Two-Fact Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Fact 1: The results of improving a country’s screening program can be seen in the reduction of the death rates in some developing countries. In Mexico, for example, cervical cancer mortality dropped from 16/100,000 in 1990 to 8/100,000 in 2008.

Fact 2: El Salvador is known as the team who allowed the most goals in the World Cup, losing 10-1 to Hungary. Few people remember, however, that it was the team that took the least goals during the qualification round for that World Cup.

El Salvador fans cheer on their team.

 

Two-Fact Tuesday

Happy New Year! Here are the first two facts of 2013:

Fact 1: The top three cancers in women, breast, colorectal and cervical cancers, contribute more than 40% of all cancers worldwide (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer).

Fact 2: January is cervical cancer awareness month! Stay tuned to the blog for more posts.

January is Cervical Cancer awareness month

Have a great week, everyone! : )

Kelsey for Basic Health

Maria’s Story

Maria Esperanza Lopez is 43-year old woman from Chaletenago, El Salvador, who was diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer. She lives in a rural area more than 3 hours from the only site in the country that offers cancer treatment to the public. Unfortunately, Maria’s story is not an unfamiliar one in many developing countries. For many women in Maria’s situation, traveling hundreds of miles is impossible, let alone affording the cost of the treatment.

Maria and two of her eight children

Through Basic Health’s patient care program, Maria was able to receive radiation treatment and stay in a small apartment, free of charge, while she received six weeks of radiation and an additional two weeks of blood transfusions. Today, Maria has completed her treatment and her cancer is in remission. She is back at home with her children and stays in touch with BHI for follow-up care.

While Maria’s story illustrates the important patient treatment that we perform for women already struggling with cervical cancer, the most significant work that we do is to bring to rural El Salvador an innovative and affordable, diagnostic technique that promises to eradicate cervical cancer throughout the world.

Please help us make this goal a reality in honor of women like Maria and for all the women in El Salvador – and the world — who, thanks to Basic Health, will never be afflicted with cervical cancer.

To those of you who have already donated, thank you so much. To those who have not yet donated, please help us reach our end-of-year fundraising goal by clicking here to donate. Please share this email with your family and friends.

Warm regards,

Dr. Miriam Cremer

President & Founder, Basic Health International

Two-Fact Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Here are this week’s two facts:

Fact 1: It has been estimated that only about 5% of women in developing countries have been screened for cervical dysplasia in the past 5 years, compared with 40% to 50% of women in developed countries.

Fact 2: The Dominican Republic is noted for the invention of the ‘merengue’ style of music. The ‘merengue’ style of music is all about fast-paced dance music.

Merengue Band

Have a great week, everyone!

Kelsey for Basic Health

Two-Fact Tuesday

Happy Tuesday! Here’s this week’s two facts:

Fact 1: Recent research has shown that cancer has the most devastating economic impact of any cause of death in the world. (ACS Global Facts and Figures)

The direct costs include payments and resources used for treatment, as well as the costs of care and rehabilitation related to the illness. Indirect costs include the loss of economic output due to days missed from work (morbidity costs) and premature death (mortality costs). There are also hidden costs of cancer, such as health insurance premiums and nonmedical expenses (transportation, child or elder care, housekeeping assistance, etc.)

Fact 2: Haiti is the only independent Francophone nation in Latin America. All the other French-speaking Latin American nations are overseas departments of France

French Guiana

Haiti

Have a great week, everyone!

Kelsey for Basic Health

 

Two-Fact Tuesday

Hi everyone! Here’s this week’s two facts:

 
Fact 1: In Mexico the low quality of cytologic services has been a major barrier to reducing cervical cancer rates. A study of 13 cytology centers found a range of problems from poor-quality services to inadequately trained technicians, and the false-negative rate for Pap smears in these centers was as high as 54%.

Fact 2: As the U.S. baseball season winds down, the Dominican Republic annual baseball season is just warming up. Visitors who want to see the future stars of baseball can often find them playing in the nation’s Winter League, which is played from October through January.

Have a great week everyone and Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating this week!

Kelsey for Basic Health

Two-Fact Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, readers!

Fact 1: Mortality varies fifteen-fold between the different regions of the world, with rates ranging from 2 per 100,000 in Northern America and Western Europe to 25 per 100,000 in Eastern Africa in 2008.

Today’s second fact is about Guatemala, where BHI collaborated with a nonprofit to provide cervical cancer screening training this year.

Fact 2: Did you know that a scene from the original Star Wars movie “A New Hope” was shot in Guatemala in the Tikal National Park?  You can see the scene below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z690zwlaMao

Have a great week!
Kelsey for Basic Health