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Your Health & Happiness:
Health promotion practitioners to converge on Chiang Mai
Autsadaporn
Kamthai
An international conference promoting health will be held
in Chiang Mai from October 20-23. Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of
Nursing, the University of Michigan, University of Washington, University of
Seattle, University of Sydney and Thai Health Promotion Foundation are
co-sponsors of the “Health Promotion: Evidence, Practice and Policy”
conference, to take place at the Pang Suan Kaew Hotel.
Assoc
Prof Rattanawadee Chontawan (left), deputy dean of CMU’s Nursing Faculty,
Assoc Prof Wipada Kunaviktikul (middle), dean of CMU’s Nursing Faculty and
Asst Prof Achara Sukonthasarn, associate dean for international relations,
CMU’s Faculty of Nursing at the press conference.
About 700 health promotion officers are expected from
Japan, the United States, Australia, Korea, Canada, Hong Kong, China,
Taiwan, Mongolia, Switzerland, South Africa, Scotland and Thailand will take
part, according to the dean of CMU’s Nursing Faculty, Assoc Prof Wipada
Kunaviktikul.
The main objectives of the conference are to provide an
opportunity to explore health promotion evidence in diverse contexts, enable
participants to have dialogue about the health promotion practices for the
encouragement of healthy life-styles, create supportive environments for
health, strengthen community action, reorienting health services to place
primary focus on promoting health and preventing disease, and develop public
policies for health. More importantly, it will also provide occasion for the
creation of collaborative relationships.
“Renowned keynote speakers will include experts from
the World Health Organization in Geneva and the China Medical Board of New
York and co-organizer universities,” Prof Wipada said.
Next month’s conference is the second focusing on
health promotion. The previous one was held in 2001. “The first conference
focused on health promotion at individual and theoretical levels, but the
upcoming conference will be geared to families and communities to develop
policies to advocate positive change and emphasize evidence basis and
practice,” Wipada said.
Over 200 research papers dealing with health promotion
will be presented during the conference. Participants will visit the
traditional Thai massage school at Tambon Haiya, Chiang Mai, spa
enterprises, public health centers in local villages and organic foods
production to learn about health promotion in Thailand.
For further information, contact Asst Prof Achara Sukonthasarn, Associate
Dean for International Relations, CMU’s Faculty of Nursing on 0-5394-9102.
The Doctor's Consultation:
Prostate Cancer - what are the options?
by Dr. Iain Corness
All in one week, three of my friends contacted me to say
they had prostate cancer. They range in age between 50 and 70. One has had the
operation to remove the prostate gland completely, the second is waiting till
November to have his prostate removed, while the third has gone to Europe,
hoping for a miracle cure.
Prostate cancer is also extremely common; in the United
States this year almost 180,000 men will be told that they have prostate
cancer. The figures are that by age 50, about one-third of American men have
microscopic signs of prostate cancer. By age 75, half to three-quarters will
have some cancerous changes in their prostate glands.
Does this mean that life ends at 76? Fortunately no. Most
of these cancers stay within the prostate, producing no signs of symptoms, or
are so slow-growing that they never become a serious threat to health.
In other words, you may die of something else before the
prostate gets you! We should never forget that the death rate will always be
the same - one per person. We all have to die of something - even me, and I
just hope it isn’t from boredom!
While the numbers quoted above look fearsome, the real
situation is not quite so bad. A much smaller number of men will actually be
treated for prostate cancer. About 16 percent of men will be diagnosed with
prostate cancer during their lives; 8 percent will develop significant
symptoms; but only 3 percent will die of the disease. Put another way, 97
percent won’t die from prostate cancer.
While prostate cancer can be ‘aggressive’, attacking
other tissues, including bone, the great majority of prostate cancers are slow
growing, and it can be decades between the early diagnosis and getting
symptoms.
Let’s get diagnosis and the “blood test” out of the
way first. The blood test is called Prostate Specific Antigen, or PSA for
short. PSA unfortunately is not a go/no-go test. A normal range result
doesn’t guarantee you haven’t got it, and an elevated result doesn’t
automatically mean that you are about to claim early on your life insurance.
