SCIENCE JAF: Top 8 ways to prevent breast cancer

SCIENCE JAF: Top 8 ways to prevent breast cancer:   Top 8 ways to prevent breast cancer Written by   Abet Tonny Long before they get their first pimple, budding breasts remind ...

Top 8 ways to prevent breast cancer

 Top 8 ways to prevent breast cancer

Written by  Abet Tonny

Long before they get their first pimple, budding breasts remind them they're women in training. They want them to grow bigger, they wish they would stop growing. It can be mind-twisting seeing others too small others flatter whilst others are round like ball -and definitely why even responsible family-men can't resist staring at them.

Bigger or smaller, breasts still remain an incredible part of a female -one of the most fascinating occurrences on females that do not only define their feminism but symbolize the magnificent out-pour of a woman's beauty. 

"I remember crying in the bathtub. I took a washcloth, made it hot, put it over my chest and prayed, ‘Please don't let them grow any bigger. They're embarrassing me.' I was the first girl in my class to wear a bra. All my friends were super skinny, and that just wasn't my body type. But I watched my mum, who was always comfortable with herself, and she helped me with my outlook.'' Kim Kardashian -American celebrity in one of her stunning revelations.

According to WHO, 7.6 million people died from cancer in 2008, and in 2018, 9.6 million deaths from cancer were recorded. This is a sharp increase in the number of deaths by over 2 million -a lot of people! And WHO projects nearly 11 million people dying from cancer annually by 2030. 

But there is a way out! So here are the top 8 bullets that will save you from breast cancer.

1. Keep Weight in Check

It’s easy to tune out because it gets said so often, but maintaining a healthy weight is an important goal for everyone. Being overweight can increase the risk of many different cancers, including breast cancer, especially after menopause.

2. Be Physically Active

Exercise is as close to a silver bullet for good health as there is, and women who are physically active for at least 30 minutes a day have a lower risk of breast cancer. Regular exercise is also one of the best ways to help keep weight in check.

3. Eat Nuts, Fruits & Vegetables 

A healthy diet can help lower the risk of breast cancer.  Try to eat nuts, a lot of fruits and vegetables and keep alcohol at moderate levels or lower.

4. Don’t Smoke

Smokers and non-smokers alike know how unhealthy smoking is.  On top of lowering quality of life and increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and at least 15 cancers – including breast cancer – it also causes smelly breath, bad teeth, and wrinkles. Now that’s motivation to stay smoke-free or work to get smoke-free.

5. Breastfeed, If Possible

Breastfeeding for a total of one year or more (combined for all children) lowers the risk of breast cancer. It also has great health benefits for the child.

6. Avoid Birth Control Pills, Particularly After Age 35 or If You Smoke

Birth control pills have both risks and benefits. The younger a woman is, the lower the risks are. While women are taking birth control pills, they have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer. This risk goes away quickly, though, after stopping the pill. The risk of stroke and heart attack is also increased while on the pill – particularly if a woman smokes. However, long-term use can also have important benefits, like lowering the risk of ovarian cancer, colon cancer, and uterine cancer – not to mention unwanted pregnancy – so there’s also a lot in its favor. If you’re very concerned about breast cancer, avoiding birth control pills is one option to lower risk.

7. Avoid Post-Menopausal Hormones

Post-menopausal hormones shouldn’t be taken a long term to prevent chronic diseases, like osteoporosis and heart disease. Studies show they have a mixed effect on health, increasing the risk of some diseases and lowering the risk of others, and both estrogen-only hormones and estrogen-plus-progestin hormones increase the risk of breast cancer. If women do take post-menopausal hormones, it should be for the shortest time possible. The best person to talk to about the risks and benefits of post-menopausal hormones is your doctor.

8. Tamoxifen and Raloxifene for Women at High Risk

Although not commonly thought of as a “healthy

behavior,” taking the prescription drugs tamoxifen

and raloxifene can significantly lower the risk of

breast cancer in the woman at high risk of the disease.

Approved by the Drugs Authority for breast cancer prevention,

these powerful drugs can have side effects, so

they aren’t right for everyone. If you think you’re

at high risk, talk to your doctor to see if tamoxifen or raloxifene may be right for you.

