Brain tumour no longer scary: Doctors
New Delhi, June 8: Unlike the widespread defeatist perception about brain tumour, many patients of the disease can be cured with current advances in technology and early detection, doctors said on the World Brain Tumour Day on Friday.
"With the advent of modern technology and advanced surgical modalities, brain tumour is no longer as scary as it used to be a few years ago. If the cases are detected early, then 90 per cent of benign brain tumours are curable," said Rahul Gupta, Senior Brain, Spine and Endovascular Surgeon at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, New Delhi.
Speaking on one of the latest technology advancements in brain tumour treatment, Gupta said Frameless Neuro Navigation Systems guides the surgeon to the surgical targets without the use of external frames and limits the size of skull opening for safely removing the tumour.
"Not all tumours are cancerous. There are two main types -- noncancerous (benign) and cancerous (malignant). These are graded depending on how fast they grow and what are the chances of it growing back," said Mukesh Pandey, Senior Consultant, Neuro and Spine Surgery, Fortis Hospital, New Delhi.
Doctors advise regular screening as early detection and treatment will help in prevention of complications.
"Timely diagnosis and treatment is very important in deciding the outcome. The most common symptom is headache which is typically early in the morning and it may be associated with repeated vomiting," said Rohit Bansil, Senior Neurosurgeon, BLK Superspeciality Hospital, New Delhi.
"Some patients may even have seizure or weakness of one side of the body or drowsiness, depending on the location of the tumour. If you notice such symptoms, you should immediately see a neurosurgeon," he added.
The exact cause of brain tumour is still unknown but there are some risk factors which may lead to brain tumour. These are old age, past history of the disease, family history and radiation including CT scans, X-rays and radiotherapy, doctors said.
Shirish Hastak, Neurologist at Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai said that apart from age and family history, there are other key factors that can put one at risk of brain tumour.
"Frequent use of cellphones may cause brain tumour. Preliminary investigations bring to light how the radio frequency energy from cell phones is capable of causing brain tumours; however the results on this are inconsistent. Exposure to certain chemicals which are carcinogenic in nature can also increase the risk of brain cancer. People who are exposed to ionising radiation are highly prone to brain tumours," said Hastak.
In India, every year 40,000-50,000 persons are diagnosed with brain tumour, which is a life threatening medical condition caused by abnormal growth of brain cells.
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Dhyan Chand lifetime award to be replaced by Arjuna lifetime
New Delhi, Oct 24: The sports ministry on Thursday announced the discontinuation of the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement from this year onwards and the introduction of the Arjuna Award Lifetime in its place in a bid to "rationalise" the various sporting honours of the country.
Instituted in 2002, the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Award, named after hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, is given to individuals in disciplines that are part of the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, among others.
In 2023, the award was given to former shuttler Manjusha Kanwar, ex-hockey exponent Vineet Kumar and kabaddi player Kavitha Selvaraj.
"The various schemes for sports awards have been rationalised wherein Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced in place of Dhyan Chand Award. To recognise the efforts of coaches at grassroots/development level, they are now eligible for the Dronacharya Award," said a ministry statement.
"The Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced and will be given for life time contribution to sports development.
"Further, to recognize the Khelo India scheme, the Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy will be given to the University for Overall Top Performance in Khelo India University Games," it added.
The last date for applying for the national sports awards for 2024 is November 14.