Prostate cancer can only be fully diagnosed by examining
prostate tissue under the microscope. When your doctor suspects prostate
cancer on the basis of your symptoms, or the results of a digital rectal
examination (DRE), and/or a PSA test - the definitive diagnosis needs biopsy.
So let’s imagine your biopsy is positive. What are the
options? Actually very many and depend mainly upon the ‘stage’ of the
cancer and your age at the time of diagnosis.
‘Staging’ has four main grades. Stage I cannot be felt
but is diagnosed through pathological testing. Stage II can be felt, but it is
confined to the prostate. Stage III is coming out of the gland and Stage IV
has grown into nearby tissues.
Treatment can be ‘watch and wait’, surgery, radiation,
hormone therapy, eating herbs or muttering mantras. Often it will be a
combination of some of the above (but I’d forget the mantras).
You need to discuss your options with your doctor. If you
are a young man with stage IV, then you have to make up your mind quickly. But
if you are 75 with stage I or II, then you have more time, as you will most
likely die of other causes before the prostate gets you.
‘Watch and Wait’ has much going for it, but you must be
prepared to get to know your urologist on first name terms. You will be seeing
a lot of him over the years!
Agony Column
Dear Hillary,
You blew it, so to speak, when you advised Victor V to tell his girlfriend
to back off. Victor has had a long and happy life and he is going to have
to go sometime in the not too distant future anyway, so why not go using
up a triple Viagra? Can you think of a better way? I certainly can’t!
Blaze of Glory
Dear Blaze of Glory,
Where were you at The Alamo, Petal? Standing there holding the flagpole no
doubt, when Davy Crockett was killed by the burritos and taco-eaters,
going out in your supposed ‘blaze of glory’. Coming back to today and
my advice to Viagra Victor a couple of weeks ago, I hardly think that
collapsing after a sweaty chemically enhanced encounter, while holding his
flagpole, could be called going out in a blaze of glory either. I’m sure
Mr. Crockett with his raccoon tailed hat could have thought of better ways
to go too. For me, a surfeit of chocolates and champagne would be
infinitely better as a final choice, but then I keep my brain between my
ears, and not in my knickers, so perhaps I don’t really understand at
all!
Dear Hillary,
I am a foreigner here and have noticed that many Thai people walk around
with a five baht coin stuck in their ear. Is there some reason for this? I
have seen it many times.
Ear Today
Dear Ear Today,
As you are ‘ear today’ and will certainly be ‘gone tomorrow’,
I’ll be quick, my Petal. There is a reason. It is so that if they lose
all their money (mislaid of course, as there is no gambling in this
country) then they will still have enough money to catch a ‘song taew’
home. With you being a foreigner, you would probably have to roll a twenty
baht note up your nostril, just to be sure!
Dear Hillary,
I’ve been reading your articles for several months and I do commend you
for your advice and wisdom. I have questions that you may help me with.
Occasionally when I do go to the bars, I overhear some bar girls calling
other obviously drunk farangs “kwai”. When I ask them what it means,
they giggle and get defensive and refuse to answer my question. What is
“kwai” and its meaning?
Why Kwai
Dear Why Kwai,
Thank you, Petal, for the kind words. They are always very welcome
(especially when attached to a bottle of bubbly or chocolates - not that
you should look at this as a hint). ‘Kwai’ literally means
‘Buffalo’ but when applied to drunken farangs means “thick, heavy,
stupid, ugly and ignorant”. Which aptly describes drunken anyones, not
only farangs, in Hillary’s opinion. Don’t let this happen to you. You
have been warned. Behind the welcoming smiles and the calls of “Hello
sexy man!” there can be the tongue of the viper (old Liverpudlian
proverb).
Dear Hillary,
My six year old puts on tantrums before going to school because she says
the teacher does not like her. This behaviour only started recently after
she was disciplined for throwing food in the classroom, but I have to
admit I am not sure of what to do next. Bribing her with treats does not
sound the right way. Have you any ideas, Hillary?
