Page 25 - Oct - Dec 2023 Edition

IS THIS RELEVANT IN UGANDA? starfish it matters to you. Young women
should get regular Pap smears. Another
I added my comment to the article: the writer starfish. But the rest of us must look to our diet
should have looked globally for comparison if we want to avoid an early visit from the grim
between societies who are highly screened reaper.
with bad diets, and those rarely screened with
simple diets. As a general rule in Africa routine Reversing the deteriorating health of the rich
screening is patchy, but most of us are thin countries is not rocket science. We are what
and fit, the typical rural diet is almost entirely we eat.
devoid of processed food, and bowel cancer
is a city disease, rare in rural areas. I love sausages. All children brought up in
England love sausages. Sadly, bacon and
The recent pandemic showed stark contrasts: sausage are processed food and increase
Deaths from covid in Africa were only 8 per the risk of bowel cancer. I comfort myself by
100,000 compared to 600 in some countries saying the risk is massively reduced by high
and about 400 average across North fruit and veg diets. A pineapple a day keeps
America and Europe. The reason why Africa the colonoscopy away.
as a whole had 50 x fewer covid deaths per
capita was partly because of a much We have to eat a lot less meat. Average
younger demographic but more importantly meat consumption in obese, high cancer
because most adults are thin and fit. Likewise, societies is around 100 kg per person per
40 years ago in Karamoja I noticed that most year. In low cancer Africa it’s 10 to 20, even
deaths were in early childhood from easily the “rich” get by on 50kg. Try enjoying meat
prevented infections followed by many more by eating a lot less.
deaths in young people from shooting. Once
they reached 40 they either died young from We must cut sugar. We have been tricked
alcoholism or lived to be 100. They were all into eating low carb diets because sugar is a
thin and fit, walking miles every day. I don’t carb. Complex carbohydrates which we
think they had a word in their language for used to call starch and includes most
heart attack. vegetables are healthy. The cell wall of a
cucumber is made up of carbohydrate. Its
Processed foods are now almost universally sugar and fats that need to be cut.
accepted as the prime cause of colorectal
cancers. Obesity is a contributing factor to Obesity is killing us. The elephant in the room
many cancers including breast. Cardiovascu- is the hippo on the sofa. We can watch our
lar disease, mostly heart disease and strokes, blood pressure, and measure our blood
is a massive epidemic in rich counties, sugar, and take our lipid lowering drugs: but if
reversing years of increased life expectancy. we carry on with high sugar high fat diet and
The medical profession indeed has got its don’t do any exercise we will die young. Life
priorities wrong. expectancy across the rich countries is
dropping after a century of slow improvement.
BOTTOM LINE? The health benefits from new technology
Those with family history of young age bowel have finally peaked and we are now slowly
cancer should get regular screening from eating our way into an early grave. The article
age 40. A colonoscopy to pick up hereditary was correct. Doctors in the rich countries
polyposis is absolutely worthwhile. In some have got their priorities wrong. The most
countries a stool sample for cancer cells is important screening tool they have is a tape
now the preferred screening but I don’t think measure.
it’s widely available. Men over 60 should
request a blood sample for psa next time 2 Naguru Drive, Naguru, Kampala
they see their doctor. It’s cheap simple and in Reception Numbers:
The Surgery, you get an answer in half an +256 312 256001-3 / +256 772 756003
hour. But see a sensible doctor with the result, reception@thesurgeryuganda.org /
administration@thesurgeryuganda.org
a high psa does not automatically mean Emergency Numbers:
prostate cancer and rushing into a biopsy is +256 256 312 256008 +256 752 756003
rarely the best option. I suggest every woman nurse@thesurgeryuganda.org
with a family history of breast cancer must get www.thesurgeryuganda.org
regular examinations from age 30: like the @TheSurgeryUganda (f)

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