabicuma and is known and loved by everyone. She invited me todo everything with her and our other roommate, Clotilde. Through Emerthe Ibecame a part of the community.
I love Emerthe’s enthusiasm for life. Young women in Rwandaare traditionally supposed to be quiet and demure but Emerthe loves to jump inat community meetings and sing loudly at church. She was the ExecutiveSecretary of the cell office (our local village government office) for my firstyear here, although she has since been transferred to another cell. Last yearEmerthe represented our community at our GLOW (Girl’s Leading Our World) Campand she was so enthusiastic about the camp and excited for the campers from ourtown.  Her loving enthusiasm and quiteconfidence make her a natural leader. I wish there were more people like her ingovernment all over the world.
The thing I will remember the most about Emerthe is how sheloves to laugh and people love to laugh with her. One of my greatest regretsleaving Rwanda is that I will miss Emerthe’s wedding which will take place inthe end of December but I hope to visit her and meet her children-to-be insome  not too distant future.                                           Emerthe at a Memorial Ceremony in Traditional Dress

                                          The Three Housemates!  Clotilde, me, and Emerthe.

VincentVincent is also an English teacher at G.S. Rwabicuma. Inaddition to teaching Vincent is a full time university student at the NationalUniversity in Butare where he studies journalism. Despite exhaustingand expensive travel between our school and his school, Vincent is consistentlycheerful, engaged, and professional. Vincent has a true knack for languages andloves speaking English and asking me about life in America. One of my favoritecross-cultural discussions with Vincent happened the other week as we werewalking back from a ceremony. He was asking me about tire shoes. Throughouteast Africa you can find these quite practical and often surprisinglyexpressive and attractive sandals with soles made from used tires. I thought wewere talking about these tire-soled shoes. He asked if I knew what these ‘tireshoes’ were and I told him I did. He asked me if they were difficult to use,how can you go so fast? I looked at him, puzzled, and said I guess you can gofast in them but it’s probably okay. He asked how you stop when you are goingso fast in your tire shoes, again puzzled, I told him you just stop.  After a few more questions I realized he wastalking about roller skates!  Shoes withactual tires! 
In addition to Vincent’s responsibilities as a student and ateacher he volunteers his time once a week to lead our school’s anti-AIDSclub.  I plan the lessons, we discussthem, and then Vincent teaches the lessons to the club in Kinyarwanda.  This week we are hosting the first everNyanza region BE (Boys Excelling) Camp and Vincent will be one of our adultfacilitators.  Vincent’s commitment tohis students, his own future, and new ideas is inspiring.

Vincent Helping Students at Anti-AIDS Club

Mama GitokoMama Gitoko is perhaps the jolliest person I have ever met.We got along immediately. One of my first days in the village I was wonderingaround aimlessly as the population unabashedly gaped at my foreignness. Iremember so clearly walking past her house and greeting her as I was greetingeveryone, bracing myself for whatever awkward or bizarre response might follow,but she just laughed. Not a jeering laugh but a sweet laugh of pure delight atmy fumbling effort at Kinyarwanda. When everyone else found my foreignnessbizarre and rather frightening, Mama Gitoko thought it was hilarious and Iloved being around her. She loved when I would come to visit her, even when myKinyarwanda was awful and we had to resort to hand gestures and sometimes evenshadow puppets to communicate. As my Kinyarwanda improved she continued tospeak slowly and use simple vocabulary that she knows I can understand. We cantalk for over an hour even though she only speaks Kinyarwanda because shereally tries to meet me at my level. She is the only one in the world who knowsexactly how much Kinyarwanda I know. Over the last two years she has trulytaken on a motherly role, always giving me a snack of warm milk or porridgewhen I come to visit and fussing over my hair, how rough and dark my skin hasbecome, forcing me to eat because I’m getting much too thin, and alwayschastising me for not visiting enough. Mama Gitoko expects all of my guests tocome to her house and meet her.
Mama Gitoko’s joie devivre makes it sometimes hard to believe she has been through as much asshe has.  Mama Gitoko was part of a hugesprawling family that owned most of land in the area before the genocide.During my first Genocide Memorial Week she took me to her house and pulled outa photo album and showed me family pictures from the seventies and eighties.Every single person in the photos, including both her parents, all of hersiblings, and her daughter’s father, was killed during the genocide. Not onlydid Mama Gitoko survive the genocide, she went on to serve as a judge at thelocal gacaca courts and had the strength to pardon those killers who werewilling to repent and promise the live a better life.  Mama Gitoko’s one international trip was whenshe was brought to Kenya to teach people from other East African countriesabout the gacaca courts.