Worried Mum
Dear Worried Mum,
This is an easy one, Mum. Ignore these tantrums (in fact always ignore all
tantrums), wear ear plugs if necessary and don’t give her food to take
to school. If she goes hungry for a day or two she may then want to eat
her lunch rather than throw it around (as long as it is not those dreadful
soggy tomato and lettuce sandwiches). When the behaviour improves then
reward her with sandwiches of her own choosing, and involve her in helping
to make them in the mornings. Having made them, she will also be less
likely to throw them away indiscriminately. If all else fails then
there’s always boarding school. Or adoption.
Dear Hillary,
I was standing at the urinal the other evening, in a hotel and looked over
and saw a very important Thai dignitary at the urinal alongside. What is
the correct thing to do under these circumstances? Should I wai?
Willy
Dear Willy,
You must be kidding. The correct protocol is to look away. Definitely do
not wai unless you want to pee in his pocket.
Dear Hillary,
I do not smoke cigarettes, and I am getting tired of people saying, “Do
you mind if I smoke?” and then just lighting up as if it were their
‘right’ to do so. I don’t like it, I don’t like the smell of smoke
in my hair and clothes. How do you stop this?
Anti-smoking Aunty
Dear Anti-smoking Aunty,
There is much you can do. When the smoker drops the “Do you mind if I
smoke?” into the conversation, you have to come straight back by saying,
“Actually I do mind. It gives me very bad sinus and I don’t like the
smell in my clothes. I’m sure there’s an area outside for smokers.
Thank you.” You have not been rude, as the smoker had not been rude
either by just lighting up without asking, but you will have firmly stated
your position, and given the smoker a face-saving alternative.
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Camera Class: Underwater photography
by Harry Flashman
With the floods that we have had recently, there is probably
more than one camera that has gone underwater, and is now (hopefully) the
subject of an insurance claim. However, there is truly another world beneath the
surface.
 One
of the regular readers, who humorously signed himself as “Joe Fishman” wrote
in to say, “You can take underwater images which are such great images of
marine life unmatched with anything above the surface. And your photographic
techniques are almost unlimited. A Garden of Eden for underwater photographers
is lying close to our dear city: the corals of the inner and outer islands in
front of Pattaya as well as those around the islands of Samae San near Sattahip.
I’ve been an underwater photographer almost two years - an absolute amateur -
and snorkel or dive these coral reefs on a weekly basis during the dry season.
I’m quite sure that a number of people are also interested in learning more
about the techniques of underwater photography in general and the possibilities
around Pattaya in particular.”
Unfortunately Joe, many years ago I struck a bargain with
sharks, those denizens of the deep with the amazing dentition. The deal was that
I would not swim in their bath water, if they would refrain from swimming in
mine. I have been true to my word, and they have also, with no dorsal fins seen
anywhere near my jacuzzi. Hence my knowledge of underwater photography is
restricted to shooting through the portholes of swimming pools!
However, with the advent of cheap underwater cameras these
days (even disposable ones), you do not have to invest in a Nikonos to try
getting a few shots beneath the surface.
What has to be remembered is that water (especially sea
water), is 700 times more dense and 2000 times less transparent than air. Even
though it may look crystal clear down there with the dugongs, it is not. It has
been suggested to me that if you are using natural light (that is from the sun
above the waves) then do not go lower than seven metres below the surface.
For these reasons, underwater photographers will use wide
angle lenses, so that they have to be close to the subject, so there is then
less water between the camera and the item being photographed. If it is a large
fish with teeth, you need to be a knee tremblingly three metres from it to get a
good shot. Far too close for me! Those that claim to know (and I do know a
couple of underwater photographers who have neither been eaten or drowned) say
that a focal length lens of between 28 mm and 15 mm (almost a ‘fish eye’)
would be appropriate for 35 mm cameras.
Another tip given to me by the wet-suit and water-wings
brigade is to take the meter reading on the surface and open up the aperture one
f stop for every three metres depth.
Again when using sunlight, the best time of day is the exact
opposite from the above the surface shooter. Forget early morning and late
afternoon, as the sun’s rays get reflected away from the surface of the water.
The best time is when the sun is directly overhead and the light penetrates the
water more easily.
You may have also noticed that underwater shots can have
strange colours. This is because the light becomes diffused as it travels
through the water, and the different colours, which have different wavelengths,
become absorbed at different rates (or depths). Red is the first to go and
yellow is the last. The predominant colour is then usually bluish or greenish,
which explains why underwater shots have that colour cast. You can counteract
this by manipulation in the computer with your electronic paint brush.
