Tag Archives: women

MRI detects early effects of chemotherapy on children’s hearts

Chemotherapy with anthracyclines, such as Doxorubicin, is one of the most effective treatments against many types of cancer, including leukaemia and Hodgkin’s lymphoma, breast, lung, and ovarian cancer. However it can also lead to irreversible heart damage, which may not be apparent until several years after treatment. Being able to detect this damage at an early stage, in order to initiate preventative therapy of affected people, is especially important in children. Researchers from University of Alberta performed MRI scans on children and young adults (aged 7 to 19) at the Stollery Children’s Hospital who were in remission following anthracycline treatment…

Women willing to delay antibiotics for UTIs

More women than previously thought may be willing to delay taking antibiotics to treat a urinary tract infection in order to reduce the potentially unneeded use of antibiotics, a new Dutch study shows. More than one-third of women in the study with UTI symptoms said they were willing to wait a week to see if the infection would improve on its own before starting antibiotics. And more than 70 percent of the women who didn't use antibiotics for a week showed improvements or had their symptoms disappear completely, according to the study published May 30 in the journal BMC Family Practice. UTIs are more common in women than men, and are caused by E. coli bacteria in 80 to 90 percent of cases. The standard treatment for UTIs is a few days of antibiotic treatment, but the increasing emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has become a serious concern, experts say. “To counteract this increasing resistance, the use of antibiotics should be limited in healthy patients who can also be cured without them,” study researcher Dr. Bart Knottnerus, from the University of Amsterdam said in an email. Studies show that when patients have UTI symptoms, most often, antibiotic treatment is started before the results of urine cultures, which look for the presence of bacteria, are known. “In fact, a culture is seldom done. Instead, the probability of a positive culture is estimated by asking questions and performing urine investigations,” Knottnerus said. “Since no test is perfect, some patients without UTI will get antibiotics, and some patients with UTI will not.” In the study, 137 patients were asked by their doctor to delay antibiotic treatment for one week. Fifty-one women were willing to wait. After one week, 28 of those women had still not used antibiotics and 20 of them reported clinical improvement. None of the participating women developed kidney infection, according to the study. Kidney infection is a serious condition that can occur if a UTI is left untreated, and needs a more aggressive antibiotic treatment. The researchers say that bladder infections seldom progress to the kidneys. “If a kidney infection occurs in a healthy woman, she can be cured by antibiotics,” Knottnerus said. “But to make sure that these antibiotics will still be effective in the future, it is important to limit their use in mild infections (like bladder infections).” It is important that women with UTI symptoms be monitored by a doctor if they choose to delay antibiotics. “If a woman gets ill (fever, shivering, flank pain), the infection may be progressing to the kidney,” Knottnerus said. Previous studies have shown that in somecases, patients recover from UTIs within a week without taking antibiotics. Knottnerus said the reason is that they either didn't have a UTI, or didn't need antibiotics to cure it. The body's defense mechanisms are often strong enough to fend off infections without any help from antibiotics, he said. Dr. Timothy Jenkins, assistant professor at the Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Colorado, said about the new study: “Progressive antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a major problem in the United States and worldwide, so it is very important that we develop novel strategies to reduce antibiotic use, such as the one proposed in this study.” Jenkins noted that antibiotic use in the Netherlands is extremely low, whereas antibiotic use in the United States is quite high. “Therefore, whether this study is applicable to women in the U.S. where the societal expectation for antibiotics is greater is not known,” he said. New guidelines published last week, from the Dutch College of General Practitioners, support the advice to delay antibiotic treatment for uncomplicated urinary tract infections, the researchers said. Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/04/women-willing-to-delay-antibiotics-for-utis/