About the Author: Abet Tonny is a science communication strategist and writer
You can write to him-tonnyabet@gmail.com

SCIENCE JAF: What really causes Breast Cancer??? _by Tony Abet

SCIENCE JAF: What really causes Breast Cancer??? _by Tony Abet: It was a heart-throbbing scene witnessing this great friend, a mother of two, Jackline at 32 years of age, helplessly give her last brea...

Uganda: is culture daunting fight on climate change?

Uganda: is culture daunting fight on climate change?

Written by Abet Tonny

Endowed with over 56 tribes untamed and celebrating their different cultures and tongues, Uganda is discernibly a hard to influence the country. 

That community with shared values and beliefs generate their own views to interpret unfolding of life is an obvious fact. But these views produced are determinants of how these communities respond to emerging threats and risks. Also, these locally generated views command far-reaching influence on the uptake of (scientific) evidence being communicated with the focus of causing the change of action among members of these communities. 

No wonder, Uganda has had a long history fighting negative cultural beliefs that hindered several development moves. This among other factors has slowed down economic development in the country. A clear example is the early 19s event when people associated with AIDS with witchcraft. Culture ushered in this belief. Several thousands of lives perished untimely owing to the ill belief as people refused to seek clinical treatment. Intensified campaigns collectively supported by government, development partners and community stakeholders since gained fairly good influence. More people are testing for HIV and pregnant mothers cooperating to end mother-child transmission of the virus. This is putting HIV/AIDS under appreciable control. 

Climate change has since trickled into our country tormenting rural and urban areas with such invariance. Extreme scarcity and unpredictability of rainfall, extra-high temperatures are doing nothing else but causing enormous crop failure and lowering general farm productivity. And when it decides to rain, it's often nothing but a monstrous flood causing landslides, destroying farmlands and disfiguring human settlements in rural and urban areas. In March 2019, severe drought culminated into death of several hundreds of cattle in Nakasongola, Uganda. Also, a terrible flood killed and displaced several people in Uganda's Kampala city this May 2019. 

Wetland reclamation is one of the causes of climate change being experienced in the country and globe. Unraveling how wetland reclamation causes climate change, a wetland ecologist Prof. Jos Verhoeven of Netherlands' Utrecht University explains in simple terms.

"Agriculture has been carried out in several types of (former) wetlands for millennia, with crop fields on river floodplain soils and rice fields as major examples." He continues that the intensive agricultural use of drained/reclaimed peatlands (soils with a high deposit of organic matter left by passing water) has been shown to lead to major problems because of the oxidation and subsidence of the peat soil. The ecologist concluded by revealing that this does not only lead to severe carbon dioxide emissions."

Severe carbon dioxide emissions cause an increase in global temperature which in turn leads to the general changes in the climatic condition we are experiencing in our country.

It is clear that climate change is real and is a big threat to our country but our response will determine how much negative impact it throws onto our state of food security, public health, and urban development. The response will, however, be greatly influenced by our cultural and religious alignment.


Gulu incidence

Recently Uganda Radio network reported locals in Gulu, Uganda threatening to gun down environmentalists if they continue hindering them from reclaiming wetland. Wetland encroachment is not unique to Gulu. According to NEMA, though debatable, Uganda loses 2% (751 square kilometers) of wetland annually.

An earlier field visit to Gulu left me soul-searching hearing about spirited threats on environmentalists by locals. Intended at discovering cultural resources available to avert climate change, the study visit was supported by The Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda to Pawel clan of Acholi tribe in Gulu.  

In Acholi cultural belief system, just like in Lango and other tribes in Uganda, climate change is largely attributed to the annoyance of God (gods). Acholi tradition imputes changing the climate to "the annoyance of gods of the land especially Baka, Kijur and Kilak" to inequities of the people. A large number of people -common men align with this concept. This means environmentalists sell conflicting information as they deliver a scientific concept to this community.

A little deeper about our conversation, the elders further revealed that these inequities are acts like killing of innocent people; killing and burying of dogs and killing of tortoises are things that annoy gods enough to withhold rain; cutting papyrus during rainy season; sharpening of grinding stone during day time is also annoying gods to alter the weather and that the world has rotated to drier side of the atmosphere.

It was only the element of the god's annoyance with people who cut papyrus before it's dry season and destroying mountain bamboos that aligned a bit with the concept of environmental safeguard. The gods are perceived to react to the destruction of specific tree and animal species in the land. 

Acholi people are some of the few tribes in Uganda who pay very strong allegiance to their culture. Bringing them to appreciate a new concept like the scientific concept of climate change is cracking another hard nut.

