Through Metropolitan Resolution 341 of 2022, the Valle de Aburrá Metropolitan Area (AMVA) lifted the Level of ‘Prevention’ for air quality, declared since Monday, February 28 because about 80% of the Siata stations recorded an orange air quality index (harmful for sensitive groups).
However, according to the entity, the restrictive measure of the peak and environmental license plate to freight vehicles, added to the rains of recent days, helped improve air quality in the region.
Said resolution indicates that the declaration of Prevention level is lifted as of March 3 for the control of air pollution episodes in the first half of 2022, as well as the measures to restrict the movement of cargo transport vehicles and dump trucks. .
That is there will no longer be a peak and environmental plate for these vehicles.
The AMVA clarified that the air pollution episode, which began on February 14 and will last until April 1 of this year, continues, so it is not ruled out that during that time a level of prevention can be declared again, alert or emergency.
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Regarding the Air Quality Indices (ICA), the stations of the Early Warning System (Siata) that monitor the levels of air pollution, show that the majority present a yellow ICA (moderate) and the rest a green ICA (good). ).
“It is expected that at least eight stations would continue at a moderate ICA and another eight stations could reach a good ICA by the end of the afternoon on March 2 of the currents. This means that none of the population-based PM2.5 monitoring stations have exceeded the national daily air quality standard (37 ug/m³: micrograms cubic meter), during the last two days”, indicated the AMVA.
The resolution of the environmental authority, maintains the recommendations to companies to take Ecocity measures, such as: promoting teleworking and remote work or at home, enabling new temporary bike lanes, implementing logistics corridors to improve transport efficiency. of cargo, Promote the actions of the Sustainable Business Mobility Plan (Plans MONTH), as well as flexible and staggered schedules.
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The report “The social challenge of ovarian cancer” has among its objectives to advance awareness and visibility of ovarian cancer, both at a social and health level, to improve the survival and quality of life of those affected
Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women and the leading cause of death from gynecological cancer in Spain, where some 3,300 cases are diagnosed annually, of which 58.9 percent die.
The Association of People Affected by Ovarian Cancer (ASACO) and the Fundación Más Que Ideas (MQI) promote the visibility of this tumor and favor reflection at a social and health level, under the initiative “The social challenge of ovarian cancer”.
This document has been prepared by twenty health professionals, patients, relatives of those affected and representatives of associations against ovarian cancer.
Its objective is to focus on making earlier diagnoses and obtaining better results in terms of survival and quality of life for women suffering from this disease.
In addition, they want to promote dialogue around self-care and recognition of gynecological health.
Multidisciplinary approach and sex education
The report sets out four essential priorities:
Educate society and health groups on the recognition of symptoms
Facilitate access to specialized surgery and a multidisciplinary approach
Educate in gynecological, sexual and reproductive health
Training health professionals in communication
To do this, they propose a series of actions based on awareness and sensitization as fundamental axes of their campaigns.
Both associations detail that 80% of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are in advanced stages of the disease.
Although the patients recognize the agility of the process once diagnosed, they believe that the recognition of symptoms should improve.
Six out of 10 affected women state that they have no previous knowledge of the disease, which, added to the non-specificity of the symptoms, makes it difficult to recognize cancer early.
Recognition of symptoms is vital for early diagnosis. Image courtesy of ASACO.
The specialization of the medical team is essential to achieve success in surgery. The document states that the doctor must dedicate at least 50% of his clinical practice to this type of operation.
Ovarian cancer not only has consequences on physical health, but also emotional and social ones. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach to patients and the integration of gynecological oncology is considered key.
In these terms, self-knowledge and knowledge about gynecological health are key factors, according to experts.
Addressing the reproductive and sexual repercussions and achieving the involvement of health personnel can help improve the quality of life of women affected by this cancer.
Finally, the associations express the need to train health personnel in communication to transmit information to patients and families more empathetically and effectively.
Raise awareness and sensitize to save lives
The report It also highlights the importance of raising awareness through raising awareness and attracting the attention of society.
Women in general and also men should know about it in order to be able to transfer this problem to all people and support the women affected.
Experts recommend that information be personalized by age groups based on involvement, empathy, clarity of messages and work with influential people, especially on social networks.
What happens to sexuality with ovarian cancer?
One of the main demands is the treatment of the sexuality of those affected with ovarian cancer. In the report they clarify that attention must be paid to favor a better self-knowledge of the body and know how to deal with sexual problems.
