Author: Masaharu Tsubokura Editors: Akihiko Ozaki M.D., Yuki Senoo 45. Healthy lifestyle is important in cancer prevention Let’s say that you have been diagnosed with cancer after being exposed to radiation. It is very natural to question whether the radiation exposure was the cause of your cancer. However, the appearance of cancer caused by radiation is not different from that of cancer caused by other reasons, and it is impossible to identify whether radiation exposure is the primary cause of your disease. Cancer develops due to several reasons. When the health effects of radiation exposure in a specific person appears to be significantly higher than other potential cancer causes, we can p

Author: Masaharu Tsubokura Editors: Akihiko Ozaki M.D., Yuki Senoo 43. There are various causes of cancer I am often asked if an exposure to high-level radiation would increase the risk of developing cancer. Before answering this question, I would like to talk about what cancer originally is. Numerous cells which constitute our body send signals to each other, and each one of them plays its specific role according to its placement. These cells interact with one another so that our bodies are able to function as a single organism. Malignant tumor or cancer is a situation that a part of such cells may become out of control, and start to proliferate unlimitedly, hindering essential functions of

Author: Haruka Sakamoto Have you ever thought about how long we should continue with medical intervention? Should we set conditions on whether patients get treatment or not? One of my experiences made me realize that we should think about these questions to keep proper medical service. “Have you ever heard about Charley Guard*?” This was the first question our teacher asked us at a seminar on euthanasia. In 2017, I attended a summer school program in the Netherlands on the topic of global health as a Japanese medical student studying medicine in the Czech Republic. Some participants were from European countries, some came from Latin American countries such as Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil, an

Author: Masaharu Tsubokura Editors: Akihiko Ozaki M.D., Yuki Senoo 41. Determination of radiation abundance using cesium A main cause of internal exposure is the ingestion of contaminated food. To prevent an excessive level of internal exposure from food, the reference value of cesium has been established as 100 Becquerel/kg. Although the reference value is only determined for cesium, it does not mean that we do not consider the influence of other radioactive substances, including strontium, the measurement of which is not simple. Currently, cesium is considered a predominant part of the radioactive substances that can enter our bodies, and previous studies reported a rough ratio of the amou

Author: Masaharu Tsubokura Editors: Akihiko Ozaki M.D., Yuki Senoo 39. Radiation exposure and the health of Sami ethnics The previous article explained that after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, the consumption of reindeer meat, which is a type of food easily contaminated with radiation, resulted in increased internal exposure among people of Sami ethnicity. All of the surveys that investigated the cancer risk of the Sami ethnic group showed that they have lower cancer risk and cancer mortality rates than other populations.These results do not indicate that radiation exposure would be good for your health or that we can tolerate a high level of radiation. However, the results of

Author: Dr. Santosh Paudel, Assistant Prof., National Academy of Medical Sciences I was in Hiroshima City Asa Hospital, Japan, for about three months to learn the principles and practice of spine surgery. I was fortunate to visit one of the best spine centers in Japan. I was exposed to many modern technologies in this surgical field. The main principles were intended to be applicable to the maximum number of people while employing minimal invasive techniques. The focus was on surgical principles rather than using expansive implants inside the body. This would be very useful for Nepal, where the affordability of surgical costs (including implants) is always a decisive factor in surgery. Anoth

Author: Masaharu Tsubokura Editors: Akihiko Ozaki M.D., Yuki Senoo 37. The current level of exposure is lower than the average exposure level in the 1960s Nuclear weapons tests, which have been conducted several hundred times since the 1950s, have released significant levels of radioactive substances worldwide. Findings from a post-World War Ⅱ survey showed that the radioactive cesium was detected in the bodies and urine of Japanese people and in food made in Japan. On average, several hundred becquerels of radioactive cesium 137 were detected in Japanese adult males in the mid-1960s. By contrast, the findings of an investigation that examined the level of internal exposure among adults livi