To meet our goal of discovering cultural resources available in Acholi culture to mitigate climate change, bamboo and papyrus conservation precipitated. But the next question was, is this really sufficient to respond promptly to heightened threat of climate change in our nation and planet?

And finally to answer whether culture is playing a daunting effect on climate change mitigation fight, please pass your verdict.

About the Author: Abet Tonny is a science communication strategist and writer. 

Reference:


1. ScienceDirect: Climate Change, Values, and the cultural cognition thesis
2. Annals of Botany: Agricultural use of wetlands: opportunities and limitations
3. Uganda Radio Network: Gulu residents threaten to gun down environmentalists
4. NTV Uganda: Cattle perish in Nakasongola due to drought

Climate Change: Six (6) stunning stuffs Acholi People think about it

Climate Change: Six (6) stunning stuff Acholi People think about it

Article by Abet Tonny

Putting aside from the learned class of people, the scientific concept of “Climate Change” is still very foreign to the largest portion of Ugandans who predominantly live in rural areas. It does not, however, mean Ugandans have not been experiencing its harsh bite. But most locals view climate change as complex and somewhat unavoidable natural occurrences dictated by gods of the land. The current tragic experience of the unending scarcity of rainfall is interpreted as the gods are so annoyed with the evil being committed by people of the land. And that they (gods) have taken a little too long before reconsidering the dire need to reverse their decisions as man and creation wail in despair.

Also among most rural people in Uganda, the relationship between human activities and climate change is not well understood. This is because, in most cultures including Acholi culture, climate change is more strongly linked with supernatural interventions of gods than to human activities. 

The supernatural interventions of the gods can either be direct as a punishment for destroying nature. For instance, cutting mountain bamboo causes great annoyance to "Kijur" -the god of trees to withhold rain thus changing the climate. However, neglecting cultural values such as respect for elders as common practice among young people will also elicit the same magnitude of annoyance to the gods to hold back the rain. Additionally, the god-like Kijur does not concern himself with all tree species but only specific ones. Climate change is also viewed among these people as isolated responses of the gods and not global in perspective as the scientific concept puts.

Just like in many cultures of the world, there are gods that determine the manifestations we experience in our daily life as humans. Acholi people have a handful of these gods –three of them are responsible for nature and climate. I was excited to discover these gods: Kijur, Baka and Kilak.

With the above reality, this “new” scientific concept of climate change that links climate change directly to human activities without giving space for supernatural connection becomes one of the hardest to communicate in a way that moves people. This hardship is re-enforced by strong allegiance paid to cultural beliefs in some of these communities.

For over five (5) years now, the government of Uganda along with like-minded national and international agencies have intensified on climate change mitigation and adaptation moves. Better resource allocations have been made to climate change -an area of great global concern.

In the support of The Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda, I made a study visit to a group of people (consisting of women, men, and young people) of Pawel Clan.  Pawel is one of the major clans of the Acholi tribe in Uganda. Acholi is a tribe with a very rich culture and has produced very important leaders in Uganda and the globe.

The visit left me with much to ponder upon as far as the future of climate change mitigation is concerned. The visit was intended for discovering the cultural resources available in the Acholi tribe to aid climate change fight. The discussions were long and very interesting but I’m going to share with you this essential portion. Acholi people are majorly farmers who rely on rain-fed agriculture for food and income. Scarcity in rainfall must have been pinching hard here. Let’s read on together…

Question: What do you think is causing this enormous change of pattern in rainfall and temperatures in your area? And how are you managing to thrive in the midst of all this?

Answers

1. The intervention of gods of rain. Baka –a god of rain is annoyed and has decided to hold back rain; the gods of trees like Kilak and Kijur are also very annoyed.  According to the respondents, rejection of cultural norms and values by young people and their chronic disrespect for elders are among the key causatives for the annoyance of Baka. “Cutting of trees like mountain bamboos, shea amongst other trees is causing the annoyance of the gods of trees,” revealed Akelllo, an old lady of Pawel clan.

2.  Killing of innocent people; killing and burying of dogs and killing of tortoises are other three things that annoy gods enough to withhold rain. If you kill a dog in the Acholi area, it must not be buried less you send the community into a dry spell.

3. Cutting papyrus during the rainy season –according to them, the gods want papyrus to be cut only during the dry season.