Research for Her: Bridging the gender gap in health studies

Before Kelli Sargent’s mother, Nanci, was diagnosed with stage 3C ovarian cancer in 2000, she and her family knew little about the disease’s warning signs. Frustrated by the lack of research and awareness surrounding ovarian cancer, Sargent and her mother started a nonprofit called “Run for Her” in conjunction with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in 2005. The event, a 5,000-meter run held in Los Angeles, raises funds and spreads awareness about ovarian cancer. Though Nanci lost her battle with ovarian cancer five years ago, Run for Her is still dedicated to its mission. Now, a new program at Cedars-Sinai called Research for Her is collaborating with Run for Her to overcome another obstacle standing in the way of improved outcomes for ovarian cancer patients: the lack of women participating in clinical trials. Women are historically underrepresented in clinical trials and erasing this gender gap could help scientist’s develop better screening methods for diseases like ovarian cancer – something that Sargent believes could have saved her mother’s life. “If you catch ovarian cancer early…it’s basically curable. You have such an optimistic future,” Sargent told FoxNews.com. “But only less than 20 percent of cases are caught early.” Sign up, save lives While doctors are uncertain why fewer women choose to enroll in clinical trials, they know unequal gender representation in studies can have serious health implications. “If we don’t find out how drugs work in the real population, then they may simply not work as well as we hope that we do,” Dr. BJ Rimel, co-founder of Research for Her and a gynecologic oncologist in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Cedars-Sinai, told FoxNews.com. Furthermore, the lack of female research participants has slowed studies seeking to explore the basic causes and markers of diseases like ovarian cancer.  Understanding the basic mechanisms behind these disorders could help lead to earlier detection methods – and ultimately save lives. It wasn’t until Rimel began her career at Cedars-Sinai in 2011, with a dream of conducting clinical trials, that she understood the severity of the problem. “I realized the enrollment for clinical trials at Cedars was abysmal,” Rimel said. “We weren’t making a dent. We were offering all these great things, but nothing was happening.” Rimel eventually met Dr. Catherine Deng, associate director of the Wasserman Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Program and surgeon at the Saul and Joyce Brandman Breast Center at Cedars-Sinai, who was having difficulty getting women to sign up for her breast cancer registry. With help from the already established Run for Her, the two women joined forces and launched the Research for Her clinical trial online registry. Doctors suspect that women haven't signed up for clinical trails in the past because of a lack of information, or because of the difficult sign-up process. Previously, the registration process for clinical trials was cumbersome, done primarily in the doctor’s office and using pen and paper.   “Women aren’t going to seek out a clinical trial when they have 19 other things to do, just to figure out if they qualify,” Sargent said. But with Research for Her, the sign-up process is easy. It takes only about 10 minutes, can be done online and all medical information is confidential, according to Rimel. If a woman qualifies for a trial, a research coordinator will contact her personally with more information – though there is no obligation to participate. “We want to make this simple,” Rimel said. And they seem to be on to something. Since the program’s launch on March 18, Research for Her has succeeded in registering 160 women for clinical trials – a huge increase for the program. Promising research One exciting trial currently benefitting from the Research for Her registry seeks to pinpoint chemical markers in the blood that may act as early identifiers for ovarian cancer. “We are trying to enroll women in the study (that are) already at risk for ovary cancer. The general population has a low risk, but for women with a high risk, we don’t know how best to screen them,” Rimel said. Thanks to the registry, researchers have been able to connect with a larger pool of women eligible to participate in the trial. “This registry has allowed us to find these women and contact them and get people in the study…that we haven’t been able to fill before now,” Rimel said.   Ultimately, Rimel and Deng hope to register 2,000 women through Research for Her by the end of the year. But in the long term, Rimel hopes that the program will be used nationwide to boost participation in clinical trials and further the progress of medical research. “Right now, it’s a single institution, but we hope if this takes off that we can network with others to make it a real way to help people (get) in clinical trials,” Rimel said. “That is my dream for this.” Sargent hopes that getting the word out about registry will help improve detection and treatment methods for women’s cancers – and save other women battling the disease that their mothers fought. “There is so much to learn, especially as research is advancing,” Sargent said. “They need this information from women.” Click for more on Research for Her. source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/04/research-for-her-bridging-gender-gap-in-health-studies/

Vinegar cancer test saves lives, India study finds

MUMBAI, India – & A study of women in India has found that a simple test using vinegar could save thousands of lives a year by spotting early signs of cervical cancer. Researchers tested 150,000 women in India, where cervical cancer is the leading cancer killer of women. Vinegar swabbed onto the cervix can cause abnormal cells to change color, a warning sign that further testing is needed. The test lowered the cervical cancer death rate by 31 percent among women who were screened versus those in a comparison group who were not. Cancer experts say the vinegar test could help in many poor countries that cannot afford Pap tests and that it could save 73,000 lives worldwide each year. Results of the study were reported at a cancer conference in Chicago on Sunday.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/02/vinegar-cancer-test-saves-lives-india-study-finds/