However, whatever the technicalities, if you just want to try something
different one weekend, buy one of the inexpensive throw-away waterproof cameras,
stay just under the surface and see what you get. You will probably be delighted
with the results. But if you are considering SCUBA diving with a speargun in one
hand and a camera in the other, you will need much more specialized equipment!
Money Matters: FTSE Forecasts for 31st December 2004
Graham Macdonald
MBMG International Ltd.
The City’s leading equity strategists are now predicting
that the FTSE100 index of leading shares will rise by just 6% in 2004. The
relatively downbeat forecasts are in contrast to those issued at the start of
the year when some of the leading investment banks, such as Nomura, were
predicting the FTSE100 would end 2004 at well above 5,000. Merrill Lynch is the
bank with the most pessimistic view of equities in 2004, with a forecast of
4,400 for the FTSE100. Deutsche Bank and UBS are the most bullish with
predictions for the end of 2004 of 5,000. Deutsche Bank said, “The US has been
growing more strongly than people thought possible and I think we are going to
see a reasonable recovery. For the foreseeable future the market is set fair”.
Merrill Lynch said, “The UK will under-perform the rest of
the world over the next 12 months if the economic recovery continues because of
cyclical stocks in the FTSE”. The banks’ gloomy predictions come after the
FTSE100 reached new highs in 2003 and its highest level since August 2002.
Shares have recovered strongly over the last nine months rising by 34% since the
low in March when the FTSE100 index fell to 3,287 – a fall of 53% from its
peak of 6,930 in 1999.
Meanwhile a survey by Citywire, the financial publishing and
date group, revealed that the UK’s top fund managers are deeply divided over
whether the bear market is over. Some 53% said they thought the bear market was
over, 18% argued that the market had further to fall while 29% said they did not
know. A massive 94% expect to see positive returns from equities this year. Just
one in three believes the market is undervalued.
Overall, our survey of all the leading investment banks’
strategists reveals an average prediction for the FTSE100 in 2004 of 4,400.
However our experience is that these institutions, which tend
to offer to retail clients a choice of only equity or bond funds, have a vested
interest in being overly optimistic, as this makes their funds more attractive
to investors. Two years ago, several investment banks including Morgan Stanley,
Schroder Salomon Smith Barney and Deutsche Bank all forecast the FTSE100 would
end 2002 at above 6,000 – the market ended at 3,940. Predictions at the end of
2001 were even worse. None came within 1,000 points of the closing figure of
5,217 – their estimates ranged between 6,600 and 7,400. Therefore, we’re not
so sure that reality has set in while more than half of the 2 out of every 3
managers who believe that the market is either fully valued or overvalued can
believe, or can state that they believe that the market will climb this year.
We prefer to stand by the general principles that we issued
in January, at which point our biggest concern was that issuing forecasts to
31.12.04 was rendered rather arbitrary, because however clear many aspects of
the big picture might have seemed to be, the timing of the most significant
event on the investment horizon, the shift to prolonged negative performance in
the equity markets, was extremely hard to call because of the level of political
intervention with elections looming in US, UK and Australia.
However the main features of the investment landscape to our
mind, (as stated 6 months ago) are in the following sectors.
We see a dramatic reduction in disposable income of US
consumers, lack of wage inflation and falling national wage product in the USA,
and a major fall in US equity markets (most notably the NASDAQ) averaging up to
40% from the market peak, over the next 3-5 years.
For 2004 we expect to see a rally at the start of the year,
and then remain largely range-bound until the start of a prolonged bear market,
with a fall of around 10% over the year, although we’d emphasise that
especially with regard to the NASDAQ, it could be far greater than this or it
could be deferred until H105.
We see the beginning of a major fall in value US housing
markets - around 15% on average, but exceeding 50% in parts of NYC - over the
next 4-6 years; the continued fall of the Dollar against strong currencies,
although marked by great volatility US interest rates are likely to spike
significantly during the year but fall back again by the end of 2005 and this
should be seen as a buying opportunity; a fall in the European markets in line
with the US markets, although lower BETA markets like the FTSE might suffer only
around half of the declines ultimately in the DJI, whereas higher BETA like the
DAX are more likely comparable to the NASDAQ. In other words the UK market will
outperform when the downturn comes, a mirror view of Merrill Lynch’s
continuing bizarre take on the markets.
