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Are Herbicides Leading to Cancer

Herbicides and Cancer Risk

Herbicides are a class of chemicals used in agriculture. Most products containing herbicides are used in our farms and homes to control weeds and pests. These chemicals can find their way into our water and foods. When herbicides are used in plants, they end up remaining in the plant and are consumed in the food when we eat it.

Herbicides are used in all agricultural settings. It is therefore hard to do away with them if your crops are to remain healthy and yield expected results. However, there are crops that are grown without the application of herbicides.

Biotech agriculture has spread rapidly. Farmers are widely dependant on chemicals to increase yields. These chemicals have been linked to health conditions such as cancer. One of the causative factors for cancer is chemicals found in agricultural chemicals.

Most of the foods that we consume if not genetically modified is grown from chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides. These chemicals find their way into our body metabolism. This causes them to alter our body function which has been shown to greatly contribute to diseases such as cancer.

herbicides-and-cancer

Cancer is referred to as a lifestyle disease. The food you chose to eat defines your lifestyle. If your diet is mostly composed of chemical induced foods then the more likely you are at the risk of getting terminal illnesses. Refusing to regularly take exercises defines your lifestyle as well.

Exposure to herbicides occurs repeatedly and unknowingly. They are applied in different settings. Herbicides are sprayed on crops where they remain and are ingested finally in the food when we eat it. The chemicals in herbicides can also find their way into our homes through water. They are often not filtered out from our water and we end up drinking them.

Facts about Cancer

One of the factors that have been linked to cancer is chemicals. Others include, diet, lack of enough exercise, inheritance of cancer genes and infections. Cancers refer to uncontrollably growing cells in the body. This occurs when the cells are destroyed by things like chemicals. This causes cells to lose their control functions.

Cells then begin to grow uncontrollably and this leads to development of lump tissues called tumors. These tumors become toxic and end up affecting the body functioning. The cancer cells starve normal cells of energy as they consume a valuable amount of it. They grow very rapidly that they render normal cells useless.

They then start spreading to other parts of the body. They produce toxics that harm normal cells and this translates to the severe pain experienced by cancer patients.

The most common management of cancer is through surgery. Surgery is conducted on the patient to remove the cancerous tumors before they spread to other parts. If this does not work other methods such as radiation or chemo therapy are applied to kill the cancer cells and stop their growth. Others include immune therapy, stem cells transplant and many others.

How Herbicides Increase Cancer Risks

Chemicals in herbicides act as oestrogen. In normal conditions oestrogen is very important in the body. Aside from the role it plays in the reproductive cycle, it also increases essential cholesterol, maintains elasticity of blood vessels and strengthens bones for calcium absorption.

However accumulation of too much oestrogen can cause untold problems to cells by increasing their growth as well as multiplication. Increasing number of cells end up forming tumors. For this reason oestrogen is linked to breast cancer in females.

There are very many kinds of oestrogens. The natural body oestrogen is known as strong oestrogen while that found in plant foods is called weak oestrogen. Weak oestriogen counterbalances strong oestrogens and they both circulate in the body.

Herbicides causing cancer

There is also chemical oestrogen that is found in herbicides and pesticides which act like body oestrogens. All types of oestrogens work by locking onto cell receptors. High level of oestrogen in the body increases your risk of cancer.

Herbicides are continually used in agricultural setting to kill weeds and pests. The chemicals in the herbicides remain in the plant and they are ingested. Continually ingesting food grown with pesticides increases the amount of chemical oestrogen in the body. This then alters normal cell functioning leading then to grow rapidly and out of control.

In this way, chemicals found in pesticides can increase your potential for cancer. When the cells over grow they form tumors which can be cancerous. Washing vegetables and fruits well can be a remedy against consuming these chemicals found in herbicides.

Dr. Dalal Akoury has been in the medical practice for many years. She has a wide experience with cancer patients and most of them owe their health improvements to her. You too can be a part of the AwareMed community.