7 warning signs you should not ignore

A few days after Melissa Daly broke her ankle, the calf above it became tender. Within a week, her foot was dark purple. She saw her doctor, who dismissed it as normal bruising and offered a prescription for painkillers. The drugs didn't help, and a week later she woke up in the middle of the night gasping for air.  “I felt like I was suffocating,” she said. Her husband called 911, and within an hour she was on a respirator in the ER. A blood clot had broken off from her calf and lodged in her lungs. The agony she felt is one of seven pains you should never brush off. Read on to make sure that your nagging aches are as innocent as they seem. MORE: 7 Lies We Tell Our Doctors Severe Head Pain This mother of all headaches makes your bachelorette party hangover seem laughable. If you could laugh. The culprit: Odds are, any jackhammering in your brain is just a migraine. But if it's not accompanied by other migraine symptoms (such as a visual aura), sudden and severe pain -- we're talking the absolute worst headache of your life -- can signal a brain aneurysm.  These arterial bulges occur in up to 5 percent of people, but most of the time they don't cause any trouble -- you won't even know you have one unless the weak spot leaks or tears. If that happens, escaping blood can flood the surrounding tissue (causing a violent headache) and cut off the oxygen supply there. Smoking and having a family history of aneurysms increase your odds. The fix: “A burst aneurysm can cause brain damage within minutes, so you need to call 911 immediately,” Dr. Elsa-Grace Giardina, director of the Center for Women's Health at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, said.  Your doctor will take a CT scan to look for bleeding in the space around the brain. If he finds hemorrhaging, you'll head into the (operating room) pronto for surgery to repair the blood vessel. Throbbing Tooth Spooning your way through a pint of Chubby Hubby has become an exercise in torture. When your teeth touch anything frosty, you feel a dull throb or sharp twinge. The culprit: It's likely that the tooth's nerve has become damaged, usually because the surrounding pearly white is cracked or rotting away. Unless you get it patched up quickly, bacteria in your mouth can infect the nerve. And you definitely don't want that breeding colony to spread throughout your body, said Kimberly Harms, a dentist outside St. Paul, Minnesota. The fix: Time for a cavity check! You may just need a filling to cover the exposed nerve. But if it's infected, you're in for a root canal, in which the tooth's bacteria-laden pulp is removed and replaced with plastic caulking material. Antibiotics can clear up any infection that has spread beyond the mouth. MORE: The 10 Self-Checks Every Woman Should Do Sharp Pain In Your Side A typical runner's side stitch pales in comparison to this piercing stab, which intensifies over a few hours or days. The culprits: You may just need some Beano. But if you feel as if you're being skewered in your right side and you're also nauseated and running a fever, you could have appendicitis. It occurs when something (like a stray piece of feces) migrates into the space where the appendix empties into the colon, blocking it. Soon the organ becomes dangerously inflamed.  Another possibility is an ovarian cyst. Typically these fluid-filled sacs are harmless and disappear on their own. But if one twists or ruptures, it can cause terrible pain. The fix: In both cases, you're looking at emergency surgery.  “If you don't remove an inflamed ap­pendix, it can burst,” Dr. Lin Chang, a gastroenterologist and co-director of UCLA's Center for Neurovisceral Sciences and Women's Health, said.  This can cause dangerous swelling of the tissue surrounding your organs. A twisted cyst also needs to be removed right away, as it can block blood flow to your ovary within hours. If that happens, the doctor will need to cut out the entire ovary (and the eggs inside) along with the cyst. Passing Chest Pain Periodically, you get what feels like a bad case of heartburn, or a tight squeezing sensation, as if you're being laced into a corset. The culprit: You probably just peppered your pizza with too many chilis. But if you know you're at risk for heart problems, don't blow it off -- it could be a heart attack. Every year, about 10,000 women under 45 have one. Symptoms tend to be less severe in women than in men, so “you may just feel pressure, along with fatigue, throat pain, or shortness of breath,” Giardina said. The fix: Feel the burn after feasting on chalupas? Normal. Feel as if you're being squeezed to death by a boa constrictor after a hard workout?

