Dr. Surinder Sodhi

HEROIN equal death. If you donothing to get out, you end updying. To be a heroin addict is tobe imprisoned. In the beginning,you think heroin is your friend(they may seem to help you escapethe things or feelings that botheryou). But soon, you will find you getup in the morning thinking onlyabout heroin.

“Your whole day is spent finding or tak-ing heroin. You get high all afternoon. Atnight, you put yourself to sleep with hero-in. And you live only for that. You are in aprison. You beat your head against a wall,nonstop, but you don’t get anywhere.

In the end, your prison becomes yourtomb.”

Many people do not understand why orhow other people become addicted todrugs. It is often mistakenly assumed thatdrug abusers lack moral principles orwillpower and that they could stop usingdrugs simply by choosing to change theirbehavior. In reality, drug addiction is acomplex disease, and quitting takes morethan good intentions or a strong will. Infact, because drugs change the brain inways that foster compulsive drug abuse,quitting is difficult, even for those who areready to do so. Through scientific advances,we know more about how drugs work inthe brain than ever, and we also know thatdrug addiction can be successfully treatedto help people stop abusing drugs and leadproductive lives.

What is Drug Addiction?Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing

brain disease that causes compulsive drugseeking and use, despite harmful conse-quences to the addicted individual and tothose around him or her. Although the ini-tial decision to take drugs is voluntary formost people, the brain changes that occurover time challenge an addicted person’sself-control and hamper his or her abilityto resist intense impulses to take drugs. Inthis article we specifically concentrate onheroin abuse.

What are the treatments for hero-in addiction?

A variety of effective treatments areavailable for heroin addiction, includingboth behavioral and pharmacological(medications). Both approaches help torestore a degree of normalcy to brain func-tion and behavior, resulting in increasedemployment rates and lower risk of HIVand other diseases and criminal behavior.Although behavioral and pharmacologictreatments can be extremely useful when

utilized alone, research shows that forsome people, integrating both types oftreatments is the most effective approach.

When people addicted to opioids firstquit, they undergo withdrawal symptoms(pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting),which may be severe. Medications can behelpful in this detoxification stage to easecraving and other physical symptoms,which often prompt a person to relapse.While not a treatment for addiction itself,detoxification is a useful first step when itis followed by some form of evidence-basedtreatment.

Medications developed to treat opioidaddiction work through the same opioidreceptors as the addictive drug, but aresafer and less likely to produce the harm-ful behaviors that characterize addiction.

Behavioral TherapiesThe many effective behavioral treat-

ments available for heroin addiction can bedelivered in outpatient and residential set-tings. Approaches such as contingencymanagement and cognitive-behavioraltherapy have been shown to effectivelytreat heroin addiction, especially whenapplied in concert with medications. Con-tingency management uses a voucher-based system in which patients earn“points” based on negative drug tests,which they can exchange for items thatencourage healthy living. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is designed to helpmodify the patient’s expectations andbehaviors related to drug use and toincrease skills in coping with various lifestressors.

Every sector of community has itsspecific role in handling this menaceas :-

ROLE OF PARENTS : It is very cru-cial in handling the kids. They have to nur-ture their kids in positive environment andthey must boost them with moral values,there role as parents become more valuablewhen the child is addicted as its very com-plex and tedious procedure to deaddict thechild. There patience love care confidence

and will power is tested to fullest in com-bating this situation. Parents must knowone thing that addiction in itself is a diseaseand it is cured only by following scientifictechnique and proper medication.

ROLE OF TEACHERS : Teachers areimportant link in this thing. They have tokeep a strict vigil on students and they mustremain aware of their behaviour and mustobserve change in the performance of stu-dents. They must talk to the students andmust educate them regarding the dangersof addiction.

ROLE OF MEDIA : Media has to takemost important role in educating the youthregarding the harmful effects of the herlinaddiction. They must show the communi-ty that the heroin addiction is a dead endand if a person is into it deaddiction is verymuch possible that requires will power andconfidence with a clean intent. Media hasto make an environment against the drugs.

