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Tell cancer patients truth

By Yoon Ja-youngPark, a housewife in Daejeon, lost her husband last year. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. When the doctors opened her late husband’s abdomen, they found that the cancer had progressed much more than they estimated. They had to suture without performing surgery.The wife, however, didn’t tell her husband what had happened. The patient believed that the surgery was successful, and was told the truth only at the moment he was passing away.Cases like Park’s are still common in the country. The family hesitates telling the terminal-stage cancer patients their exact condition. A research, however, showed that not only the frank talk helps decision making but it also enhances the quality of death.Prof. Ahn Eun-mi and Prof. Shin Dong-wook at the Seoul National University Hospital and a research team at National Cancer Center announced the report after analysis on 345 terminal cancer patients who were hospitalized in the palliative care centers.The study showed that only two out of three patients knew of their condition when they arrived at the center

Jul 26, 2013By Yoon Ja-young

Three-lows in recipes Cold eggplant soup

/ Courtesy of And BooksIngredients       Nutritional factsCalories: 38 kcalSodium: 181 mgFat: 1gYou will need two eggplants and two chives. You will optionally need some sesame and ice. For sauce, you will need 0.3 tablespoon of sugar, a half tablespoon of red pepper powder, a tablespoon of “gukganjang,” or Korean traditional soy sauce, 0.3 tablespoon of chopped garlic, a half tablespoon of sesame oil and some sesame. For seasoning of the soup, you will need one tablespoon of sugar and three tablespoons of vinegar.Step by step     1. Cut the eggplant into half and slice each into quarters. Slice chives.2. Put the eggplant into a steamer and steam it for seven minutes. Cool down and tear with your hands into thick pieces.3. Season the steamed eggplant with the sauce.4. Prepare three and a half cups of water and add the seasoning of the soup. Put the seasoned eggplant of step 3 and add chives, sesame and ice.Tip                 &nb

Jul 26, 2013By Yoon Ja-young
Three-lows in recipes Cold eggplant soup

Healthline

Class on external cephalic versionChungang University Hospital is holding a class on the external cephalic version, where obstetricians turn the baby in the breech position to be head-down to enable normal birth. Babies are supposed to be head-down ahead of birth for head-first vaginal delivery, but some babies are in bottom-down position, leading to cesarean section. Professors at the hospital, which is one of a few hospitals in the country that perform the external cephalic version, will give information on the technique, including whether it is safe.The class will be at the hospital’s main building in Heukseok-dong, southern Seoul, at 2 p.m. on July 29, and is open to anybody.For more information, contact the OB/GYN department at the hospital at (02) 6299-1645.Medipost publishes stem cell researchLocal researchers revealed a mechanism of how stem cell works in regeneration of damaged cartilage. According to Medipost, a research team led by Dr. Jeon Hong-bae at the company’s R&D Center revealed that TSP-2, a protein excreted by stem cell, promotes cartilage regenera

Jul 26, 2013By Yoon Ja-young

Premarital pregnancy becoming more common

Travel agencies promote ‘babymoon’ packages for newlywedsBy Park Jin-hai, Yoon Sung-won, and Kwon Ji-youn People say the biggest blessing that results from marriage is the birth of a child. The assumption is that only wedded couples have the “legitimate” right to have children. But not anymore ― at least for younger generations.Celebrity couples such as actor Jang Dong-gun and his wife Ko So-young, and Kim Seung-woo and Kim Nam-joo, have admitted they walked down the aisle with the brides pregnant.Actress Kim Bu-sun goes as far as to say she approves of premarital pregnancy. “My premarital pregnancy was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Kim says. “If my daughter becomes pregnant, I will host a party in her honor.”She believes people should embrace single mothers, whom she considers a minority in need of attention and care. But premarital pregnancy is now humdrum, even among people who are not stars.In a survey that consultancy Duo Wed conducted between June 1 and June 14, one-third of 374 newlyweds questioned said the bride

Jul 23, 2013
Premarital pregnancy becoming more common

Dementia: Disease more feared than cancer...

Senior citizens with dementia are reading books at a community center in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province. By Yoon Ja-youngIn a survey on senior citizens in 2005, they picked dementia as the most fearful disease, even more than cancer or a stroke. About 530,000 are suffering dementia in Korea, but the figure is expected to increase to 2 million in 30 years. That translates into one dementia patient in every five households. Bottom line: Dementia can be anybody’s story, be it either as a patient or a caregiver of the patient.A dementia patient would forget all the happy youthful days, what happened yesterday, or even what they said only 15 minutes ago. They will get lost right in front of the gate and forget their family. The pain of the other family members is nothing smaller. As dementia progresses, the family has to spend six to nine hours daily, washing, feeding, dressing and watching the patient. On average, it costs 19.7 million won a year to take care for a dementia patient. Prof. Park Kun-wooIn a class on dementia held at Korea University Anam Hospital in Seoul, doct

Jul 19, 2013By Yoon Ja-young
Dementia: Disease more feared than cancer...