Stretching, meditation eases PTSD in nurses, study shows

Nurses deal with traumatic experiences on a daily basis – a factor which puts them at higher risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an anxiety disorder diagnosed in over 7 million U.S. adults every year. Now, researchers have discovered a simple solution to help nurses, and others with PTSD, cope with their disease: just one hour of stretching and meditation every week. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, lead study author Sang H. Kim, of the National Institutes of Health, studied a group of 22 nurses experiencing PTSD symptoms. He chose to focus his research on nurses, in part, because his mother was a nurse. “(My mother) always used to tell me nurses need to not only take care of others – they need to take care of themselves, too,” Kim said. At the beginning of the study, Kim assessed the nurses’ PTSD symptoms using the PCL-C: PTSD checklist – civilian version, a questionnaire commonly used to diagnose PTSD. He also took blood samples from each nurse in order to analyze their levels of the stress hormone cortisol.   When people experience PTSD, their cortisol levels dip below normal – the opposite of what usually happens when people get stressed. Kim wanted to see if a meditation and stretching regimen would be able to help normalize cortisol levels. “My question was if we can reverse this, can we reverse PTSD symptoms?” Kim said. Half of the group of nurses participated in a 60-minute mind-body class once a week. The class was taught by Kim, who holds a doctorate in exercise science, and has 40 years of experience as a martial artist. During each session, the women performed meditation, stretching, balancing and deep-breathing exercising. “(It was) similar to yoga or tai chi or chi gong types of movement, but I simplified it in a way that they could do it anywhere, anytime and in any amount of time,” Kim said. “Nurses are always in demand so they sometimes only have one minute or 30 seconds.” After eight weeks of participating in the once-weekly class, the nurses experienced a 41 percent decrease in PTSD symptoms and a 67 percent increase in cortisol levels in the blood. Kim said that researchers only expected to see up to a 20 percent decrease in PTSD symptoms and were surprised – and impressed – by their results. “What we found is simple, but profound – only eight weeks of meditation relieved PTSD symptoms and normalized stress hormone levels,” Kim said.   The nurses who participated in the mind-body classes also experienced a reduction in PTSD symptoms such as flashbacks or emotional detachment – and they were able to  resume hobbies and improve their overall quality of life, according to Kim. “About four weeks in, many told me… ‘I sleep better these days and get less angry in my work and I now know if something comes up I can breathe, go to the bathroom, close the door and do this movement for one minute and come out and feel better,’” Kim said. The other half of the women in Kim’s study did not participate in the mind-body class. Comparatively, they experienced only a 4 percent decrease in PTSD symptoms and a 17 percent improvement in blood-cortisol levels during the same period of time. “The conclusion here is that mind-body practices like yoga or tai chi or chi gong - people think these things are hokey but…they are working,” Kim said. “(They are a) very effective and low-cost (way) for reducing stress even in people who suffer chronically high levels of stress, like PTSD patients.”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/30/stretching-meditation-eases-ptsd-in-nurses-study-shows/

