New Delh (IANS) Breast cancer, the leading cause of mortality among women in India, is being seen as an augmenting factor in the rise in ovarian cancer cases as well, according to medical experts.

Dr M.D. Ray, surgical oncologist at AIIMS, Delhi, says women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer remain at a higher risk of contracting ovarian cancer due to the presence of same gene that triggers both cancers.

“Genes are responsible for cancer. Owing to the rise in the incidence of breast cancer, we have observed that there is a considerable increase in cases of ovarian cancer as well in the past few years. Even at AIIMS there have been many cases where a female patient has been diagnosed with both,” Dr Ray told IANS.

BRCA1 and BRCA2 are human genes that produce tumour suppressor proteins. However, when either of these genes is mutated — meaning it doesn’t function correctly — the damage to the DNA may not be repaired properly. As a result, cells are more likely to develop additional genetic alterations that can lead to cancer.

“There are two types of genes — BRCA1 and BRCA2 — which are responsible for both breast and ovarian cancer. Dysfunction of these two genes increases the chances of getting diagnosed with both the cancers. An individual with breast cancer, therefore, remains at risk of facing ovarian cancer and vice versa,” Dr Ray noted.

“If one has breast cancer, there are 30-35 per cent chances of also having ovarian cancer. And if the person has ovarian cancer, there are 10-15 per cent chances of getting diagnosed with breast cancer,” Dr Mala Srivastava, oncologist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, noted.

Specific inherited mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 most notably increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, but they have also been associated with increased risks of several additional types of the disease like fallopian tube cancer, peritoneal cancer, colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer.

Women who have inherited mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 tend to develop breast and ovarian cancers at younger ages than those without these mutations.

Although presumed to be more common among women above 50, Dr Ray noted that both breast and ovarian cancer cases are increasing among women below 35 as well.

“This is owing to poor lifestyle habits. And this is not confined to any particular economic class. A sedentary lifestyle further escalates it,” he added.

Since both cancers are related to genetics, medical experts suggested that women should start screening and gene-testing at an early age.

“For, say, if one or two family members had breast or ovarian cancer then all the women in that family should be tested for BRCA 1 and BRCA 2. Secondly, the screening for both breast and ovarian cancer should start early in life. Suppose a woman’s mother had breast cancer at the age of 45, then she should start mammography at the age of 35,” Dr Srivastava pointed out.

In India, however, gene tests are still costly which is why many women fail to get diagnosed in time. Dr Srivastava said that a gene test would cost around Rs 25,000 to Rs 26,000.

“In India, almost 90 per cent patients come to a doctor when in an advanced stage because they don’t get detected at an early stage. The main reason is that the symptoms of ovarian cancers are very vague. Despite all types of high-tech surgeries, the survival rate is less than 30 per cent,” Dr Ray added.

The doctors claimed that if detected early, both cancers are curable.

“Now-a-days, treatment is very good. If a woman diagnosed with breast cancer is detected and treated at an early stage, there are less chances of her having ovarian cancer,” Dr Srivastava explained.

According to a latest ICMR-Lancet report, breast cancer is the leading cancer among Indian women. States like Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Haryana were found to have the majority of cases.

The report also stated that ovarian cancer has the sixth-highest incidence rate with the majority in states like Kerala, Delhi, Arunachal Pradesh and Punjab.

[NASHEMAN NEWS] Thiruvananthapuram Kerala cricketer Sanju Samson, who has played for the Rajasthan Royals and also donned the national blue, tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend Charulatha on Saturday.

The former college mates got wedded in a simple ceremony at a resort in Kovalam, near here, earlier in the day. The wedding reception is slated later in the evening.

“There were just 30 of us from both the families and it was a very simple function,” said Samson.

“We are very happy that we have got the blessings of both the families,” he said. 

While Samson is a Christian, Charu is a Hindu Nair. The marriage was solemnised under the Special Marriage Act.

Both have known each other since their graduation at the Mar Ivanios College, here. Charu is presently doing her post graduation.

Samson, 23, was part of the 2018 Indian Premiere League (IPL) in the reinstated Rajasthan Royals team at a bid price of Rs 8 crore.

[NASHEMAN NEWS] New Delhi,It was a cold, foggy morning in the national capital on Saturday with minimum temperature dropping to 4 degrees Celsius, four notches below average and air quality remaining ‘severe’, the Met said.

At 8.30 a.m., visibility was at 600 metres and humidity was 97 per cent — a condition nor favourable for dispersal of pollutants in the air. 

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi’s Air Quality Index is 408 with major pollutants being PM2.5 and PM10.

“The sky will remain clear throughout the day, with mist or shallow fog in the morning and haze or smog thereafter,” an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said. 

