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Baldness and My Head Shave

There is one thing about baldness – it’s neat.

-Don Herold

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s most anxious of us all?

Probably, yours truly!

Yes, tomorrow night I will be bald. As I said in my last column, I am having my head shaved at Kin Coulee Park as a fund raising event for the Canadian Cancer Society. It will happen at 8 p.m.

This will be in conjunction with Relay for Life – a celebration of survival, a tribute to the lives of loved ones and a night of fun, friendship and fundraising to beat cancer.

If you have not yet put in your pledge to see me go bald then you can still do so by phoning in your donation to my office (527-0099), or Hair Palace (527-4433) or the Canadian Cancer Society (528-2125).

Now, what do you think, bald is beautiful, balderdash or just neat?

Hair has many useful functions. It protects our skin from many external elements. In our society, it has a significant psychosocial importance. But hair loss is a common problem. And it can be a distressing symptom of illness or treatment.

We are born with approximately 100,000 hair follicles on the scalp. They are predetermined to grow long, thick hair. Rest of the body has other hair follicles which are predetermined to grow short, fine, and less pigmented hair.

An article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) says that the cycles of active hair growth and rest are regulated by complex messages which are not well understood.

What causes hair loss?

There is hereditary thinning of the hair induced by androgens in genetically susceptible men and women. Thinning of the hair begins between the ages of 12 and 40 years in both sexes, and approximately half the population expresses this trait to some degree before the age of 50, says NEJM article

There are many other reasons for hair loss as well; usually transient shedding of hair is associated with drugs, fever, hormonal abnormalities, pregnancy, anemia, and malnutrition.

For cancer patients, it is usually chemotherapy. Chemotherapy consists of drugs used to kill cancer cells. They are useful in patients who have cancer at more than one site. The disadvantage is that all cancer cells may not be susceptible to these drugs and they kill some normal and healthy cells as well.

Chemotherapy entails lengthy treatments with side-effects like hair loss, nausea, vomiting diarrhea, depression and weakening of body’s immune system.

Shiny is sexy? Balderdash

This was the headline to a news item in the National Post in November, 2000. A survey of 1,502 Canadians discovered that a significant number of males and females believed it was harder for a balding man to find a partner, a good job or respect in society.

The news item by Tom Arnold reports that the survey by the Canadian Hair Research Foundation found 60 percent of women prefer men with hair and the number rises to 74 percent among respondents aged 18 to 24.

However, reports Arnold, 70 percent of men surveyed – with or without hair – reported to be involved in sexual relationships. So in reality, it may not be too hard for a bald individual to find a partner.

Tony Snesko runs a web site called Bald R Us. The site is designed for “those who believe that God made a few perfect heads and on the rest He put hair.” Arnold says that in the first year of operation the site has attracted 10,000 members who are proud of their baldness.

In my family, my mom is shocked that I am getting my head shaved. My wife is speechless. And my children think it is funny. But they are proud that this is for a good cause. The question is: Did God give me a perfect head?

Find out tomorrow at Kin Coulee Park.

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Docs for Cancer

I am getting my head shaved, for a good cause!

Debbie Bullman from Hair Palace and Colleen Wilson from the Canadian Cancer Society are going to help me do this on Friday May 30th, 2003 at the Kin Coulee Park. In conjunction with the Relay for Life event. And we may have other doctors join in.

We are calling this Docs for Cancer, similar to Cops for Cancer fundraisers to beat cancer.

Cancer patients undergo many events in their lives � from their first visit to their doctor when they don�t even know if they have cancer to treatment and recovery. Many of these events are physically and emotionally painful.

The standard treatment for cancer consists of surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Not all patients require radiation therapy or chemotherapy. But fair numbers do.

Those who do not respond to the standard treatment are given a choice of other methods of treatment � many of those treatments are experimental and their outcome is unpredictable.

Every treatment has likely complications. One complication which is quite common is hair loss.

So, Cops for Cancer and now Docs for Cancer are events to express empathy for cancer patients.

Over the years, I have looked after many cancer patients. They have been young and they have been old. And they have come from all walks of life. There is hardly a family which has not been affected by cancer.

And I am no exception. In 1996, my sister Gulshan was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She died within four months. She had just turned 60. She was beginning to plan her life into retirement and worldly travel with her husband when she was told to make plans for the last journey.

In 1971, she had come to Canada as a refugee from Uganda. She had six children (triplets were one year old). She lived in Quebec for a year or two then moved to Vancouver. After doing few odd jobs, Gulshan and her husband opened a business. They worked very hard to raise six children. Just when they thought that their parental duties where almost done � it was time for Gulshan to say goodbye to her family, her retirement and her worldly travel plans.

That is how cancer is. And that is how life is. Life isn�t getting any better. There is danger everywhere. We do not know what is going to kill us � heart disease, cancer, motor vehicle accident, a bomb at an unlikely place, a sadistic sniper or a kidnapper, a virus (SARS), a mosquito (West Nile), floods, tornado, or blizzard?

But we can look at the positive side of life too. There so many things in life we can be thankful for. Life has to be kept in proper perspective. And we have to take care of the people who have had the misfortune to be worse off than we are.

What events like Relay for Life, Cops for Cancer, and Docs for Cancer do is to make us appreciate what life is all about � celebration, happiness and caring. And there are many unsung heroes who make a significant contribution in society to make others feel better.

So, for me the most embarrassing question is: Is my hair worth anything? Would you like to see your face on my shiny bald head? No, is not the answer because I need your donation for the Cancer Society!

So, phone in your pledges to my office (527-0099) or to Hair Palace (527-4433) or to Cancer Society (528-2125). And be at the Kin Coulee Park to have fun.