New blood test predicts gestational diabetes risk early in pregnancy

For pregnant women, gestational diabetes can be a troubling complication.  A form of diabetes that develops during pregnancy, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) causes glucose levels in the bloodstream to be higher than normal, which can pose significant risks to the unborn baby’s health. While GDM can often be controlled through proper diet, exercise and medication, early diagnosis and treatment are crucial for women hoping to manage their high blood sugar and prevent complications during their pregnancy. In order to better identify the condition in pregnant women earlier, researchers from Tokyo Women’s Medical University have identified a biomarker in pregnant women’s blood that can help determine her risk of developing gestational diabetes. “Currently, at mid-pregnancy – 24 to 28 weeks – a glucose challenge test is performed to find GDM,” study author Dr. Atsuhiro Ichihara, of Tokyo Women’s Medical University, told FoxNews.com.  “However, earlier detection of GDM has been needed for early intervention or prevention,” Ichihara noted that usually only women who have risk factors such as obesity or a family history of GDM are screened earlier on in pregnancy.  Therefore, women who develop GDM and do not have these common risk factors often remain undiagnosed until the second trimester – and a delay in diagnosis often means therapies for GDM are less effective. If left untreated, GDM can increase the risk of jaundice, breathing issues and hypoglycemia in the newborn child.  More extreme side effects of uncontrolled GDM include the risk of premature delivery, preeclampsia, and even the death of the child before or shortly after birth.   Through previous research, Ichihara and his team had determined that the protein renin receptor (P)RR plays a significant role in the assembly and function of the enzyme known as vacuolar H+-ATPase (v-ATPase).  According to Ichihara, the disruption of this enzyme’s functions leads to the development of GDM.  The researchers believed that measuring levels of s(P)RR – the soluble form of (P)RR found in the bloodstream – could help predict whether or not pregnant women eventually develop diabetes. Using the popular diagnostic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test, the team analyzed the blood of 716 pregnant women during their first trimesters, measuring for their levels of s(P)RR.  Of the study’s participants, 44 women ultimately developed GDM. Confirming the researchers’ hypothesis, tests results showed that women with elevated levels of s(P)RR in their blood were 2.9 times more likely to develop gestational diabetes than the women with the lowest levels. According to Ichihara, the increased levels of s(P)RR suggest that the mothers are experiencing slowed metabolisms, putting them at risk for GDM. “The increased s(P)RR levels are thought to reflect the enhanced expression of (P)RR,” Ichihara said. “The GDM or pre-GDM patients have impaired metabolism, so the increase in the activity of v-ATPase is required to compensate the impaired metabolism. (P)RR is one of the factors stimulating the v-ATPase activity.” Overall, the research team hopes that this test will be utilized in pregnant women in addition to traditional markers for GDM – such as obesity and high blood pressure.  Ichihara said the test could also come in handy for detecting other conditions, as recent studies have found a connection between elevated s(P)RR levels and the birth of larger babies and high blood pressure in late pregnancy. “The evidence suggests the biomarker is important in the interaction between mother and fetus during pregnancy,” Ichihara said. The research was published in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/29/new-blood-test-determines-gestational-diabetes-risk-early-in-pregnancy/

Woman undergoes quadruple amputation after black market silicone butt injections

Apryl Michelle Brown had black-market silicone injections which turned out to be bathroom sealant. It left her in agony and led to her losing her hands and feet, as well as her buttocks. The 46-year-old former hairdresser blames “vanity” and wants to warn others of the terrible dangers of such illegal treatments. Teased as a child about her “pancake” bum, Brown vowed to buy a shapelier one when she was older. The moment that changed her life came in 2004, when two women walked into her successful beauty salon to get their hair done. One of them ran “pumping parties” — where unqualified practitioners inject illegal silicone into “patients” at their home. Brown, from Los Angeles, Calif., said: “One of the women told me how she had given bottom injections to the friend who was with her. “I remember thinking it was a miracle she’d walked into my life. Her friend showed me the work she’d had done and it looked great. “In a split second I made the decision that I was going to go to this woman and let her inject silicone into my behind.” That decision nearly killed her. Brown paid the woman, who had no medical background for two lots of injections. Doctors later discovered the substance used was industrial-grade silicone. Brown admitted: “I didn’t do any research. A combination of naivety, misplaced trust and insecurity led me to take this disastrous decision. “I trusted her because she seemed so professional, and I had no reason to think anything awful was going to happen. “She carried out the procedure in her daughter’s bedroom. She assessed my bottom and said, ‘You’ll need three or four sessions to get the result you want’. “The first procedure took an hour. I remember asking, ‘Is it meant to be so painful?’ and she said, ‘Yes’. It felt like it was squeezing through my nerves.” Within weeks Brown returned for her second treatment. She said: “After going through it again I had an epiphany. As I left her house I thought, ‘What am I doing? I have no idea what she’s putting in my body’. “I never returned. But though I didn’t know it then, my life had already changed forever.” Over the next two years the area where she’d been injected became hard and the skin blackened. Brown, mother to daughters Danye, 22 and Courtney, 21, said:  “Within a few months of the second injection my buttocks began to harden. I knew something wasn’t right. But shame stopped me seeking medical help. As time went on it got worse as the skin blackened. I developed hard lumps. Then the searing pain started. I had to tell my doctor what I did. I was so ashamed.” Brown spent the next four years in constant pain. Two surgeons told her it was too dangerous to remove the silicone. She said: “I was in so much agony I became a regular at hospital asking for medication to ease what was like a combination of a migraine, childbirth and toothache localized in one area. “I suffered day and night, so I was willing to do anything — including remove my buttocks.” In February 2011 a surgeon operated unsuccessfully. Brown developed a hole in her buttocks — thought to be the trigger for an infection that in June was nearly fatal.  She said: “I was 24 hours from dying. I didn’t think of leaving my family. It was a relief I’d finally be free of pain.” Doctors put her in an induced coma for two months while performing 27 surgeries — starting with amputating her buttocks — and doing extensive skin grafts. She said: “They saved me but gangrene set into my hands and feet. I was brought out of sedation shortly before I became a quadruple amputee. “My hands looked like those of a dead person. I knew then I was going to lose them.” She added: “At first you try to register your new limbs. The real comprehension comes when you start to live this new life. “I had dark times. I cried a sea of tears. I had to face the fact I’d lost my hands, feet and buttocks because of complications from bottom injections. I was overwhelmed by shame and guilt... all because I wanted a bigger bottom. “I was six months in hospital. By the time I was discharged I was determined to turn this terrible thing into something positive. “I decided to do a triathlon. I told myself if I could achieve that I could do anything. “I took my first steps again by the end of 2011. I built up to training six days a week, learning to walk, cycle then swim again using my residual limbs. “I’d be crying in pain but I’d push through it. And six weeks ago I did it — completing a three-mile walk, ten-mile cycle and a 150-meter swim. “When I crossed that finishing line with my family cheering me on, I cried tears of joy.” She added: “I haven’t sued or sought compensation. I just want to move on. There are things I miss dearly — I’ll never be able to do my girls’ hair or feel sand between my toes. “But I believe I survived to share my story. “I want to warn others of the dangers of black-market surgery. We were born whole, perfect and complete. “My greatest message is we have to learn to love and accept ourselves for who we are.” Click for more from The Sun. source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/29/woman-becomes-quadruple-amputee-after-black-market-silicone-injections/

