Have you ever wondered about cancer? What happens to the people who get the disease? It does not matter what type it is, whether breast, uterine, cervical, prostate, lung; whatever cancer it is, I still wonder about the disease.
Well, I often wondered what happens once a person is diagnosed with the disease. I did some research, and I learnt a few things about the disease. For starters, if the disease is detected at the early stages, it can be cured. There are treatment options, ranging from: radiation, surgery or chemotherapy. Therefore, if detected before it has advanced; the patient can undergo any of these treatment options and get cured completely. However, what happens when a patient is discovered to have cancer when it is at an advanced stage? In many countries, particularly in Africa, where people rarely go for annual check ups, you find situations whereby a person presents him/herself to hospital when the disease is already at an advanced stage. In these cases, there is no treatment option, as most of the cells have turned cancerous and therefore, neither surgery nor radiation can be used to cure the disease. At this stage, the disease is said to be terminal, meaning that it can only lead to death.
Well, here, I introduce you to hospice care. A hospice is a place where terminally ill patients are referred to once the doctors’ ascertain that there is no further treatment option for the patient. Here, palliative care is offered. Palliative care is that which is given to terminally ill patients, particularly those suffering from cancer or AIDS.
I once attended training in palliative care. Here, I learnt that the care givers at the hospice focus mainly on counseling the patients, and also relieving them of their pain. Since the patient is not going to get cured, the care givers focus on making their last days on earth as comfortable as possible, so that the patients can die in peace. Counseling is done both to the patient and to her/ his family members on different issues, so that they can deal with the situation as it is. The patient is also given painkillers, which help relieve the pain that results from the disease.
During my training, I attended one of the sessions where all the patients and their family members come for an open day and interact with their care givers and other patients, to share their experiences. I met a young lady. She was suffering from cervical cancer. She had undergone surgery, but it did not work. This lady was in great pain, since the disease had “eaten up” her cervix, uterus and it was still progressing. What struck me about the lady is her attitude. She was so calm and at peace, it didn’t matter to her that she could not go to the toilet since her bladder had also been affected and she could not control herself. The lady told me that what mattered to her was that her family was there for her when she needed them. From this experience, I realized that the caregivers at the hospice were really doing a commendable job in making the patients live their lives to the best even if they were just a few days, weeks or months to their death.
Well, I made the resolve to support a hospice when I had the resources. Why don’t you do the same? If you have the resources and you really care, please support a hospice. Think about all the people your support could touch and change. It is worth it, don’t you think?
Okay, you may not believe me, but it has actually worked for me. I am a breastfeeding mother. My baby is four months old and I decided from her birth that I was going to breastfeed her exclusively for six months. As such, I have been experimenting on different foods and in the process of experimenting, I realized (actually its my husband who realized) that whenever I eat some types of food, my milk flow is so much and when I eat some other foods, its not as much. It is my intention to let you know which foods increase my milk supply, as well as some recipes on how to cook them.
First of all, sweet potatoes…..its true, sweet potatoes. Well you may think that I am not telling the truth, but believe me, every time I eat them, my milk actually flows so much that I have to wear a breast pad to prevent any embarrassments. I also have to express my milk, as my breasts get too full.
You need to get medium sized sweet potatoes. (They should not be too small, since the small ones are basically roots, and they should not be too big either, as the big ones take too long to cook). You can choose to buy the big ones, but make sure that they are not cut by the vendors. Do the cutting yourself, for them to cook faster. (You never know why the vendors choose to cut them; it could be because they were “eaten up” by worms).
Once you have bought good sweet potatoes, wash them with their skin intact. Do not peel them before washing. After washing, then boil them until they are cooked. Don’t let them become soggy though.
Another great dish for breast milk is black beans. They are black, with a white line at the top.(they look like an eye). These are absolutely great for milk. Most of the time, you find them dried. What you need to do is to soak them overnight so that they can become softer. After that, pour the soaking water and boil them in fresh water. They usually take three or four hours to get cooked if they are soaked overnight. Once they are cooked, shallow fry them and you can eat them with rice. I must admit that they are not so tasty if you are not used to them. However, once you get used to them, they are yummy!
Porridge is also great for milk, particularly fermented porridge. It increases your milk flow greatly.
Well, if you don’t believe me, why don’t you just try them out and then get back to me on your results. Happy breast feeding, and keep it up!
You have just had your baby, and you are pondering whether you should breastfeed her/him or not. During your antenatal visits, the doctor advised you to breastfeed, but you are thinking what will happen to your figure. Besides, you want to get back in shape as soon as you can and you are imagining how much weight you will gain if you decide to breastfeed, since you will have to eat extra, so as to have more milk that will satisfy the baby. Well, before you make the decision not to breastfeed your little angle, let me give you the benefits of breastfeeding your child, as well as those of formula milk, and then you be the judge.
For starters, breast milk is readily available. There are no instructions on how to prepare it and no restrictions on the quantity the baby should have. Any mother who has had a baby will produce milk within the first week of delivery, due to the effects of the lactation hormone. Therefore, the matter of availability does not suffice when it comes to breast milk.
Secondly, the milk is affordable; actually, it’s absolutely FREE. You do not have to spend a dime to buy the milk. All a mother needs to do is to eat well and drinks lots of fluids, and this will guarantee her a good supply of milk for her baby.
Breast milk is also convenient to take, since the mother doesn’t have to heat it or process it in any way. Any time the baby needs it, all the mother has to do is to provide it. There is no issue of cleanliness or disinfecting utensils, since non are necessary.
Breast milk is also known to have antibodies that protect the baby from infections. Breastfeeding babies have extra immunity from diseases as a result of taking these antibodies into their system. In addition, because breast milk does not need any pre handling before it is taken; there is no risk of stomach infections which result from unclean handling of milk.
Another benefit of breast feeding is that in some women, it serves as a contraceptive against pregnancy. Traditionally, it was known that as long as a woman was breastfeeding, there was no way she could conceive. However, today it is different since women’s systems have been altered due to the effects of synthetic contraceptives. However, I know of a number of women who will not use any contraception for the first six months, as long as they are breast feeding exclusively, and it actually works!! Its actually called Lactation Amenorrhea Method (LAM)
To conclude, breast milk is always available, at the right temperature and in the right quantity. It is also absolutely free. Breastfeeding also provides a perfect opportunity for the mother and the baby to bond.
On the other hand, when a mother feeds her baby with formula milk, one of the greatest advantages is that she doesn’t have to be present for this to happen, unlike when a mother is breast feeding because in this situation, she has to be there. However this can be addressed by the breastfeeding mother by expressing her milk and preserving it at room temperature. The baby can then take it when she wakes up.
The other advantage of formula milk is that it is actually very sweet. In fact, it is so sweet that in some instances, some mothers have complained that their nannies are actually taking the milk as well!!!!!!!
Finally, giving your baby formula milk means that you do not have to breastfeed the baby and therefore you don’t have to worry about your figure.
I obviously support breastfeeding. Never mind about your figure. If you decided to have a baby, then you should also be prepared to face all the challenges that come with bringing up this baby. In time, when the baby is weaned, you can actually start a good exercise program plus a healthy diet program as well, and your figure will be back. What do you think? Does your baby mean more to you than your figure, or is it the other way round?
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