Mama Gitoko tells people she has two daughters, her naturalborn daughter, Gitoko, and her American daughter, Mackenzie. Mama Gitoko is afarmer and works as a gardener at the local government office.  She has diligently saved her meager salary tobe able to send her daughter Gitoko to boarding school for upper secondaryschool, which she started this year. Every term Mama Gitoko asks me to look at her report card, which iswritten in English, to tell her how Gitoko did. Gitoko is doing wonderfully at school and her English has improved dramatically.  While at school, Gitoko borrows someone’sphone every couple of weeks to call me and say hello. I can’t imagine my lifein Rwanda without these two women.  In myeyes, Mama Gitoko and Gitoko embody the best in Rwanda.  They have survived Rwanda’s darkest chapter,deeply scarred but resilient.  They haveworked to bring the country back together and Mama Gitoko is committed tobuilding brighter future for her daughter and her country.

Mama Gitoko and I Greeting
                                                          Gitoko, me, and Mama Gitoko

An Interview with Teachers about Gender Equality in Rwanda

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Sarah EpplinEd 3 - Kirehe District, Eastern Province


I live in a village in the middle ofnowhere about a 1.5 hour moto ride North-East of Kibungo. Since site visit, I’ve considered my village a verystrange hole in the wall because though it is far from anywhere, it is a bigvillage. For description’s sake, it’s possible to buy trunks, mattresses, andchocolate any day of the week. Because of its size, people who live in Nashodon’t consider our village as the “countryside.” It is not the countryside, butit is not mu mujyi – instead it issomewhere in-between, so I call it umudugudumunini (large village).
I decided to interview two of my co-workers at G.S. Rugoma(a third joined the conversation late) about Gender Equality. I was curiousabout their thoughts, as they live and work in a big village that has mostlymale leaders, though female ones are striving through. Our Head Teacher, even,at my school is female. About half the teachers are female, with a majorityteaching at the primary school.
What I expected from the interview was some kind of insightinto their personal ideas, but as the conversation continued, I realized thatas anywhere in Rwanda, the subject of Gender Equality is greeted with repeatedphrases, an indication that gender equality is not understood in all ways itcould be. The message my fellow teachers wanted me to grasp was thatin Rwanda, gender equality is present when males and females are workingtogether and that if both try, they are capable of doing a given task. It isimportant to note the comments at the end, explaining that before the genocide,there were no female leaders, but now the constitution says 30% of leaders mustbe female. As Americans, it is easier to notice the differences between oursocieties and to recognize the inequalities, but that fact alone shows thatthough buhoro buhoro (slowly byslowly), there is improvement. What I wished for them to mention, though theydidn’t, was the ever-present gender roles in Rwandan society, but perhapsanother day.
Please note that I havetranscribed this interview without changes to the language or grammar used bythe interviewees. Rwanda is a country where many of its citizens are learningEnglish as their 3^rd or even 4^th language. I communicatein simple English, and this is reflected here.
Sarah Epplin:G.S. Rugoma has both female and male teachers. Do you think this is important?Why or why not?Male Teacher(MT): Yes, it is important to have female and male teachers because gender isvery important in our education.Female Teacher (FT): Yes! Itis important. I think that everywhere we need the boy and the girl.SE: In whatways do the male teachers try to help the female teachers?MT: Maleteachers help female teachers as the female teachers can help the male teachersin their lessons. All of them, male and female teachers, can have the sameperformance in their activities.FT: Not.Because the females…we have the ideas.SE: In whatways do the female teachers try to help the male teachers?MT: Yes,female teachers can help male teachers. That means that female teachers can beclever someway than male teachers. I can give you example. Betty can be betterin English than me. Or she can be better in mathematics than me. And so we canhelp each other.SE: How dothe teaching methods differ between the male and female teachers?MT:Methodologically, there are different ways to teach. We cannot confirm thatfemale teachers can be better than male there is not a best method of teaching.The best method of teaching is that one that can help students understandbetter their lesson.FT: It isnot the same. Everyone uses the methods that are the best for us.SE:  Do you think the male teachers have anyadvantages that the female teachers don’t have? If so, what?MT: No,because there is gender equality, male teachers cannot have advantages.FT: Myanswer is the same.SE: Do youthink the female teachers have any advantages that the male teachers don’thave? If so, what?MT: Okay,the previous answer can answer that question.SE: TheRwandan government is trying to promote gender equality. Give me examples ofhow Rwanda has gender equality, socially, privately, and professionally.MT:Professionally, when we are here, both female and male teachers can have thesame advantages in their profession. Socially, in ceremonies, during weddings,both female and male can have the same advantages. Another example is that whenpeople are there at hospitals, searching for medicines, both female and malepeople can receive the same services. Privately, at home, parents are male andfemale so that the children can be involved in their life at home. If one isdoing the work, another can help.FT: No ideasfor me. The same as him.SE: In what ways do you think gender equality could improve in Rwanda?                      MT: Becauseour country is promoting gender equality, slowly by slowly I think there is nobig improvement because our country tries to reach the gender equality. It issaid that our country is not big, but for me it is not true. Our country hasdifferent regions. Rural regions and urban regions, so people in urbancommunities and rural regions cannot understand in the same ways, so that youcan find that in some regions, the gender equality has not take place at thesame level as other regions. People in urban regions can understand better thanpeople in rural regions. In rural regions, you can find a man who does not helphis wife. But in urban regions, people can help each other.SE: Whatadvice would you give a young boy about gender equality?MT: Theadvice to give to my students about gender equality is that they can help eachother without separation, without thinking that this is a boy and this is agirl and I cannot help him or her, but that they can help each other.FT: The boyand the girl are equal.SE: Whatadvice would you give a young girl about gender equality?MT: It isthe same advice as the previous question. What I can add is that all studentsare equal as [FT] has said.FT: The sameadvice as before.MT2: My ideaabout gender in Rwanda: before genocide, the government did not focus ongender, but after genocide, the Government on National Unity is trying to teachabout gender. In education, girls and boys are learning together in the sameconditions. There is something called a bonus, to help girls attend classes, sothe number of girls is increasing because the government is sensitizing andtrying to help girls learn. Both girls and boys are working together, so whenthey for example clean the classroom or do umuganda – they can be together,they can work together. Some women can be drivers. I can say in general inRwanda gender is promoted.SE: How cangender equality be improved in Rwanda?MT2: It canimprove if all leaders try to sensitize or to mobilize, to go on teachingpeople that they are the same. They may not have the same force or the samepower. In the Bible, women are always weak, but they have to mobilize them towork hard so that everyone is at the same level. It will be possible.SE: Anythingto add?MT2: Before,no woman or girl was a leader. It was always men, but today the nationalconstitution says that 30% of the leaders must be women, and so bit by bit, Ithink the number of women will increase. It is good to be here with you, anAmerican girl, at G.S. Rugoma. We are happy to improve our gender equality. 