The cold wave that started midweek here was expected to end on Saturday. even on Thursday, the city recorded 4 degrees Celsius the coldest in December as it was today.

Temperatures across northwest India has been similarly low, an India Meteorological Department official told IANS. Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan were also experiencing biting cold conditions.

Friday’s maximum temperature was 20.6 degrees Celsius, a notch below season’s average while the minimum the minimum temperature was 4.7 degrees Celsius, three notches below average. 

 [Nasheman news] LucknowIn a bid to reach out to the far-flung areas and provide healthcare to people living in the countryside, India’s largest online health camp, myUpchar, launched its “Saathi” app and “Health Card” in the state capital on Wednesday.

“Under the new model, myUpchar has a partner in the operating villages along with a team of volunteers and support staff, who collect the basic details like weight, height, blood pressure, glucose, pulse and temperature, and shares those on the app with the doctor,” an official said.

During the launch event, the company declared that the users of this healthcare app are mostly from Lucknow, hence the launch event was organised in the capital city of Uttar Pradesh. 

In view of the upcoming trends of online healthcare services in different cities, myUpchar decided to launch it for the rural population. In the near future, myUpchar will be participating in the healthcare awareness and soon bring in e-clinic networks.

“The focus of myUpchar is to solve the real healthcare problems in rural India where there are negligible healthcare facilities. Unlike other healthcare companies who serve only the elite class people, myUpchar is putting in every effort and hard work to solve the healthcare problems of the rural population in our country,” portal’s co-funder Rajat Garg said.

Further elaborating, he said: “The demand for online healthcare services is more in Lucknow as compared to the other cities of India. Every month, 11 per cent of Lucknow’s population has been seen urging for online healthcare services, which inspired us to launch ‘Saathi’ as well as ‘Health Card’ in Lucknow.”

[Nasheman news] Bhopal Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has hinted at his “earlier than expected comeback” to the treasury benches as the Kamal Nath-led Congress government may not last its full term of five years.

Chouhan was meeting his supporters on his last night at the Chief Minister’s residence late on Wednesday, when he assured them and said: “Don’t worry about your future. Don’t be despondent over what will happen to you, for I will be back.”

As Bharatiya Janata Party workers shouted slogans of Chouhan’s return in five years, the former Chief Minister, who ruled the state for three straight terms before being ousted in a close contest in the aeeembly elections, said in Bollywood style: “Tiger abhi zinda hai (The King is till alive).”

“Maybe it will not take an entire five years, may be I will be back sooner than you expect,” Chouhan added.

The Congress won 114 seats in the 230-member House. It fell two short of the magic number in a contest with the BJP (109) that went down to the wire. 

However, the Congress ensured the support of 121 MLAs with the Samajwadi Party (1), Bahujan Samaj Party (2) and four Independents backing it.

Dubai, (IANS) The International Cricket Council on Wednesday asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to pay the BCCI nearly 60 percent of the legal costs after losing their bid to claim compensation for cancelled bilateral series.

Last month, the PCB had asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to pay around $63 million for pulling out of two bilateral series in 2014 and 2015, which was rejected by the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC).

According to norm, the winning party claims legal costs from the losing side.

“The DRC has determined that the PCB should pay 60 percent of “(a) the (BCCI’s) Claimed Costs; and (b) the administrative costs and expenses of the Panel… (including, without limitation, the fees of the Tribunal members, and the costs and expenses they incurred in relation to this matter), the figure whereof is to be supplied to the PCB by the ICC,” Cricinfo quoted the ICC as saying.

Both boards have not yet disclosed the actual amount to be paid by the PCB.

“The PCB notes the ICC Dispute Panel’s decision on BCCI’s claims for their legal expense incurred on the PCB-BCCI dispute,” the PCB said in a statement.

“The award of significantly lesser costs than claimed by BCCI reflects that PCB’s case had merits. The PCB, however, reiterates its disappointment in the original decision/award given against it,” the board added.

 [Nasheman news] MumbaiThe key Indian equity indices opened on a negative note on Thursday with the S&P BSE Sensex trading around 180 points lower during the morning session.

The domestic indices traded lower tracking weakness in the Asian markets.

At 9.38 a.m., the Sensex traded at 36,304.64, lower by 179.69 points or 0.49 per cent from the previous close of 36,484.33.

It had opened at 36,321.18, and has touched a intra-day high of 36,352.65 and a low of 36,213.73.

The Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange traded at 10,908.15, lower by 59.15 points or 0.54 per cent from its previous close.

Mumbai, A Mumbai man, who spent around six years in a Pakistani jail on espionage charges, has been released and will return home on Tuesday, an activist said here.

“Yes it’s really a great news. Hamid Nehal Ansari has been released from jail and will be handed over to India at the Wagah Border later this afternoon,” Pakistan-India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) General Secretary Jatin Desai told media.

