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Many of us would have been familiar with issues like heart blockage, heart attack, heart failure etc How many really know what heart cancer is? In some people, the heart would have cancerous cells. This is known as heart cancer or heart tumour or cardiac tumour etc. Fact is that though the heart is the most important organ for our lives it is also highly susceptible to many health risks because of certain lifestyle habits. It is learnt that cardiac tumour or heart cancer is one of the rare and damaging conditions that could occur in the heart.  One out of every 2000 autopsies would have cardiac humour in them and this was according to ESC or European Society of Cardiology. The types of heart tumours are primary tumour or rare form and secondary tumour or most commonly occurring form. Symptoms: Persons with heart cancer would show important symptoms such as chest pain, irregular heartbeat, fatigue, feeling weak, shortness of breath etc. Information gathered is that the symptoms could vary based on the size, type and location of the tumour. Risk factors: There are few risk factors associated with heart cancer and these are age, genetics, exposed to certain environment factors etc. Heart cancer would also depend on other factors like smoking, alcohol consumption, poor diet, physical inactivity etc. Diagnosis: Point to be noted is that heart cancer is rare and it would have symptoms similar to heart conditions. Therefore, it would not be easy to diagnose heat cancer. Echocardiograms would be able to diagnose heart cancer in us. With the help of CT scan, it would be possible to differentiate between benign and malignant tumours. Treatment of heart cancer: One important treatment is surgical removal of a tumor from the heart. The tumour could be shrunk through radiation therapy. It would be possible to use chemotherapy to target the cancerous cells and prevent it from spreading. It is noteworthy that in some conditions heart transplant will also be considered for the patients with heart cancer. Complete cure for heart cancer might not be possible but benign heart cancer can be cured.

An important stage in the lives of a woman is the pregnancy stage. Nothing can bring more joy and happiness for a woman than becoming a mother. Normally, pregnancy would be revealed 12 to 15 days after ovulation. It is worth mentioning here that normally pregnancy is revealed by a woman missing her monthly period. She would then confirm the pregnancy by means of a pregnancy test. Not many women would know that fact that her body itself would show certain signs of pregnancy. Some women can feel these signs in them but other women might not be able to feel the signs of pregnancy. The reason for that is that each body is different. Various signs of early pregnancy or before 6 weeks that are shown in a woman are Implantation or light bleeding: This is one of the earliest signs of pregnancy in a woman. It must be noted that the fertilized egg attaches to the uterine lining between 5 to 14 days after conception. Point is that the early bleeding is both faint and temporary and it is a pink coloured discharge. It would be for just a couple of days.  As the light spotting would appear as a brief and minimal amount of discharge it is different from regular periods. The light bleeding that would differ from the usual heavy bleeding during periods would indicate the pregnancy. It is noteworthy that not every woman would have implantation bleeding. Breast changes and tenderness etc: The woman would have changes in her breast due to hormone based changes during pregnancy. It is noteworthy that breasts would become tender with swelling/soreness etc between 2 to 6 weeks after conception. Early signs of pregnancy would be revealed by tingling sensation in the breast. The reason is due to the body that is preparing to nourish the baby by making changes to breast tissue. Pregnancy based breast tenderness could be long lasting unlike menstruation based breast tenderness. Fatigue and more sleepiness: That the woman is pregnant is also shown by fatigue or sleepiness etc in her. There would be extreme tiredness in women who are 4 to 6 weeks pregnant and this inspite of good sleep in the nights. Point is that the body would release more progesterone that would make her relaxed as well as sleepier. Just after one week of conception, the first signs of fatigue would be visible. In the fourth week after conception, the signs would become stronger. Nausea and changes in smell and taste: Normally, in the late pregnancy or after 6 weeks only nausea would occur in a woman.  Four weeks after conception,n, morning sickness that includes vomiting and nausea would be present in women. It must be taken into account that this sign can occur at any time of the day. The early signs of pregnancy also include aversion to certain smells or taste etc. The pregnant woman could have a metallic taste in her mouth with sourness etc. Frequent urination and mild cramps: The conceived woman could get frequent urination and this is another important early sign of pregnancy. Here, the woman would have bladder pressure caused due to more blood flow to kidneys and expanding uterus etc. Within the lower abdominal area, mild stomach cramps can occur. It is brought out that fertilized egg implantation along with growing uterus can create these symptoms.

Do you have pets in your house? How would you feel if you were told that leptospirosis or hookworm infection that you have got is due to the pet you have in the house? Shocked right!!  Many of us have pets like dogs, cats and certain birds like parrots, pigeons etc in our houses. Bitter truth is that pets not only bring us huge happiness plus companionship etc but also bring viruses, bacteria etc. It is worthy to note that from pets humans can get certain diseases and these are termed as zoonotic diseases. With proper handling of pets, regular visits to veterinary doctors, with good personal hygiene et, we could avoid most pet related diseases in us. There are few diseases we could get from pets. Ringworm infection: Ringworm infections are fungal based infections that can affect our nails, skin scalp etc. Truth is that from pets like dogs and cats we could get ringworm infection directly. It is possible for us to avoid this infection by bathing pets daily plus grooming them. It is necessary to use disinfectants in those areas where pets visit the house. Finally, washing hands after handling pets is very important. Toxoplasmosis: A parasite that is found in cat faeces is responsible for getting toxoplasmosis. Those with weak immunity and pregnant women are at high risk. It is necessary to clean the litter box by using gloves etc/ pregnant women must avoid doing this. It is necessary to wash hands after completing the above said work. Cat scratch disease or CSD: Having pets like cats at home can also lead to CSD in us. Here, a scratch or bite from a cat can result in this bacterial infection in us. It is necessary that we try to avoid rough play with kittens especially.  Point is that we must clean the scratches immediately with soap and water. Salmonellosis: By handling reptiles, birds etc we can get this Salmonellosis infection in us that is caused by Salmonella bacteria. Even contaminated pet foods can cause this. It is important to wash hands after touching pets or pet foods etc. Leptospirosis: From the urine of the infected dogs, a bacterial infection can spread easily and that is leptospirosis infection. Through contaminated d water or soil, humans can get this infection.  Those having pets like dogs must vaccinate their dogs and they must try to avoid walking with their dogs in floodwater etc. Campylobacteriosis: There are possibilities of humans getting diarrhoea from pets. Campylobacteriosis is due to bacterial infection. When we handle kittens or puppies having diarrhoea issues, then we could also get diarrhoea. It is highly important to have good hygiene. Washing our hands before cooking or eating etc is essential. Rabies: From the bites of infected animals or pets like dogs etc, we can get this deadly viral infection.  Our nervous system could get affected by rabies. We must seek immediate medical treatment if bitten by even our pet dogs.