The Forgotten, by Pamela B.

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Pamela BoulwareHealth 3 - Kayonza District, Eastern Province



Motherhood and prostitution have a lot more incommon than one might assume. Both are largely thankless professions into whichmany women unwittingly fall and out of which they rarely, if ever, are able toextricate themselves. Doomed to a life of service to others, most of whom havelittle if any understanding of the depth of commitment involved in suchservice, women in these professions are never properly appreciated or decentlycompensated, and are doomed to be tossed aside like so much refuse once their perceivedusefulness has expired.-The Utter Follyof a Life of Service: Women and the Trap of Selflessness

            Thequote above states the obvious; women are not appreciated for the servicesrendered in motherhood and prostitution. While it is true, women carry the burdenof child birth which in many cases women die. This fact has led me to writethis entry. On July 10, 2012, I was told that the wife of a teacher at myschool died giving birth to their first child, which survived. We have a tendencyto associate parenting with solely women. Therefore, there is little or no acknowledgementto the men. However, what happens when, like in this case, women die givingbirth. In this entry, I want to take time to acknowledge the role men play inparenthood.             SinceI have begun my service here in Rwanda, I have befriended three families thathave been struck with tragedy and the husband has been left to handle thestresses of raising a family alone. In a society that places a big emphasis onwomen as the structural support in the home, on a 1-hour dusty walk, I wasgiven the privilege to have a quick unplanned chat with a father of one of thefamilies about how his role has changed since the death of his “best friend.” Sincefinding out about the loss of his wife I tried to keep conversations light andtalk about happy things sometimes not talk at all and just walk in comfortablesilence. One day while walking to work, I seen a little baby running after hermother which was going to fetch water. The mother told the child to return home,to where I see, what is believed to be the grandmother with three other smallchildren. I look to my friend while shaking my head and asked, “Ri abagaboaho?” Where are the men?             Hewas silent for so long I thought he had not heard my question but before Icould ask again he said “tumeze hano,” we are here. We continued walking insilence, then he states that in Rwanda, particularly in Mwili, an area inKayonza. There is a problem with jobs. Many men work near the National Park,which is far. In the village, women may stay at home and men go to work but ifone has no wife to stay home with the kids he has to find more work to havemore money to pay someone to help take care of the kids. He mentions that here,culture gives the man many family responsibilities that the foreigner will notsee or understand because they are not Rwandandese.

As I thought about his last comment I came to understand his meaning, in that living here as an American, people have many ideas about the American people in which they recieve from television, books, radios and word of mouth.  I believe at times it is so easy to hold on to the negative parts of society because its easier to understand while the actuality is rather multifaceted. In a rather complex society, to an outsider such as myself, I have a new found respect for the men in these families.
Only a dad with a tired face,Coming home from the daily race,Bringing little of gold or fame,To show how well he has played the game,But glad in his heart that his own rejoiceTo see him come and to hear his voice. Only a dad with a brood of four,One of ten million men or more.Plodding along in the daily strife,Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,With never a whimper of pain or hate,For the sake of those who at home await. Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,Merely one of the surging crowdToiling, striving from day to day,Facing whatever may come his way,Silent, whenever the harsh condemn,And bearing it all for the love of them. Only a dad but he gives his allTo smooth the way for his children small,Doing, with courage stern and grim,The deeds that his father did for him.This is the line that for him I pen:Only a dad, but the best of men.

Anonymous

GAD Program Ideas

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Whitney GoldmanHealth 3 – Nyaruguru District, Southern Province

