AIIMS New Delhi launched free cervical cancer screening through January as a public interest drive. In India, in every 8 minutes, 1 woman loses her life to cervical cancer, however, doctors say that it is highly preventable. Thus, as part of the Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, Preventative Oncology at the Institute of Rotary Cancer Hospital and the National Cancer Institute, in collaboration with the College of Nursing, is offering the WHO-recommended HPV testing, follow-up care, and vaccination.

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Who Can Undergo These Screening?

• Women who are of the age 30 to 65 years can undergo cervical and breast cancer screening from Monday to Friday between 9am to 3pm.

• HPV vaccination is available for girls aged 9 to 14 years on Saturday between 9am to 12 noon at the New RAK Building, AIIMS.

• Community screening drives are also conducted across NCI Jhajjar through January 2026.

Dr Pallavi Shukla, Associate Professor of Preventative Oncology, AIIMS, who is coordinating the programme said, "This is one cancer which is absolutely preventable. Women should not neglect their health at any age, we must make earnest efforts to eliminate cervical cancer from India."

Also Read: Every Two Minutes, One Woman Loses Her Life To Cervical Cancer: UN

What Is Cervical cancer?

Cervical Cancer is a type of cancer that develops in layers of the cervix. It is caused by abnormal cell growth that can spread to another part of your body. There are two main types of cervical cancer. These are squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.

Cervix is located in the pelvic cavity, about 3 to 6 inches inside the vaginal canal. It serves as the entrance to the uterus to the vagina. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), almost all cervial cancer are linked to human papillomaviruses (HPV) which are transmitted through sexual contact.

What Are The Symptoms Of Cervical Cancer?

Cervical cancer has no symptoms in the early days and therefore, is hard to detect until it has spread.

Early-Stage Cervical Cancer Symptoms

• Vaginal bleeding after sex
• Vaginal bleeding post-menopause
• Vaginal bleeding between periods or unusually heavy/long periods
• Watery vaginal discharge with a strong odour or containing blood
• Pelvic pain or pain during intercourse
• Advanced Cervical Cancer Symptoms (when cancer has spread beyond the cervix):

Persistent symptoms of early-stage cervical cancer

• Painful or difficult bowel movements or rectal bleeding
• Painful or difficult urination or blood in the urine
• Persistent dull backache
• Swelling of the legs
• Pain in the pelvis or lower abdomen

How Can Cervical Cancer Be Prevented?

Cervical cancer is largely preventable and, when detected early, highly treatable. The World Health Organization recommends HPV vaccination for girls aged 9 to 14, before they become sexually active, along with regular cervical screening from age 30, or 25 for women living with HIV.

Despite this, unequal access to vaccination, screening and treatment continues to drive higher rates of illness and deaths in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, Central America and Southeast Asia.

Indians are popping antacids like candies, and they are putting their hearts, kidneys and gut health at risk. Doctors from time and again have cautioned patients to not take such pills without prescriptions.

Antacids are prescribed proton pump inhibitors or PPIs, used commonly to reduce the amount of acid in the stomach and helps to treat and prevent various acid related conditions. However, in India, acidity is not treat as a symptom, but a lifestyle condition, which has made these pills so common. These over the counter access also created medical complacency, this means the availability has blurred the line between short term relief and long term therapy.

How does antacid impact your kidney health?

Repeated use is increasingly associated with acute interstitial nephritis and chronic kidney disease. What makes this dangerous is that kidney damage often develops silently, discovered only when kidney function has already deteriorated significantly.

How does antacid impact your gut health?

It also impact the gut microbiome, and causes chronic digestive problems. Stomach acid regulates gut bacteria. Suppressing it allows harmful bacteria to flourish, leading to bloating, infections, diarrhea, and conditions like small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).

How does antacid impact your bone health?

Furthermore, regular usage of antacids could make your bones weak too. As per a 2023 study published in the journal BioMed Research International, pantoprazole cause bone loss, which could be prevented by adding octreotide.

The study analyzed the serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, and ALP before starting the treatment, and at the end of 12 weeks of treatment on pantoprazole, significant decline in calcium levels were noticed, as compared with other groups. The study also found that octreotide significantly prevented the effect of pantoprazole on the serum levels of calcium and ALP.

The study also found that pantoprazole decreased femoral bone density and femoral BMAD. Besides this, another decrease was found in the femoral bone weight and volume as well as the trabecular volume.

How does antacid impact your heart health?

Frequent heartburn is also a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. This is a condition in which the valve between the stomach and the lower esophagus malfunctions and allows stomach acid to bubble up into the esophagus. This is often treated with antacid, which may mask the real problem.

Over time, untreated GERD can injure the lining of the esophagus and increase the risk of serious complications, including Barrett’s esophagus, a condition that can raise cancer risk. Also, symptoms often blamed on heartburn, such as chest pain or burning, can sometimes signal a heart attack. That’s why experts stress getting a proper medical evaluation before self-treating with antacids.

The safer alternatives are:

Famotidine (Pepcid, Calmicid, Fluxid, Mylanta AR) is a potent H2 blocker used to manage acidity and heartburn. Studies show that famotidine is not thought to raise the risk of osteoporosis.