The sexologist, sociologist and health and gender consultant, Irene Coldexplains to EFEsalud that “sexuality must be addressed first from oncology.”
“The professional should ask what life is like for the woman who has just been diagnosed. Ovarian cancer has an unexpected course and is very irruptive in the person’s life cycle. It appears out of nowhere and this at the level of emotional management is very important”, says the specialist.
The sexologist affirms that “health professionals must take the initiative to take sexual function into account and address it directly in consultation”.
Likewise, these doctors must contact sexual health professionals to seek advice and be able to advise the patient.
Psychological treatment has to go hand in hand with treatment of sexuality, according to Aterido: “The pelvic area, where ovarian cancer develops, is a fundamental area for the female and male sexual experience. The communication of bad news is getting better, but sexuality is not yet addressed”.
anticipate to treat
It is recommended that the affected woman be able to ask about the consequences of cancer and treatment, as well as the impact it will have on her sexual life.
“We have to anticipate the questions -he adds- The recently diagnosed does not have to be afraid to ask everything and precisely all the things that scare him. It is important to ask about the consequences at all levels of the organism”.
The sexologist recalls that “sometimes oncology saves your life, but it is important during and see what happens after.”
Issues related to pleasure is another topic that is usually dealt with in sexology in cancer patients.
Irene Aterido recalls that “no cancer treatment will affect the pleasure signals of the central nervous system, so the ability to feel pleasure, love and affection is not lost.”
Communicate the bad news also to the couple
Another important aspect is cancer treatment together with the patient’s sentimental and/or sexual partner.
This expert points out that “there are no general recommendations, but the partner should be included in the communication, if the affected person so wishes.”
“The right to give information about her health belongs to the woman herself and we must attend to the rhythms of diagnosis of grief, as well as consider the stage in which the couple is at the time of diagnosis,” he concludes.
Not enough food. Inedible meals. No training equipment. Some Olympic athletes unlucky enough to test positive for the coronavirus at the Beijing Olympics feel their quarantine conditions are making a bad situation much worse.
“My stomach hurts, I’m very pale and I have huge black circles around my eyes. I want all this to end. I cry every day. I’m very tired,” Russian biathlon competitor Valeria Vasnetsova posted on Instagram from one of Beijing’s so-called quarantine hotels.
Her problem wasn’t with any symptoms of the virus. It was the food.
Vasnetsova posted a picture Thursday of what she said was “breakfast, lunch and dinner for five days already” — a tray with food including plain pasta, an orange sauce, charred meat on a bone, a few potatoes and no greens.
She said she mostly survived on a few pieces of pasta because it was “impossible” to eat the rest, “but today I ate all the fat they serve instead of meat because I was very hungry.” She added she lost a lot of weight and “my bones are already sticking out.”
The quarantine hotels are increasingly the target of criticism from athletes and their teams, who are lobbying organizers for improvements. There’s a lack of transparency, too, with only some virus-positive athletes forced into quarantine hotels where their teams don’t have access, while teammates in similar situations are allowed to isolate within the Olympic village.
The rules for athletes who test positive say those without symptoms go to a dedicated hotel for isolation. Anyone who has COVID-19 with symptoms will go to a hospital. In both cases, they’ll be unable to compete until cleared for discharge.
Teams have started going public with criticism.
Canada’s Darcy Sharpe competes during the men’s slopestyle qualifying at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Feb. 6, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China.
After Eric Frenzel, a three-time gold medalist in Nordic combined, tested positive, German delegation head Dirk Schimmelpfennig lambasted the “unreasonable” living conditions. Germany wants larger, more hygienic rooms, and more regular food deliveries so athletes who are eventually released are still fit to compete, Schimmelpfennig said in comments reported by the FAZ newspaper.
The pressure can pay off. Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans was brought back from a quarantine hotel to isolation in the athletes’ village after she made a tearful post on social media. Her main gripe was the lack of information. She was loaded into an ambulance and transported from one quarantine facility to another on a day she thought she was being released.
Vasnetsova passed her time in quarantine with a little detective work. When fetching the food left outside her door, she took a glance at the boxes left outside other rooms in her corridor, whose doors were labeled with signs to distinguish Olympians from other people working at the Games who tested positive, such as team staff.