Woman undergoes quaruple amputation after black market silicone butt injections

Apryl Michelle Brown had black-market silicone injections which turned out to be bathroom sealant. It left her in agony and led to her losing her hands and feet, as well as her buttocks. The 46-year-old former hairdresser blames “vanity” and wants to warn others of the terrible dangers of such illegal treatments. Teased as a child about her “pancake” bum, Brown vowed to buy a shapelier one when she was older. The moment that changed her life came in 2004, when two women walked into her successful beauty salon to get their hair done. One of them ran “pumping parties” — where unqualified practitioners inject illegal silicone into “patients” at their home. Brown, from Los Angeles, Calif., said: “One of the women told me how she had given bottom injections to the friend who was with her. “I remember thinking it was a miracle she’d walked into my life. Her friend showed me the work she’d had done and it looked great. “In a split second I made the decision that I was going to go to this woman and let her inject silicone into my behind.” That decision nearly killed her. Brown paid the woman, who had no medical background for two lots of injections. Doctors later discovered the substance used was industrial-grade silicone. Brown admitted: “I didn’t do any research. A combination of naivety, misplaced trust and insecurity led me to take this disastrous decision. “I trusted her because she seemed so professional, and I had no reason to think anything awful was going to happen. “She carried out the procedure in her daughter’s bedroom. She assessed my bottom and said, ‘You’ll need three or four sessions to get the result you want’. “The first procedure took an hour. I remember asking, ‘Is it meant to be so painful?’ and she said, ‘Yes’. It felt like it was squeezing through my nerves.” Within weeks Brown returned for her second treatment. She said: “After going through it again I had an epiphany. As I left her house I thought, ‘What am I doing? I have no idea what she’s putting in my body’. “I never returned. But though I didn’t know it then, my life had already changed forever.” Over the next two years the area where she’d been injected became hard and the skin blackened. Brown, mother to daughters Danye, 22 and Courtney, 21, said:  “Within a few months of the second injection my buttocks began to harden. I knew something wasn’t right. But shame stopped me seeking medical help. As time went on it got worse as the skin blackened. I developed hard lumps. Then the searing pain started. I had to tell my doctor what I did. I was so ashamed.” Brown spent the next four years in constant pain. Two surgeons told her it was too dangerous to remove the silicone. She said: “I was in so much agony I became a regular at hospital asking for medication to ease what was like a combination of a migraine, childbirth and toothache localized in one area. “I suffered day and night, so I was willing to do anything — including remove my buttocks.” In February 2011 a surgeon operated unsuccessfully. Brown developed a hole in her buttocks — thought to be the trigger for an infection that in June was nearly fatal.  She said: “I was 24 hours from dying. I didn’t think of leaving my family. It was a relief I’d finally be free of pain.” Doctors put her in an induced coma for two months while performing 27 surgeries — starting with amputating her buttocks — and doing extensive skin grafts. She said: “They saved me but gangrene set into my hands and feet. I was brought out of sedation shortly before I became a quadruple amputee. “My hands looked like those of a dead person. I knew then I was going to lose them.” She added: “At first you try to register your new limbs. The real comprehension comes when you start to live this new life. “I had dark times. I cried a sea of tears. I had to face the fact I’d lost my hands, feet and buttocks because of complications from bottom injections. I was overwhelmed by shame and guilt... all because I wanted a bigger bottom. “I was six months in hospital. By the time I was discharged I was determined to turn this terrible thing into something positive. “I decided to do a triathlon. I told myself if I could achieve that I could do anything. “I took my first steps again by the end of 2011. I built up to training six days a week, learning to walk, cycle then swim again using my residual limbs. “I’d be crying in pain but I’d push through it. And six weeks ago I did it — completing a three-mile walk, ten-mile cycle and a 150-meter swim. “When I crossed that finishing line with my family cheering me on, I cried tears of joy.” She added: “I haven’t sued or sought compensation. I just want to move on. There are things I miss dearly — I’ll never be able to do my girls’ hair or feel sand between my toes. “But I believe I survived to share my story. “I want to warn others of the dangers of black-market surgery. We were born whole, perfect and complete. “My greatest message is we have to learn to love and accept ourselves for who we are.” Click for more from The Sun. source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/29/woman-becomes-quadruple-amputee-after-black-market-silicone-injections/