Other options: Ranitidine (Zantac - where available, as it was withdrawn in some markets due to safety concerns) and Nizatidine are other H2 blockers.

Note: Health & Me do not encourage discontinuance of any prescribed medicine by a doctor. Before making any change in your medicine schedule, please speak to your doctor/GP.

Nasal spray warnings are given by doctors and experts as the long use of it could lead to worsening of condition. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) advised the public to not use nasal decongestant for more than seven days, as it contains xylometazoline or oxymetazoline. Its prolonged use can cause 'rebound congestion' or increased dependency on these sprays to breathe easily.

A recent poll, reports the Independent found out that almost six in 10 pharmacists report patients were unaware of the dangers of its extended use. Due to the increased number of flu activity, symptoms like blocked nose has increased, which has lead to a high usage of nasal spray.

Is Rebound Congestion Preventable?

It is a preventable condition, and is scientifically known as rhinitis medicamentosa, which causes the symptoms to worsen. Patients become depended on the sprays to breathe more easily.

RPS survey of 300 pharmacists found that 59% think the public is not aware of the risks, while 75% said packaging should be clearer about the seven-day limit. 63% said they had intervened in cases of suspected overuse.

Professor Amira Guirguis, chief scientist at RPS told the ITV News, "Nasal decongestant sprays can be helpful for short-term relief, but using them for longer than seven days can make your congestion significantly worse. Our research shows that many people are unaware of this risk, which means they may continue using these sprays without realizing they could be prolonging their symptoms. We'd like to see clearer warnings on the packaging which you can't miss and greater awareness of the seven-day limit. If your congestion lasts more than a week, speak to your pharmacist. There are safe and effective alternative options to help you manage your symptoms."

Another survey by ITV News suggests that more than a fifth of adults have used the products for longer than seven days. This means 5.5 million people in the UK may have risked developing a dependency.

Read: Bristol Hospitals Under Severe Strain as Flu and Cold Weather Hit the Region

As ITV News reported, Charlotte Johnstone, who is 30, had been using nasal spray multiple times a day since she was seven years old. She realized that the impact of this so-called addiction has caused her anxiety and left her "dreaming about not being able to breathe". She told ITV News, “I can’t sleep without having it, I wake up and the first thing I do is have my nasal spray. I don’t like eating if I’ve got a blocked up nose, it just makes me feel claustrophobic. I wouldn’t put myself in a situation where I don’t have it. “I go through stages of losing my sense of smell. I know it’s doing something but I don’t know what. But for the sake of having a clear nose, I’ll just take it,” she said.

A spokesperson from PAGB, the consumer healthcare association representing the manufacturers of these products, said: “The patient information leaflet which accompanies all nasal decongestant sprays, includes these instructions and outlines the risks of taking the medication for longer than its indicated use. As explained on the information supplied with the nasal decongestant sprays, OTC medicines manufacturers provide comprehensive accessible information to support people to make responsible informed decisions about the right product to self-care for their self-treatable condition," reported ITV News.

Open AI launched a new ChatGPT feature in the US, called the ChatGPT Health. As of now, this is launched only in the United States, which can analyze people's medical records and give them better answers. However, it has also drawn attention of critics, who raise concerns regarding the privacy, as well as safety of diagnosis and treatment.

What Is ChatGPT Health?

As per the Open AI website, "Health is a dedicated space in ChatGPT where you can ask health and wellness questions and choose to connect your health data (like medical records and wellness apps) so responses can be grounded in that context. It is designed to support, not replace, medical care."

One can access Health from the sidebar and can ask health-related questions in a main chat. OpenAI has said that the conversations in ChatGPT Health would be stored separately to other chats and would not be used to train its AI tools. The feature will also not be used for "diagnosis or treatment".

However, Andrew Crawford, of US non-profit the Center for Democracy and Technology, as reported in the BBC said, it was "crucial" to maintain "airtight" safeguards around users' health information. "New AI health tools offer the promise of empowering patients and promoting better health outcomes, but health data is some of the most sensitive information people can share and it must be protected," Crawford said.

Why Is This Feature Being Introduced?

OpenAI notes that more than 230 million people ask its chatbot questions related to health and wellbeing, at least every week. Thus the feature is being launched, while ChatGPT Health will have "enhanced privacy to protect sensitive data".

Open AI also noted that users can connect it with third party wellness apps to get the data, for instance Apple Health, Peloton, and MyFitnessPal. These apps can provide the medical records to OpenAI's new feature to generate relevant responses.

In a blogpost, Open AI noted: "You can securely connect medical records and wellness apps to ground conversations in your own health information, so responses are more relevant and useful to you. Designed in close collaboration with physicians, ChatGPT Health helps people take a more active role in understanding and managing their health and wellness—while supporting, not replacing, care from clinicians."

Will This Feature Replace Doctors?

OpenAI claims that ChatGPT Health is not launched to replace medical care, rather to help one navigate everyday questions and understand patterns over time. OpenAI claims that the tool was developed in close collaboration with physicians.

In the last two years, OpenAI said that it was able to work with more than 260 physicians across 60 countries and dozens of specialities, who have provided feedback on model outputs more than 600,000 times.

While the feature is only launched in the United States, however, the company said that it plans to make Health available to all users on web and IOS "in the coming weeks" as the experience is refined.