As a Health volunteer in Rwanda, the world is youroyster.  While we are often paired withHealth Centers and have official counterparts, our time is largely ourown.  This is both a blessing and a curseas deciding on project ideas can be overwhelming.  There are potential projects and projectpartners everywhere. Not to mention that serving at a new post (Rwanda &site), it’s difficult to connect with existing PCV programs and projects. 
I think a good place to start with the Peace Corps RwandaGAD blog is with the concrete.  As acommittee, what information can we provide to make our meetings and ideasrelevant to others serving in this beautiful country?  So today, I want to share some potentialproject ideas that PCVs can potentially implement at their sites.
1.  Work with your sector to add an education component to current SGBV punishments
Our site is close to the sector office and we have sectorofficials coming and going fairly often. The Social Affairs person is part of the steering committee for thecommunity health worker cooperative, the education secretary is working with anoutside NGO to provide Mutuelle toprimary school students.  Basically, wesee the sector folks a lot.  Working withlocal officials is a great way to partner with community stakeholders outsideyour health center or school.  Realizingthis, we came to think about how we could develop a partnership.  We started asking about things that we saw.
In our sector, the current punishment for any SGBV offenderis a monetary one.  There is littleincentive to report family members, as we live in a rural, impoverishedarea.  If you were a subsistence farmerwith little to no income, would you report your spouse?
Ideally, we’d love to create a multi-pronged interventionincluding education across age and gender, behavior change communication, and lawenforcement.  We know that a comprehensiveapproach is best.  However, by includingan educational component to the current system, we can help illustrate adifferent method of dealing with SGBV offenders, and begin a discussion abouthow to integrate a more comprehensive approach.
2.  Integratefamily planning services into general consultation at your local health center
For any number of reasons, women might not want others toknow they have come to the health center to receive family planningservices.  One way to secureconfidentiality is to work with health center staff to provide family planningin the general consultation room.  Thisintegration of services allows for discretion and may offer health center staffthe opportunity to enroll women on the spot. Speak with the health center director and head nurse of family planningto get the conversation started.  It’s a fairlysimple process.  All you need to do ismove the required forms to the consultation room and let your community knowthat a change has been made (Community Health Workers and village chiefs aregreat at spreading the word).
3.  Connectwith community members that work on SGBV
There are many organizations that have worked / are workingon SGBV in Rwanda.  Community membershave been elected and trained in collaborating with the local government officeon SGBV issues.  From my understanding,each village has 4 people working on SGBV in their community.  You can find out who these people are byasking the social affairs and civil service folks at your sector.  You can conduct a needs and assets assessmentwith members of each village.  What dothey do?  What do they know?  What obstacles do they see?  How can you work together?  They are a great community-based resource andcould benefit from both the soft and technical skills PCVs often possess. 
4.  Starta girls’ activity or club at your school
GLOW clubs, girls’ soccer games, dance groups, running clubs(you could bring your runners to the Kigali marathon) – the possibilities areendless!  Don’t forget about the LifeSkills Manual, now in Kinyarwanda.  It’sa great resource with pre-made lesson plans spanning a range of topicsincluding peer pressure, communication, HIV/AIDS, and sexual health.  There is a soft copy that many PCVs have andyou can ask your program manager for a copy, too.  Don’t forget to ask around for other general cluband activity ideas - people are doing some great things.
5.  Connectwith initiatives happening in Rwanda 
Ask well-connected people about what’s happening inRwanda.  It seems everyday there is a newprogram rolling out in our district.  Keepup-to-date by engaging other PCVs about their projects, asking PC staff (all ofthem) about programs they’ve heard about, independently researching buddingNGOs in Rwanda.
i.e.: We just read about an awesome project helping women,Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE). They make feminine products from locally available materials and have anoffice in Kigali.  We’ve contacted theorganization and are waiting to hear back. I promise to let you know what we find out. 