A major fall in the property markets in the UK, Ireland and
Spain is likely as is an initial weakening and then subsequent strengthening of
Euro against Pound and Dollar, but an ultimate weakening against Swiss Franc,
which is likely to be the main beneficiary of uncertainty. UK and especially
Euro zone interest rates will move up slightly, before easing again in 2005 and
market anticipations of higher rates could present buying opportunities.
A major correction is expected in China on the back of a
massive fall in exports to US by 2005, although China’s best hope is to be
involved in the mergence of Japan from recession/below trend growth rates. Japan
should see a decoupling whereby it emerges from deflation into a period of
growth.
Some Asian currencies such as Singapore Dollar and Yen will be volatile but
could ultimately strengthen. The Australian Dollar will take a beating when the
Australian property sector starts to fall, but will outperform the US Dollar
over the next year or 2 from that point onwards. The Australian equity market
will be pulled both ways by the high prices of tangible assets but the reduced
demand in China. The All-ordinaries will suffer to some extent, but should
significantly outperform the US indices but also significantly under perform
Japan. Australian bonds look an attractive proposition although prices would
edge slightly down in the first half of 2004.
The above data and research was compiled from sources believed to be
reliable. However, neither MBMG International Ltd nor its officers can accept
any liability for any errors or omissions in the above article nor bear any
responsibility for any losses achieved as a result of any actions taken or not
taken as a consequence of reading the above article. For more information please
contact Graham Macdonald on graham@mbmg-international.com
Life in the Laugh Lane: I imagined I would be living alone
by Scott Jones
I recently moved to the countryside near Mae Jo. When I step
outside to my kitchen and teak deck, I never know what creatures from the
neighborhood or nearby marsh are currently visiting (or have visited and left
their excremental calling cards). Chickens, ducks, geese, scrappy dogs, two
black cats from hell, mice and their large cousins, a miniature vagrant horse,
spiders a bit smaller than the horse but much faster, or an infinite number of
ants, times two, give or take a million (or billion).
 Toni
or Tony? Toad size XXL…
One day I emerged, sans spectacles, to find a large, dark
pile of poop in the middle of the floor. As I reached for the paper towels,
sponge and cleaner, the poop hopped out of the kitchen and off the deck. Toad.
Size XXL. Hopefully it likes ants.
The toad (or toads) has (or have) become (a) permanent
resident(s). Moments after removing one toad from its home in my tool bin and
carefully setting it in the bamboo stand near the deck, another toad magically
appeared. Perhaps I should have kissed her (or him) in hopes of creating a
beautiful (or handsome) princess (or prince). I introduced the two toads in the
bamboo so they’d happily hop off into the sunset (the marsh) holding hands
(Paws? Toes? Suction cups? What do toads hold?)
One of them (he or she) was back in the bin the next day,
safely hidden under hammers, spanners and sponges. Maybe the other one (she or
he) has a separate apartment somewhere in my bungalow. I’ve given them the
androgynous name of Tony (or Toni) until I can find them together again and
determine their sex. (Turn them over? Operate? Check their laundry?) I suspect
they’ve taken up residence with me, a friendly farang, instead of neighboring
Thai families where they’d probably be stuffed, skewered or stir-fried.
Now when I return late in the evening, Toni is normally up
and out, waiting for me. Some men come home to a stunning, naked woman lounging
on a bearskin rug or doing the dishes. I come home to a naked toad squatting on
the tile floor or sitting in the sink. It’s definitely better than coming
home to a wart-ridden wife who looks like a toad, who will not leave without a
legal battle, large amounts of cash and the deed to your house. (And whom you
cannot fling into the marsh, stuff, skewer or stir-fry.)
As I left home tonight to deliver this article, I grabbed my jacket from the
chair and Toni fell out onto the floor. Since she’s confident she’s not
going to BE dinner, she obviously wants me to take her out for dinner.
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