ROLE OF POLICE: Police is the mostimportant as being the law enforcers. Theymust keep the full record of the criminalswho deal in drugs mostly they have to coor-dinate with different states in curbing thisthing. They must remain proactive andkeep a watch on the situation. Police has toeducate the local public regardind thismenace.

ROLE OF GOVT : Govt has to makenew and strict laws against the drug poli-cies. NDPS ACT is not that strict and itrequires ammendmants from time to time.Conviction rate has to increase and persononce caught in drug usage/ handling /transportation cases must not get relax-ation from the court, and govt. must ensurethey got punished vigrously. The govt incollaboration with different NGOs do therallies and educational lectures and let thepeople know about the dreaded causes ofthe heroin. The govt also take steps to sealthe borders and make strict vigil on inter-state communication and transportationof the heroin.

(The author is faculty in NephrologyDepartment GMC, Jammu)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 24, 2016 (PAGE-4)

'Kaun kahta hai aasmaan mein chhed honahin sakta Ek paththar to tabiyat se uchhaloyaaron'

To all those who look down upon Bollywood moviesand snigger that they can never match up to the best ofthe West, the wait is over. AIRLIFT is here to make yourcinematic spirits fly. Literally. Hats off to Bhushan Kumarof T Series, Nikhil Advani, Vikram Malhotra and AkshayKumar for backing a film that deserves to be seen by everyIndian and yes the world is waiting to salute the biggestand most historic air evacuation in the world history. Withbaited breath. Some stories should be told. AIRLIFT shedslight on the evacuation of Indians in Kuwait after the inva-sion by Iraq and it is narrated BRILLIANTLY!

Ranjit Katyal (Akshay Kumar) is a shrewd business-man who liked enjoying the high society life of Kuwait.His wife Amrita Katyal (Nimrat Kaur) is happy in her ownworld with her little daughter. Their world is turnedupside down as Iraq invades Kuwait on August 2, 1990.Circumstances get the best or worst out of people. Ranjitwho was a selfish businessman turns a new leaf as hewatches his driver murdered in front of his own eyes. Healong with a group of rich friends organises a camp for 1,70, 000 Indians. The subsequent days are a gloriousaccount of his powerful negotiating skills with enemies aswell as friends.

Writer-Director Raja Krishna Menon's relatives werepart of the Kuwait crisis. It must have been a story veryclose to his heart for he has poured tears, cries and trau-ma that only those who've been through hell can narrate.His direction leaves a hammer strong impact. Raja Menonis a director to watch out for. Suresh Nair, Rahul Nangia,Ritesh Shah along with Menon share the writing credits.Screenplay is gripping. There's not a single false note. Dia-

logues are wonderfully written. At sev-eral junctures you shall get funnygems like 'Reti mein kheti karoon kya'and many more.

Akshay Kumar has delivered hiscareer's best performance in AIR-LIFT. He is outstanding! He is clearlythe soul of the film. It is clear, this isnot merely a film. He's willing to giveit his all. The transformation from aman who lived for himself to a manpossessed with the well being of hisfellow countrymen in a foreign land isnothing short of genius. The scenewhere he communicates helpless guiltthrough vacuous eyes to the wife of anemployee who has been murdered inthe mayhem is simply brilliant. Thereare many scenes where Akshay towersas an actor. It is a National award win-ning worthy act. Nimrat Kaur essaysthe role of a disgruntled wife whocomes closer to her husband more-than-ever-before in the moment of

crisis. She's first rate throughout. Nimrat is fabulous inthe confrontation sequence when she shuts up the cantan-kerous Mr George (Prakash Belawadi) at a crucial junc-ture in the film. Prakash Belawadi as the irritating refugeeis very convincing and noteworthy. Purab Kohli asIbrahim Durrani, the right hand man of Akshay is firstrate. Inamulhaq as the Amitabh Bachchan fan Iraqi MajorKhalaf Bin Zayd is a delight. The sinister villainy dippedin vilayati whiskey is a delight. Kumud Mishra as the Babuin External Affairs ministry brings in a laid back charm.