6. Work on an income generating activity (IGA) with a community group
Volunteers are implementing some great IGAs that you caneasily replicate at your site.  Animalhusbandry projects with cows, rabbits, or chickens, for example.  At our site, we’re processing soymilk to sellat the local market with a youth club. SPA grants are a great way to coverstart-up costs and are straightforward to apply for.  Plus, the money usually arrives sooner than withother grants available to PCVs.  Reliablesources of income are often difficult to find in areas with limited workopportunities.  Even a small IGA can allowthe beneficiaries to pay for things such as health insurance, school fees, andnutritious foods.
7.  Invitean organization to do a training at your work-site regarding appropriate workrelationships and sexual harassment
GIZ (a German NGO working in Rwanda) has some resourcesavailable and Rwandan facilitators trained to discuss this topic.  It could be a great secondary project or away to kick off a larger SGBV program.
___ 
This is just a sampling of a long list of ideas.  Be sure to check in with your favorite GADrepresentative about new project ideas as we move along.  There is a GAD manual currently indevelopment that we hope to be able to share with you soon.  We’re here to be a resource for you!

Whitney

Camp Be and Glow round two with an entrepreneur twist

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In my last blog post I wrote about campBe and some of the things that went on during that camp. This year myregion did another two camps at my school. After last year we wantedto focus on the theme of entrepreneurship. With most volunteers inmy region successfully starting GLOW and BE clubs we needed to helpstudents in making those clubs sustainable.
One common reoccurring problem mostvolunteers have faced when teaching with their students and evendealing with their schools and the education system is the a lack ofcreativity. To put more precisely; a lack of an ability to criticallythink and problem solve. Most teachers teach by giving students notesthen leaving class. The students copy the notes into their notebooksand then they are expected to memorize those notes. Many of theteachers will collect the students notebooks at the end of the termand will mark them for completeness and neatness. These methods donot produce students who can critically think, problem solve orbrainstorm.
So this year when planing out what wewould do for our GLOW and BE camp we decided to focus on creativityand entrepreneurship. Most of the activities we did there based onthis theme. The advantages of having such a theme for our camp isthat it will help them be more successful after they finish school. Asecond advantage is it will also help make our GLOW and BE camps moresustainable by giving students ideas and ways to raise funds for theclubs.
Activities we did during our GLOW andBE camp ranged from basket weaving; where we had a cooperative ofwomen come and show students how to make baskets to making pizza (mypersonal favorite) to making water prof cell phone cases for peoplesphones. The students really had fun doing these activities and evenour host school was fascinated by the pizza making operations. Forour second camp, the school even selected some of their cooks toobserve how to make pizza so that they could make if for specialoccasions in the future. So, not only where we educating our studentsbut also the school staff.
One problem we did have that I noticed,especially with the basket weaving, is how some of the Rwandan malefacilitators refused to participate. When I asked them why they saidthat basket weaving was for women. I countered with do not you haveto hands and a brain? It took some convincing but by the end of thesession those facilitators where weaving there own baskets. It was alittle victory in the battle of gender roles which is very prominentin Rwandan culture.
There is still a lot of work to be donewith teaching students creative thinking and teaching students thatboth boys and girls can creativity think to solve problems. Thesecamps are just the first step and I hope that many of the clubs atour schools can take what they learned at these camps and run withit. My departure from Rwanda is only a couple months away so I canthelp wonder about what the future will bring to the land of athousand hills but my vision for this country is a country offreedom, creativity and prosperity that surpasses even what has beenaccomplished in the western world. Is this possible? Yes and Ibelieve GLOW and BE camps are helping to plant the seeds for makingthis vision a reality. 
By Joel Atwood