Benefits of cosmetic acupuncture

By Lee Sung-hun Did you know that as we age, our face becomes larger? It is because as we age, our skin loses its elasticity, and the cheekbones become more pronounced and the facial outline gravitates downwards to make the face appear bigger. Also as we use the muscles for mastication for food consumption as well as for speech, the jawline tends to become flatter. This is why the slender and oval-shaped faces of young people become square-jawed as they age.In today’s world where people fight for every competitive edge they can muster including appearances, many people do stress out when they appear older than their actual age because of the worry lines and loose facial skin.Cosmetic treatment options have become common practices. Some consider Botox shots for the facial wrinkles and others consider micro-lipo injection (or “fat transfer”) for their deflated cheek lines. However, the concerns about side effects as well as appearing unnatural and the time required for treatment options can prevent people from taking that particular route. Thus, some settle

Jul 19, 2013
Benefits of cosmetic acupuncture

Mood swings during menopausal transition

By Lee Hye-jun I remember when my mother turned into a very different person during her menopausal transition. She would get emotional quite often _ she is a calm person in general _ and got annoyed easily at every family member. Looking back, I realized she was going through a big change of her life as a woman. I felt bad that I was not being more supportive of her.A few years later, I brought up that time trying to have a sweet mother-daughter moment. Mom’s response was unexpected. She remembered neither being emotionally challenged nor giving me a hard time. How could she have forgotten it all?Menopause is derived from the Greek words “men” (month) and “pausis” (cessation), a point when menstrual period permanently ends. During menopausal years, some women experience severe symptoms from estrogen deprivation, whereas others show unnoticeable reactions.The most common discomfort is experiencing hot flushes, the sudden onset of a sense of intense heat over the head, neck, and chest, accompanied by an increase in heart rate. Hot flushes oc

Jul 19, 2013
Mood swings during menopausal transition

Beans decrease gastric cancer risk

Those who eat beans and soy products often are less likely to have stomach cancer, according to a study. / Korea Times fileBy Yoon Ja-youngEating beans and soy products such as tofu decreases the risk of gastric cancer, research has shown. Salty soy products such as soybean paste, however, have no such positive effect.A research team led by Prof. Ko Kwang-pil at Gachon University and Prof. Yoo Keun-young at Seoul National University showed that there may be ways to prevent gastric cancer, which is the most common form of cancer in the country — the more often you eat foods containing beans, the less likelihood there is of developing stomach cancer.The research team conducted a massive cohort study, following a group of people to analyze the correlation between risk factors and the disease. They surveyed 9,724 healthy people regarding the frequency of certain food intakes and other risk factors in 1993. The food items in the survey included vegetables, fruits, soy/tofu, soybean paste, seaweed, mushrooms, meat, dairy products, fresh fish, salted fish, eggs, instant food, fried fo

Jul 19, 2013By Yoon Ja-young
Beans decrease gastric cancer risk

Don't hesitate visiting OB/GYN specialists

By Yoon Ja-youngWomen know that gynecologists are there to help them regarding their female health. But many Korean women, especially those who are single, still hesitate to visit the clinic due to the conservative culture in Korea. The Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Korean Association of Obstetricians & Gynecologists thus started a campaign to encourage them to visit.Under the “Tok, Talk Campaign,” which stands for the knocking sound on the clinic doors and talking with the doctor, young females under 30 who have never visited a gynecologist's clinic will get free counseling for their first visit. They should fill in an application on the Website, www.toktalkcampaign.com, and can also get information on female health and contraception.“Due to conservative attitudes on visiting a gynecologist clinic, many women still find it difficult to get counseling at the clinic,” said Chung Ho-jin, vice president of the Korean Association of Obstetricians & Gynecologists. According to a survey on 1,504 Korean females aged between 15 and 45, on

Jul 19, 2013By Yoon Ja-young
Don't hesitate visiting OB/GYN specialists

Take enough Vitamin D

Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical has launched a beverage containing Vitamin D, amid growing concern over Vitamin D deficiency in the country.A bottle of the “Kwang Dong 100se D” contains 1,000 international units (IU) of Vitamin D, which is equivalent to the Vitamin D in 2,000 cc of milk or 40 eggs. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in the United States recommends 600 IU of vitamins per day for those aged up to 70 and as much as 800 IU for those older than 70.“There was demand for beverages with which people can easily get Vitamin D, but there wasn’t any in the market due to technological barriers,” said a spokesperson for the pharmaceutical company. “As Vitamin D is fat-soluble, it doesn’t dissolve in water. Moreover, the vitamin is easily destroyed during manufacturing or distribution,” he added.Vitamin D is essential regardless of age or gender, as it strengthens bones by helping absorption of calcium and facilitates the building of immunity. One can get Vitamin D through food, supplements, or breast milk, but exposure to

Jul 19, 2013By Yoon Ja-young
Take enough Vitamin D
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