Valentines Day Special:- Changing with the Cartoons!

The first thing I do when I pick up my morning newspaper is to read the Comics!I believe in starting the day with a little smile on my face!

I think ever since I began reading, and ever since we got newspapers in our house I've been a big fan of cartoons.First (mid 80's) it was the 'Praja Vani' with Phantom and Mandrake placed at the bottom of the middle sheet, and Mandrake the Magician and Raman in the Kannada weekly 'Sudha'.We still get Sudha and its no surprise that I'm still reading Phantom from it!During my high school days I read Archies and other comics which were available in our school library.During my graduation and postgraduate days at Mysore and Hubli I was hooked to the cartoons in the various newspapers which were available in the college and hostel reading rooms. The Hindu was and is my favorite newspaper and I still hate it for not having cartoons, I hate Times of India but love their cartoons and comics.Garfield, Dennis the Menace and Calvin and Hobbes always make me laugh whenever I read them.Well, why am I talking about cartoons anyway?

My preferences and interests in certain cartoon characters has evolved over the years and my favorites have shifted over time.

During my childhood I wore my chaddi and tied a towel around my neck and jumped off chairs and tables thinking I was Superman and was whizzing past the planets and saving earthlings from all the troubles they were facing.I wanted to become Superman when I grew up!I think this 'fascination' also led me to believe that bringing justice to people was very important.'I want to becoming a lawyer' during my later years of childhood was also based on the same thoughts I believe.Phantom was the same like Superman but with slightly more realistic 'justice provider', he lived in this world like the rest of us and was much more real than Superman.

My favorites shifted to Archies and Blondie during my college years where I found Veronica and Betty very attractive. Blondie(middle aged blonde with two teenaged kids!) too was very beautiful for my eyes.I loved Daisy(the Bumsteads dog) for her antics.Elmo was the most brilliant kid around and his dscussions with Dagwood always gave me stomach cramps from laughing.Of course Mr Dithers was the one I hated the most!

Another favorite of mine during those days was Garfield with the owner Jon Arbuckle who always found it difficult to find a girl for himself.Though I laughed at him whole heartedly I never wanted to be in his place.I pitied Jon's dates and learnt a lot of lessons about girls from him!I loved and hated Garfield in the same way Garfield loved and hated Jon!

My most recent favorite(after my marriage) has been 'Molly and Moose Miller'.Molly and Moose (parents of a teenaged and two young kids) are fat, financially broken, unemployed, always struggling to meet ends, have to look after the whole family(Molly's mom plus the kids,plus her younger brother, plus lots of pets the kids have), Moose has to frequently escape from the bill collectors and they have a broken house to add to the problems.

The only thing they have is their love for each other!This keeps them smiling and happy always.The Millers demonstrate that LOVE overcomes all the sorrows in this world.

I just wanted to tell you how preferences and priorities change overtime.I have tried to capture these things by taking Comics and Cartoons as examples.

I wish you a very happy Valentines Day.Enjoy.

Cancer!

Cancer!.....thats a scary word, isnt it?

Stastistics shows that about 3 lakh people in India die every year due to cancer.About 20 lakh people have cancer at a given time and about 7 lakh people are newly detected to have cancer each year. India is finding it difficult but challenging to take care of about 15 lakh people who need investigations, diagnosis and treatment yearly.You can estimate the economic hardship the country is facing due to this dreaded condition alone.

Being a surgeon and working in a tertiary hospital I come across cancer patients almost daily.I feel sorry for the people who have cancer.More than anything else, most of them are probably unlucky to get it.Sometimes I think, maybe as humans we deserved it!. I sometimes also feel that nature may be punishing us for the sins we have created(and still creating).Rapid change in human behaviour and lifestyle, urbanisation, changing eating habits, pollution, tension filled professions, increased population etc. etc., Are these responsible for cancer? My answer would be a resounding YES!. Nature is finding different ways to tell us that we have to be careful, especially to care for our health.

On The World Cancer Day let me assure you that cancer is a 'no big deal' thing, only if you are cautious to avoid certain things and clever to learn some more.Cancer is curable and treatable in most of the cases if it is detected early and some cancers can be prevented. My focus will always be on these aspects.Prevention and Early Detection, the two pillars for cancer awareness.

Prevention is simple, just avoid tobacco and alcohol.

More than 90% of cancers in India are directly attributed to tobacco alone! Tobacco in various forms like gutka, paan, beedi, cigerettes is to be avoided and if you are presently a smoker it is never late to quit smoking.Studies have proven benefits for early quitters.Mouth and lung cancers, which are the top two cancers in males in our country have direct relationships with tobacco.Treatment of these cancers may require money amounting to a familys income for a generation.Many of the Indian families have been doomed trying to treat a family member suffering from cancer.The next generation of the patient has suffered due to the patients inability to stop smoking! If you dont care for yourself atleast care for your kin!.Be notified to approach a doctor if there is white patch in your mouth which has come up recently, be doubly careful if you are a smoker.Also approach a doctor if you find small painless swellings in your neck, armpits or around your genital regions, which may have come up recently.These may be lymphnodes which may have cancer cells in them.

Alcohol is another factor very much influencing cancer. It is quicker than tobacco in ruining a family! Most cancers have direct association with alcohol intake. Quitting alcohol is good for your health and your pocket as well. Sadly alcohol along with tobacco consumption is alarmingly increasing in women.

For the ladies the main cancers to worry are(along with the mouth and lung cancers) Cancer Cervix and Breast cancer.Preventive measures are general genital hygeine and protective sexual behaviour. Breast feeding for adequate duration is protective and beneficial for the infant as well.Breast self examination has to be practised regularly and systematically, and a doctor maybe consulted in case of any lump in the breast.Approaching a doctor for a doubt is better than regretting for life later.Never feel inadequate to get a clarification anytime.Never be ashamed in such matters.

Now with this small bit of information you can surely be not as scary as before I guess.