Human Pappiloma Virus

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Invasive squamous cell cancer.Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Hutchinson Center researchers have helped lay the groundwork for the development of life-saving vaccines for the human papillomavirus (HPV), a viral infection proven to cause cervical cancer. Our scientists have also studied the link between HPV and the development of cervical cancer in some women, genetic factors that may predict outcomes in women with cancer and strategies for improving screening rates in populations with high incidence of cervical cancer.

Facta - Facta Causes HPV :

• Cervical cancer develops in the tissues of the cervix, which connects a woman’s uterus and vagina.
  
• Cervical cancer is usually a slow-growing cancer that may not have symptoms but can be found with regular Pap tests, a procedure in which cells are scraped from the cervix and scrutinized under a microscope.
  
• Human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease, is the primary cause of cervical cancer. The virus is present in virtually all cases of invasive cervical cancer.
  
• There are now two approved vaccines, approved for males and females ages 9 to 26, that protect against the types of HPV that cause most cervical cancer cases.
  
• Since most women are exposed to the kind of HPV that cause cervical cancer but do not develop cancer, it is likely that other factors contribute to the development of cervical cancer. (Some of these co-factors include early age at first intercourse, cigarette smoking, nutrition, and genetics.)
  
• Cervical cancer used to be one of the most common causes of cancer death among American women, but thanks to widespread use of the Pap test, early detection of precancerous and early-stage cancers has improved, boosting survival rates significantly. Worldwide, however, cervical cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer death among women in low-resource settings.

Source : http://www.fhcrc.org/content/public/en/diseases/cervical-cancer.html

HPV Vaccine

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- Dr. Denise Galloway and colleagues laid the groundwork for development of Gardasil and Cervarix, the two vaccines that have been found to prevent HPV infection in women. Gardasil, approved for use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration in 2006, prevents HPV types 16 and 18, which account for 70 percent of cervical cancers, and HPV types 6 and 11, which cause 90 percent of genital warts. Cervarix is licensed for use in Europe. Galloway, along with researchers in Australia and at the National Institutes of Health, accomplished the critical step of getting a key viral gene to assemble into particles that look like HPV, forming the basis of today's vaccine. Learn more »






Source : http://www.fhcrc.org/content/public/en/diseases/cervical-cancer.html

HPV And Cervical Cancer

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Genes, HPV and Cervical Cancer – Research by Dr. Margaret Madeleine and colleagues found that certain gene variants may lead to the development of cervical cancer in women with HPV infection. By analyzing immune-system genes — known as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes — of women with and without cervical cancer, researchers found evidence that certain gene variants may affect women's cancer risk. The discovery may help explain why only a small proportion of women infected with the cancer-causing form of HPV develop cervical cancer and ultimately aid scientists as they continue to develop cancer treatments in women already infected with HPV. Learn more »




Source : http://www.fhcrc.org

Human Papilloma Virus ( H P V )

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Genes, HPV and Cervical Cancer – Research by Dr. Margaret Madeleine and colleagues found that
certain gene variants may lead to the development of cervical cancer in women with HPV infection. By analyzing immune-system genes — known as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes — of women with and without cervical cancer, researchers found evidence that certain gene variants may affect women's cancer risk. The discovery may help explain why only a small proportion of women infected with the cancer-causing form of HPV develop cervical cancer and ultimately aid scientists as they continue to develop cancer treatments in women already infected with HPV. Learn more »