The background score of the film is a character in itselfand pulls the strings of your emotions effectively.Amongst the songs, 'Tu Bhoola Jise' (excellently com-posed by Amaal Malik and outstandingly sung by KK) isan exceptional song that instills a unique wave of patriot-ism within you. Kumaar's lyrics are written with the bloodof true feelings. As the crescendo goes 'Vande Mataram' asense of satiating catharsis sets in. 'Soch Na Sake' (com-posed by Amaal Malik and sung by Arijit Singh) is anoth-er song that comes at a crucial time and thankfully onlyhalf of it is used that ensures that the effect of the momentisn't diluted.

Priya Seth's cinematography gives a unique texture tothe film. She captures the locations of Ras al Khaima(UAE) and Rajasthan in a breathtaking manner. The fram-ing of the desert sequences is outstanding. HemantiSarkar's editing is crisp and taut.

On the whole, AIRLIFT is a classic film based on a reallife incident that is told extremely well on screen. It is sure-ly one of the best films to come out this year and will pickup with a strong word of mouth. Just do not miss this one!

Courtesy http://www.bollywoodhungama.com.

MOVIE-REVIEW

Evacuation tale told brilliantly

HEALTHLINES

Mohinder Verma

An officer par excellence, the quintessence of great poet-ess and artist… These words are sufficient to briefly describeSangeeta Gupta, an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, whonever allowed her professional duties and passion to clash atany stage of her life. While scaling up the ladder of success inthe Income Tax Department, she simultaneously earnedname and fame as a painter, a poetess and a staunch support-er of emancipation of women.

Be it studies during college days, expectations of parentsfrom a duty-bound daughter, continuing passion for writingand painting and cracking the Civil Services Exams after com-pletion of Master’s Degree in Political Science to become anIndian Revenue Service officer, Sangeeta Gupta maintainedexceptional equilibrium in every sphere and in every task.

She has not had any formal training in the field of finearts but can still boast of more artistic achievements than mostof her generation of professional painters. With every pass-ing year, she is not only excelling in the Income Tax Depart-ment, where she is considered as an expert on widening of taxbase, but also making additions to the long list of honors inthe field of writing and painting.

For Sangeeta Gupta abstract art is a means to reach thenon-objective experiences that help shape the inner life. It isa witness to the fact that man’s spiritual needs do not disap-pear even in times engulfed by gross materialism. She strivesto express the poetic vision in her works. Keeping in view herstrong passion for painting and writing, one can only makeguess about her performance on professional duties front. Butthe fact is that she has earned distinctions and achieved thetargets assigned to her wherever she was posted till date.Presently, she is Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, J&Kand during her short stint in the State the department has pro-duced remarkable results.

Her journey for excellence in painting and writing start-ed in the year 1995 when she held her first solo show at BirlaAcademy of Art & Culture, Kolkata, which was inauguratedby none other than Mother Teresa. The entire sale proceedsof this show were donated to CRY. She has held 28 solo showsall over India including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore,Hyderabad, Lucknow, Chandigarh and overseas in London,Berlin, Munich, Lahore Belfast (Northern Ireland) and Thes-saloniki (Greece).

In August, 2013, her 26th solo exhibition dedicated toUttarakhand, was inaugurated by the former President ofIndia Dr A P J Abdul Kalam. The fund of Rs 20 lakh raisedthrough the sale proceeds of her paintings has been used forcreating a Fine Art Education Grant for the students ofUttarakhand. She has participated in more than 200 groupshows in India and abroad, in national exhibitions of LalitKala Akademi, AIFACS and Sahitya Kala Parishad and in sev-eral art camps.

Her paintings are in the permanent collection of theBharat Bhavan Museum, Bhopal, Museum of Sacred Art

(MOSA) Belgium and Macedonian Museum of ContemporaryArt, Thessaloniki (Greece). Her works have been representedat the India Art Fair, New Delhi in 2011, 2013, 2014 & 2015.As part of Indian Delegation she had a solo exhibition of paint-ings at Shenzhen, China 11th International Cultural andIndustrial Fair 2015.

Apart from winning all India awards for drawing, herworks occupy space on the walls of the country’s most presti-gious residences and offices including those of the Presidentand Prime Minister as well as Governors of Karnataka andJammu and Kashmir. This multifaceted lady also dabbles inseveral other fields like photography and she has taken partin national exhibitions of photography in 1999 and 2001, NewDelhi. She has also published six volumes of poems and onecollection of short stories.