She concluded the athletes were getting worse food and underlined it with a picture of food served to her team doctor, who had also tested positive and was living two floors below. He had fresh fruit, a salad and prawns with broccoli.
“I honestly don’t understand, why is there this attitude to us, the athletes?!” she wrote.
Two days on from her criticism, Vasnetsova is still in quarantine, but things are looking up.
Russian biathlon team spokesperson Sergei Averyanov posted a picture of what he said was an improved meal delivered to Vasnetsova’s room including salmon, cucumbers, sausages and yogurt. A stationary bike will be delivered soon, he added.
Vasnetsova, he wrote, “is already smiling, and that’s the main thing.”
“It can change your life” or “In 2021 it touched 276,239” are some of the messages of the campaign that the National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) has launched to make people aware of the importance of cancer research
María Blasco, director of the National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), during the presentation of the campaign “The Lottery that touches you the most”, on the occasion of World Cancer Day/ EFE/Rodrigo Jiménez
The campaign, launched on the occasion of World Cancer Day, February 4, bears the slogan “The lottery that touches the most” and has been presented in a lottery administration in the center of Madrid in which throughout the day of February 3 The CNIO has informed citizens of the importance of donations in the work of this cancer research center.
“Cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases. One in three people, men and women, will have it. That is why we are here, because we want to raise awareness about the importance of research and because the more research, the more treatments, more cures and less fear,” the researcher and director of the CNIO, María Blasco, told EFE.
With these donations, which are managed through the “Friends of the CNIO” initiative, 100% of the proceeds will be dedicated to hiring researchers who work on different projects to understand “the molecular origin of cancer, which is common to many types of tumours”, points out Blasco.
Today, half of cancer cases can be cured but another 50% do not have effective treatments. “There is a long way to go in research to be able to control them all” and to understand metastasis, “a process associated with cancer that continues to be the greatest cause of death and that is still largely unknown”, points out María Blasco.
Donations can be made on the ‘CNIO Friends’ website, through the telephone line that the CNIO has set up for this purpose or through the BIZUM code 03427.
Also within the framework of World Day, for the next 12 months, the CNIO is exhibiting the piece Intra-Venus at its facilities in Madrid, a sculpture made of Carrara marble that aims to give visibility to the personal and emotional journey that women who have or have had cancer.
“Cancer is a disease wrapped in metaphors, a disease that is not shown as it is but is hidden behind expressions of war such as ‘winning the battle’ or ‘fighting the scourge’ and that is a mistake and a problem”, has denounced Maria Blasco.
The work, made by the visual artist from Granada Marina Vargas, shows the author’s real body after going through a cancer process, in an attempt to look at the disease head-on and to show all that it entails.
Real reality of cancer
The sculpture represents a woman showing the true reality of cancer: she is missing a breast and shows the effects of chemotherapy on her body. Her raised arm, as a sign of her activism. “It bears witness,” sums up Vargas.
«I wanted to make this process visible with my body, as a generator of knowledge. To show what is there, make it lighter for those who suffer from this disease and talk about it without sweetening the process, “explains the author.
In the presentation of this work, Vargas stressed that artists have an essential role in making cancer visible, a disease that is diagnosed in one in three people and that does not end with treatment but “goes much further “, has warned.
And it is that only 53 percent of women who have suffered cancer return to their jobs after therapy, because in many cases, they are fired for fear of a relapse.
This disease also causes economic problems and delays the professional career of women, among other factors, recalled Marian Fernández Cao, professor and expert in gender imbalance.
Research, cancer and art
For all these reasons, Fernández Cao, together with Marina Vargas and a dozen artists who have had or have the disease, have created the Intra-Venus Association, a non-profit organization proposed as a collaborative network to make cancer visible.
Its name, Intra-Venus, is inspired by the North American artist Hannah Wilke (1940-1993) -a pioneer of the art approach who recorded the process of her illness on video tapes to show the true face of cancer-, and her goal It is to act as a platform for social activism, to favor the labor reintegration of female creators, to make cancer visible and, above all, to accompany women in this process.
“The CNIO had to be part of all this. Intra-Venus and the CNIO had to share a common space”, stressed María Blasco, because research and art are two great ways of generating knowledge and “avoiding metaphors”, concluded the director of the CNIO.
Every day, more than 400 scientists work in the CNIO in cancer research.
María Blasco (left) next to the sculpture and the artist Marina Vargas/Courtesy photo