Detection & Diagnosis

Increasing screening in ethnic communities – Hispanic women have about twice the risk of developing invasive cervical cancer as non-Hispanic women, and Hispanic women are less likely to get regular Pap tests. Research by Dr. Carol Moinpour and colleagues has suggested that Hispanic female cancer survivors who are trained as lay health educators can successfully increase cancer-screening rates among their network of family members and friends. Learn more »

Vietnamese women have higher rates of cervical cancer than any other racial or ethnic group (including Hispanics), according to cancer-registry data. Surveys of Seattle-area Vietnamese-American women led by Drs. Vicky Taylor, Stephen Schwartz and colleagues have shed some light on the cultural beliefs that may explain why such women tend not to be screened regularly. Learn more »

Treatment & Prognosis

Predicting mortality – Dr. Stephen Schwartz and colleagues observed that a strain of human papillomavirus called HPV 18, found in up to 30 percent of women with cervical cancer, appears to be associated with a mortality rate nearly double that of other HPV-related cervical cancers. Results of the research confirm several previous smaller studies that suggest HPV 18 may be an excellent indicator, or biomarker, for predicting outcomes for women diagnosed with early-stage cervical cancer. Learn more »



Source : http://www.fhcrc.org

Cervical cancer vaccine a success, says Lancet report

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Australian study of injection to protect against HPV virus reveals drop in high-grade abnormalities among under-18s

Vaccinations against the HPV virus which causes cervical cancer have been a success, according to a new study. Photograph: Voisin/Phanie/Rex Features

The first evidence has emerged that nationwide vaccination programmes for young women against HPV, the virus that triggers cervical cancer, are likely to cut the numbers who get the disease.

A study in Australia,one of the first countries to introduce the vaccination, has shown a drop in high-grade cervical abnormalities – changes to the cells in the neck of the womb that can be the precursor to cancer.
Australia introduced nationwide HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccination for women aged 12 to 26 from 2007.

While it will take many years to find out whether vaccination programmes definitely reduce the numbers of cervical cancers in the population, Australian scientists were able to analyse the results from their screening programme to find out whether there has been any drop in the number of young women with abnormal cell changes that are the precursor of cancer.

Publishing in the Lancet medical journal, they report that the proportion of girls aged 17 and younger with high-grade abnormalities fell by almost half, from 0.80% to 0.42%.
But there was no drop in the numbers of women with cervical abnormalities who were older than 17. This is unsurprising since the vaccine is known to be most effective if given to girls before they become sexually active.

That finding, say the authors, "reinforces the appropriateness of the targeting of prophylactic HPV vaccines to pre-adolescent girls".

The findings were greeted with international interest.
"The not-so-cautious optimist in us wants to hail this early finding as true evidence of vaccine effect," write Dr Mona Saraiya and Dr Susan Hariri of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, US, in a linked commentary for the journal.

But they said they wanted to know more about the vaccine status of the individuals (each woman is supposed to have three shots) and wanted more work to establish whether the reductions in potential cancers were really a result of vaccination or some other cause.

Michael Quinn, professor of gynaecology and gynaecologic oncology at the University of Melbourne, said: "The study is the first anywhere in the world to show falling rates of high-grade change in very young women.

"Although this is likely to be due to the effects of the vaccination programme, further analysis of information linking women's smear history to their vaccination history will be needed to prove that the fall is entirely due to vaccination rather than other factors."

Public health experts say that women should not assume they are not vulnerable to the disease after vaccination and should still go for regular screening checks.

The UK introduced its own cervical cancer vaccination programme in September 2008, offering the jab in school to 12- and 13-year-old girls, with catch-up programmes for those up to 18.

The cost was expected to be £100m a year. Of the two available vaccines, the UK decided to buy Cervarix, manufactured by the British company GlaxoSmithKline, even though it does not offer the additional protection against genital warts of the alternative, Gardasil.

In spite of worries that parents would refuse to have their daughters vaccinated against what is essentially a sexually-transmitted virus, the take-up has been good, according to figures from the Department of Health.
In the school year 2009/10, more than three-quarters of 12- to 13-year-olds were given all three doses of the vaccine.

• This article was amended on 17 June 20-11. The original included a reference to a fall of 0.38%. This has been corrected.






Source : http://www.guardian.co.uk