Ansari’s family members, including father Nehal and mother Fauzia, a large number of India-Pakistan friendship activists, officials and political personalities will be present at the border to welcome him.

Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activist and former legislator Krishna Hegde, who helped the family in the past few years, said they had gone to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to complete the formalities and secure his repatriation.

Pakistan had alleged that Ansari, 33, an engineer, was an “Indian spy” who illegally entered the country, and accused him of involvement in anti-state crimes, forging documents, and jailed him.

For the Ansari family, it was an ordeal since November 2012 when he left the country for Kabul for employment and then was reported “missing”.

He reportedly became friendly with a Pakistan girl on social media and reached Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to save her from a forced marriage.

On November 12, 2012, Ansari crossed over from Afghanistan border in Jalalabad to Peshawar in Pakistan where he was nabbed by Pakistan intelligence.

Later, a military court sentenced him to three years in jail.

Despite his three-year jail term having ended, he was kept in prison.

On Monday, the External Affairs Ministry said that it has received a note from Pakistan that they would be releasing Ansari on Tuesday.

“It is a matter of great relief, especially for the family members, that six years of incarceration of the Indian civilian in Pakistan jail is coming to an end,” Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

“We would like Pakistan to take action to also end misery of other Indian nationals and fishermen whose nationality has been confirmed and who have completed their sentences, but continue to languish in Pakistan jails.”

Indian national Hamid Nihal Ansari who has been languishing in a Pakistani jail since 2012 will be released and deported to India tomorrow. Ansari will return to India through the Wagah Border crossing in Punjab.

33-year-old Ansari is from Mumbai and has been under Pakistani custody since 2012 when he was arrested for illegally entering the country from Afghanistan. Ansari reportedly went to Pakistan in order to meet a girl he had met on social media.

The girl reportedly stayed in Kohat in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In December 2015, a military court in Pakistan sentenced Hamid Ansari to three years in prison after convicting him for possessing a fake Pakistani identification. Since then, Ansari has been lodged at the Peshawar Central Jail in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

There, he was attacked multiple times by fellow jail inmates. In August 2016, Ansari’s lawyer told the Peshawar High Court that his client had been attacked by fellow prisoners at least three times over the course of a few months.

Ansari’s jail term came to an end on December 15, 2018. However, days before his jail term ended, there was no clarity on when — and if — Ansari would be released from prison and sent back to India.

On December 14, the Peshawar High Court heard the matter. Ansari’s lawyer Qazi Muhammad Anwar, told the court that his client’s prison term was to end on December 15 and that he should be released on the morning of December 16.

However, Anwar told the court, the Pakistani Ministry of Interior and prison authorities were completely silent about Hamid Ansari’s release and deportation to India.

The Pakistani government in turn told the high court that the process to deport Ansari would take a while since the relevant documents were not ready.

Following this the Peshawar High Court set a one-month deadline for the Pakistan government to release and deport Hamid Ansari.

However, that seems to have happened much earlier with the Pakistani authorities set to release Ansari tomorrow.

Dr Mohammad Faisal, the spokesperson of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) tweeted, “Hamid Ansari, an Indian spy who had illegally entered Pakistan and was involved in anti-state crimes and forging documents, is being released upon completion of his sentence and is being repatriated to India.”

Ansari will be released from jail tomorrow and then will be taken to the Wagah-Attari Border crossing, where he will be handed to Indian authorities.

The decision to release and deport Hamid Ansari comes days after New Delhi issued a note verbale to the Pakistan High Commission in India, asking it to make necessary arrangements for the “earliest” release of Indian prisoners who have either completed their sentence or have been identified as Indian nationals lodged in Pakistani prisons.

Bhopal, Dec 12 (IANS) The path for the formation of a Congress government in Madhya Pradesh was cleared with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan resigning from the post on Wednesday declaring that the BJP was not going to stake claim.

“As we have not got clear majority, we are not going to stake claim to form the government. And I am going to the Governor to resign as the Chief Minister,” Chouhan said here.

Meanwhile, reports have emerged that Governor Anandiben Patel has invited Congress leader Kamal Nath, who on Tuesday night wrote to her that his party has emerged as the single largest party in the state and has majority support in the 230-member Assembly, staking claim.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, whose party won two seats in the state, announced to extend support to the Congress on Wednesday.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) which won one seat in the state also extended its support to the Congress. The announcement was made by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.

“The Samajwadi Party extends its support to the Congress to form a government in Madhya Pradesh,” Yadav tweeted in Hindi on Wednesday.

According to the Election Commission, the final tally for the 230-seat Madhya Pradesh Assembly showed Congress with 114 seats, while the ruling BJP came close with 109 in a battle that went to the wire on Tuesday.

[IANS]