Click here to view photos taken at the event.

Start reading the preview of my book A Doctor's Journey for free on Amazon. Available on Kindle for $2.99!

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Treatment of Warts

Warts are ugly and sometimes painful. They are contagious. Most people who get warts are otherwise healthy. People whose immunity is poor have a tendency to get more warts than others.

Warts are a type of infection caused by viruses in the human papillomavirus (HPV) family. There are at least 60 types of HPV viruses. Everyone is frequently exposed to the virus, but it is not known why certain parts of our body accept certain types of viruses at certain times.

Warts can grow on all parts of our body. They can grow on our skin, on the inside of our mouth, on our genitals and on our rectal area. Some types of HPV tend to cause warts on the skin, while other HPV types tend to cause warts on the genitals and rectal area.

Warts on the hand may be passed to another person when that person touches the warts. It is also possible to get warts from using towels or other objects that were used by a person who has warts.

Warts on the genitals can be passed to another person during sexual intercourse. It is important not to have unprotected sex if you or your partner has warts on the genital area. In women, warts can grow on the cervix (inside the vagina), and a woman may not know she has them. She may pass the infection to her sexual partner without even knowing it.

Often warts disappear on their own, although it may take many months, or even years, for the warts to go away. It is not known why some warts disappear and others don’t.

Generally, warts require treatment. Warts are often bothersome. They can bleed and cause pain when they’re bumped. They can also cause embarrassment, for example if they grow on your face. Treatment may also decrease the chance that the warts will spread to other areas of your body or to other people.

What are plantar warts?

Plantar warts are common warts that have the distinction of growing on the bottom of the foot (“planta” is Latin for sole).

Since they are on the sole of the foot, where pressure is applied, plantar warts grow inward and can be extremely painful. They tend to be flat and hard, usually gray or brown in color, with one or more pinpoints of black in the center.

A plantar wart is not the same thing as a corn or callous, as the wart may not be located over a bony prominence.

A virus causes plantar warts. Thus they are contagious, but require that the virus contact the skin or with clothing that has come into contact with a wart. The plantar wart is usually contracted by walking barefoot where the virus can be found. There is no known way to prevent them.

Children are more susceptible to warts than adults. The virus thrives in warm, moist environments (such as locker rooms).

Plantar warts can disappear spontaneously and recur later. They can be intensely painful when pressure is placed directly on the wart.

Preventative measures that may be taken include changing shoes daily, keeping the feet clean and dry, and avoiding direct contact with warts, even your own.

What is the treatment for warts?

There are more than 100 known treatments of warts, including several folk remedies. (Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn recommended three: dead cats, beans, and spunk-water.) Modern medicine has developed a number of approaches. These include:
-Applying salicylic acid
-Applying liquid nitrogen
-Electrocautery (burning the wart with an electric needle)
-Laser surgery

Local anesthetics may be required. None of these treatments is guaranteed to work in every case. And warts can come back!

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War is not the Answer

Letter to Editor
The Alberta Doctors’ Digest
May/June 2003 : Volume 28 : Number 3

Waste of Blood, and waste of Tears,
Waste of youth’s most precious years,
Waste of ways the saints have trod,
Waste of Glory, waste of God,
War!
Studdert Kennedy G.A. (1883-1929)

The war in Iraq is underway. It is generating a great amount of emotions amongst people all over the world. Some show signs of satisfaction that finally Saddam Hussein will be taken care of. Some are worried about the human cost of the war. Others are worried about the political and economic fallout.

War does not determine who is right – only who is left – Anonymous.

This war is affecting millions of people all over the world – it is the fear factor. Of course, the biggest brunt will be borne by the people of Iraq. Many thousands will die. Millions are or will be without food, water, electricity, and medical help. How many of us can tolerate few hours without these necessities?

Sweet is war to those who have never experienced it – Marcel Proust (1871-1922).

It is easy for us to sit in the comfort of our homes, watching on big screen television sets Baghdad sky lit up with “shock and awe” bombing, and say that it is okay to kill thousands of innocent people in order to get rid of one tyrant. And this is okay as long as our children and family members are safe; our economies are thriving and have cheap gas available to keep us comfortable.

We make war that we may live in peace – Nicomachean Ethics.

This is the best argument advanced by people who support war in Iraq. We wish that would be true. But very few wars are brought to an end tidily (Lord Owen). How many wars have been fought since God put man on earth? If wars solved all our problems then we should have had peace many years ago.

Under conditions of tyranny it is far easier to act than to think – Hannah Arendt (1906-1975).

Dictators who inflict tyranny on their citizens are entrenched in that position by a strong army. There are no democratic means to get rid of them. Historically, most dictators have met their match within the system or have been removed by popular uprisings. But
Saddam has been a tough ruthless dictator. Is war the only option to remove him? Isn’t that a sign failure?

When war enters a country, it produces lies like sand – Anonymous.

If Iraq’s main export would have been sand or dates then I wonder if President Bush would send his young soldiers and spend billions of dollars to liberate the people of Iraq.

A war regarded as inevitable or even probable, and therefore much prepared for, has a very good chance of eventually being fought – Anais Nin (1903-1977).

It is now well documented that the Iraq war was scripted well before Bush became President. The script was written by many of the current members of the Bush administration.

When the rich wage war it’s the poor who die – Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980).

The war and the reconstruction in Iraq is going to cost 100 to 200 billions of U.S. dollars. More billions will be required to keep happy the countries who have agreed to support the U.S. position.

If these billions were used to provide clean water, electricity and food to the poor in Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America then I believe this war would have been unnecessary.

Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind – John F. Kennedy (1917-1963).

Start reading the preview of my book A Doctor's Journey for free on Amazon. Available on Kindle for $2.99!