Can Herbicide Cause Cancer

 

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Promoting Medical Tourism Through The Media

The Role Of Media In Promoting Medical Tourism

It used to be that healthcare was delivered in a standardised way in both private and public healthcare. The only difference was in the quality and venues. These days, new forms of media have revolutionised healthcare. The internet, television, direct contact through email, live chat and social media have made healthcare a most confusing field to be in at times! There are now multiple sources of information: some conflicting, some corroborating and it can result in decreasing healthcare standards and the trust we place on professionals. When it comes to medical tourism however, one thing is clear – new media is offering new platforms and giving clients an even bigger say on their healthcare treatment.

medical tourism

Medical tourism is a way of getting high quality medical care away from home. Going to a centre overseas, one might be able to get high quality healthcare for a fraction of the cost one can get in the United States .The advance of Obamacare and universal public healthcare has increased the waiting periods for many intensive treatments. This is particularly the case for diseases and conditions that are expensive to treat and manage like heart surgeries and transplants. Medial tourism might be the answer for people suffering from rare diseases and conditions who would like specialised care. Alternatively, one might go abroad for medical treatment to gain access to cutting edge technology, techniques and innovation. Individuals seeking a way from conventional treatment for long-term illnesses or simply want to make the best of a terminal illness might want to visit an exotic location to live out their last days. Whatever the reason for wanting to go abroad, successfully marketing to the target audience lies in letting them know the benefits of medical tourism. Different strokes for different folk.

  • Television

Medical tourism destinations market themselves through television too. A simple 30 second advert is enough to create curiosity about a medical centre and what they offer. It can be made especially effective when placed close to relevant entertainment and news shows. Showing the benefits of travelling to Myrtle Beach for a holistic treatment to cancer after showing an informative documentary on cancer and increase the odds of the message sticking due its relevance and the audience it is broadcast to. Television has the unique advantage of showing moving media without necessarily choosing a viewing format like the internet does. It just screens to its audience across the airwaves to people from all strata of life. The medium targets the masses and one cannot change the message to its audience which is fantastic if your marketing campaign centres on uniformity.

  • Internet

This medium has the widest scope and is the trickiest of them all. There are many ways to market on the internet. One can have promotions, create publicity on social media, and even have an own website, the opportunities are endless really. The internet is best used to amplify other marketing campaigns. If for example one is creating a martin campaign on the affordably of medical centres in Jakarta, one might need to have a patient who has been there give a tale of their experience. The medical centre could also get a high profile pro bono case and really use existing media attention to draw attention to your facility. The trouble with the internet is that the information that gets there stays there in continuity.

  • Phone calls

Telephone calls are a really personalised way of getting awareness from your target market. Partnering with some local clinics and hospices for  example, one can get contact details of people who have been suffering from specific ailments. That way, even when cold calling clients, it is easy to target your message to their needs and know how your medical facility can be of assistance to them. Such information can also help one do a comparioisn on the costs of treatment in the home hospital vis-a-vis abroad. That marketing information can be of huge advantage especially when selling to clients who are keen on quality as all you have to do is extol the virtues of your hospital.

Medical tourism

  • Social media

This is the latest in the media platforms. It is more personalised yet reaches more of the targeted audience. Working with an online media specialist, foreign medical agencies may use it to really sell the personal experience. With consent from the patient, medical facilities can profile the positive experience including swift treatment and short recovery times to the general public. This will make the whole idea more believable and realistic. More points are earned if you distribute as many stories from as different parts of the world as possible. It makes it seem that almost anyone can go for treatment at the centre unless of course the aim is to target luxury clients who prefer exclusivity.

All in all, there is a variety of platforms to be used in the marketing of medical tourism. Tailoring it to the personalised and very private nature of medical treatment is the catch. All the media can be used for different purposes and reasons all geared towards capturing a share in the lucrative $40 billion market.

The Role Of Media In Promoting Medical Tourism

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