Awards bagged by Sangeeta Gupta:Delhi Gaurav Award 2015 in Professional Category for Art

& Culture by Indian Brave Hearts supported by Union Min-istry of Social Justice & Empowerment; 6th Rajiv GandhiExcellence Award (2015); India Excellence Award for Poetry2015; Priyadarshini Award 2015 as an International CulturalEntrepreneur by the Ministry of Micro, Small and MediumEntrepreneur (MSME) India. 35th Women EntrepreneurshipAward 2015 by “Bharat Nirman”; Global Women AchieversAward 2015 by IGBC; Poet of the Year Award (2014) by 3rdDelhi International Film Festival 2014; Awarded and honoredas an Artist by 3rd Delhi International Film Festival 2014.

She is also the recipient of 6th National Women Excel-lence Award (2013); Rashtrakavi Maithilisharan Gupt Sam-man (2013) for contribution to Hindi poetry; Women Achiev-ers Award (2013) by Indian Council for UN relations on theeve of International Women’s Day; Vishwa Hindi PrachetaAlankaran (2013); Udbhav Shikhar Samman (2012) forachievements in the field of art and literature; HindprabhaAward (1999) for Indian Women Achievers by Uttar PradeshMahila Manch; 77th Annual Award for Painting (2005) byAll India Fine Arts & Craft Society, New Delhi and 69thAnnual Award for Drawing (1998).

There is a collection of short stories and five anthologiesof poems in Hindi to her credit. Sangeeta Gupta’s collectionof poems ‘Iss Par Uss Par’ has been translated in Bangla and‘Pratinaad’ has also been translated in Bangla, English andGerman. ‘Weaves of Time’, a collection of English poems waspublished in 2013 by Partridge, a Penguin company. “SparshKe Gulmohar” (collection of Hindi poems published by Rajka-mal Prakashan 2015). Ladakh : Knowing the unknown” (abook of rare photographs published by Full Circle 2015)launched at Jaipur Literature Festival 2015.

She has also directed, scripted and shot seven documen-tary films including one on “Kung Fu Nuns in MysticLadakh”. Her films have been screened at various presti-gious venues in Delhi and telecasted on DD Bharati and LokSabha channels several times in the recent past. “Kung FuNuns in Mystic Ladakh” was screened at 3rd Delhi Interna-tional Film Festival 2014.

A civil servantwho has passion for poetry and painting

PERSONALITY

Dr Rajeev Gupta

Carcinoma of the cervix is the second most common can-cer in the women worldwide as well as amongst the Indianwomen. According to a report by GLOBOCAN 2012 (WHO),about 23 women out of every 100,000 suffer from cervical can-cer in India. Almost 123,000 new cases are diagnosed everyyear and 67,500 patients die every year due to cervical can-cer, which amounts to about 8 deaths every hour. India aloneis harboring more than 25% of the whole world’s cervical can-cer burden. Women in India have a 2.5% lifetime risk to getCervical Cancer, which is double the risk as compared to thedata worldwide (1.3%).

Cancer awareness is the key to pre-vent cervical cancer. However, it is atragedy that cervical cancer is widelyprevalent in India due to lack of proper knowledge and infor-mation. It is also unfortunate that cervical cancer mostlyaffects the young women. But the important thing to under-stand is that cervical cancer is completely preventable and,therefore, all you need is awareness to protect yourself fromit.

Cervical Cancer is a Sexually Transmitted Disease & alsoan AIDS Defining illness. It is caused by the infection withHuman Papilloma Virus(HPV). HPV prevalence increaseswith multiple sexual partners and poor genital hygiene. Also,too many children, not enough spacing between children, lownutrition levels and early marriage all contribute to the riskfactors for this kind of cancer. The high risk group includesgirls who have commenced sexual activity as teenagers, thosewho have had multiple pregnancies or have multiple sex part-ners and don’t use contraceptives.