Dealing with mean girls — and boys — in the workplace

Though most mean girls and tough boys of middle and high school grow out of their sophomoric behaviors, some cling to them well beyond college and into adulthood. That means you may encounter this behavior in the workplace. Author Meredith Fuller, a psychologist in Australia, interviewed over 200 women about mean girls in the workplace for her book, Working with Bitches. She discovered that certain personality “types” can make the lives of their coworkers miserable just as they did back in school. Grown women may feel some of the similar inhibitions they felt as teenagers when dealing with these difficult personalities in the workplace. Here are some of the most difficult personality types and how to deal with them: The Excluder:  She barely acknowledges you, pretends you don’t exist, fails to include you in important meetings and doesn’t bother giving you important information. How to cope: Most women don’t like to be disliked or excluded from the group, but ask yourself if you really want to be this person’s friend anyway. There’s a good chance you don’t. Her cold shoulder may simply be pushing a button of an earlier school girl experience. But if you flip your perspective and don’t take it personally, you may enjoy not having the burden of having to interact with her. This could be tricky, though, if you need information or input from her, but removing your emotional response will definitely ease these interactions. “Work out alternative ways to gather data or whatever else you need to do your job properly,” writes Fuller. Don’t try to push or goad her into communicating with you. You’ll just get the same treatment in spades. Instead, be civil and respond in a measured, mature way. That will help to diminish her effect on you.   The Screamer:  He yells to intimidate, insult and get a reaction. Like Ari Gold of Entourage, he's tightly wound and barks instructions at full volume. He’s critical and thinks he’s the only one who can get the job done correctly. He wants you to drop everything and race after whatever he's demanding. He’s volatile, impulsive and throws insults around the office. How to cope:  A screamer can’t hear you when he’s in a rage. So wait until he’s done before attempting to respond to his accusations. He probably doesn’t even want a response, because screaming is a one-way conversation. Trying to argue will only escalate it. Once you’ve identified a screamer, you can brace yourself to some degree for his outbursts – though they may still take a toll on you. Look at your own response to screamers, which is often influenced by your own experiences growing up. Do you find it highly distressing? Do you find it amusing, like watching a child have a tantrum? Or can you keep an emotional distance