4. Sharpening of grinding stone during day time is also annoying gods to alter the weather. Grinding stone, according to Acholi tradition should be sharpened before daybreak and before sunset –something like 6a.m in the morning and 6pm in the evening. Anything less makes the Acholi gods react harshly.

5. The world has rotated to the drier side of the atmosphere. Once it rotates to the right rain-soaked side, the rain will drip normally and quench the anxiety of plants, animals, and man for it.

6. The prayers of religious leaders are not being heard by the gods.

The brutality of weather especially the scarcity of rain on in Acholi community has seen the locals adapt in a number of ways: Firstly, Acholi traditionalists have ostensibly embarked on rituals they believe will buy back the mercies of gods of the land to re-stabilize climate. Acts like “Tedo got” translated as cooking for the mountain to appease gods of the mountain forests. The huge number of trees has been demolished by Acholi people. “Tedo kot” translated as cooking for the rain to appease Baka –the god of rain. Other rituals like “Agwela “is also practiced in relation to appeasing gods that guard nature and climate.

The another strategy that Acholi traditional leaders still observe is sensitization of young people about the importance of preserving biodiversity as well as the need to observe other cultural values especially respect for elders.

Wetland reclamation for crop production was also mentioned as a common adaptation strategy. Other prominent adaptation strategies included: planting drought resistant crops like sorghum, eating wild fruits and leaves, opening side businesses, hiring out portions of unused land to earn money for survival.

Why a "Self-centered" world may never mitigate Climate Change

Article by Abet Tonny

Dance for climate: Acholi culture

Climate and Culture have never been static but unfortunately, they are now changing at very distressing rate. As global warming hits the world, floods will devastate still more human settlements (see current event in Nepal) and farmlands. Poverty and famine will hurt humanity furthermore. Drought will become more rampant leading to even higher loss of traditional dishes we cherish. This is as conditions become unbearable for growth of such crops or their wild species. With these, culture will continue to be greatly impacted. Acholi culture -one of the richest cultures in Uganda has equally experienced enormous shifts in value systems as climate change disrupt a number of elements that once held the people together. Youths now have to abandon their village homes and fend for living in distant towns like Gulu or city of Kampala. This being caused by unreliable weather rendering farming -a major element that once held the young and  the old together, is no longer working for the young stars. These youths grow up with very little experience and appreciation for Acholi culture but most importantly, the conflict on which values to uphold always keep them in constant fight with their elderly people.

A number of studies have been conducted to unveil the eroding effect of climate change on culture and people. Jouni Jaakkola and colleagues studied this in Arctic region among the Saami people. And in their summary, this was written: "The lifestyle, diet, and morbidity of the Saami are changing to resemble the majority populations posing threats for the health of the Saami and making them more vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change."

Saami people

"Climate Change is still seen as the top global threat," this is according to a report of 26-nation survey conducted in 2018 by Pew Research Center -a U.S based information initiative of Times Mirror Center founded since 1990. According to Pew, the millions of respondents revealed the climate change threat to be bigger than that of terrorism.

Climate change effects on culture and socio-economic wellbeing of humanity are very clear.

It is very strange to note that whilst humanity did forecast and are already experiencing this gigantic threat, its commitment to alter the threat is a complete mismatch! The traditional leaders are feeling it, religious and government leaders alike. Pope Francis was talking about it. These individuals have used their powers for generations to cause great changes -both peaceful and painful...the question is, why do they become very uninfluential and feeble when it comes to the subject of climate change???

Reversing a global trend like climate change requires huge amount of resources with the most expensive bit being the human resource factor. Climate change can only be effectively mitigated with globe-wide collective action. But moving the globe into a collective action can be harder than goats knee. The commitments from most governments of the world remain very low.  US -a notable emitter of these gases causing the climate change, under Trump administration, sidelined itself from Paris agreement . Paris agreement brings together countries of the world to collectively fight global warming. The agreement among others required the developed countries -greatest emitters of greenhouse gases, to meet a collective goal of mobilising US$100 billion yearly in climate financing for developing countries.


The individual country's budget allocations to counter climate change is also very low among governments of developing countries. See records of Ghana, Ethiopia and Uganda. The need for unwavering monetary sustenance from world governments to propel climate change mitigation campaigns can not be overstated. But in many countries, regime survival in power is more important than the wellbeing of the citizens. So a huge portion of the national revenue will always be directed to meeting political urges at the expense of important needs like fighting climate change.