Symptoms of Cervical Cancer* Abnormal vaginal bleeding.* Increased vaginal discharge* Pain in the pelvic area* Pain during intercourse* Abnormal vaginal bleeding.* Increased vaginal discharge* Pain in the pelvic area* Pain during sexThe disease remains asymptomatic for a long time till it

starts invading neighbouring tissues. Only during the laterstages of cancer is when one or more of these symptoms shownin table may be noticeable. However, similar symptoms canalso be caused by other infections or other health problems.Hence, it is very important to consult your gynecologist at theearliest

Cervical cancer is a deadly disease once it reaches theinvasive stages. But out of all the female genital tract can-cers, it is the only preventable cancer, if detected at its ear-ly stages. The process of transformation of a precancerousstate to cervical cancer takes approximately 10 years ormore. During this period, a simple test called Pap smear

(Papanicolaou Smear) can detect this precancerous state.Population-based screening with Pap smear is an importantsecondary preventive measure for cervical cancer that leadsto a high-cure rate among cervical cancer patients. As perNCCN Guidelines (USA), Pap smears are recommended forall sexually active women and should begin at 21 years of ageor three years after the onset of sexual activity. The test shouldbe repeated every two years till the age of 30 and thereafter,at three yearly intervals if normal and at 5 yearly intervals ifboth Pap smear and testing for high risk strains of HPV arenegative. In a landmark study by Tata Memorial Cancer Hos-pital, Mumbai, mass screening of women was found to reducethe risk of dying due to cervical cancer by a whopping 30%. Itis known that mass screening for cervical cancer even once in10 years can reduce the incidence of this disease by 60%.

Cervical Cancer Vaccination : Vaccination againstHPV at an early age is the best way to prevent the disease. Inthe trials that led to approval of 2 Vaccines (Gardasil andCervarix ), it was found that they provide nearly 100 percent

protection against persistent cervicalinfections with HPV types 16 and 18 (Cancer causing serotypes of HPV) andreversal of any cervical cell changes

that transform them to invasive cervical cancer. Both vaccinesare available presently in the Indian market.

Vaccination Schedule : The HPV vaccines are alldesigned to be given to people in three doses ( 0, 2nd month& 6th month) over a 6-month period. But recently , theWorld Health Organization has recommended two doses asthe standard delivery for these vaccines, although in the Unit-ed States three doses are still recommended.

HPV Vaccine Recommendation : As per recommen-dations of IAP (Indian Academy of Pediatrics), all girls in theage group of 9- 26 years of age , should undergo vaccination,with ideal age of 10-12 years. All females are advised to getthemselves vaccinated before the commencement of a sexu-ally active life, since more than 75% of sexually active femaleshave been tested positive for HPV by 22 years of age.

Treatment of Cervival cancer: Once cervical cancerhas developed, treatment is planned according to the stage ofthe cancer

* Precancerous changes in the cervix (Stage 0) can be treat-ed with cryosurgery or laser surgery with aim of preservingthe fertility & long term cure (100%)

* Early stage Cancer (Stage I) can be treated with surgerywith removal of uterus & both ovaries , with aim of long termcure (5 year survival : 81-96%)

* Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer (Stage II, III ) can betreated with radiation therapy, chemotherapy or a combina-tion of two or more of these methods , with the aim of destroy-ing the cancer & containing the disease, may result in cure (5year survival : 20-35%)

* Late stage or Metastatic Cervical Cancer (Stage IV) canbe treated with chemotherapy , with aim to decrease the tumorload & prolong the life of the patient (5 year survival : <1%)

Author is working as Assistant Professor at Sri Guru RamDass Institute of Med-ical Sciences & Research, Amritsar & consultant Medical Oncologist & Hematologistat Sanjeevani Cancer Clinic, Jammu.

If any query, he can contacted @ email: drrajeevgupta1@gmail.com

CCeerrvviiccaall CCaanncceerrHow to Prevent Cervical Cancer?

* Delay the onset of sexual activity* Limit the number of sexual partners* Say no to smoking and also avoid second-hand smoke* Practice barrier method of contraception * Schedule your Pap tests* Follow-up on abnormal Pap * Get yourself vaccinated* Maintain a healthy diet & lifestyle

CANCER & US