January 27: International Holocaust Remembrance Day

On January 27, 1945, the Soviet army liberated the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland. The troops witnessed firsthand the brutality of the Third Reich. The ‘Final Solution, as the Nazis coined it, was their determination to exterminate the Jewish people because they were ‘not pure enough for their fictitious Aryan ‘master race.

Of course, the Nazis failed in their endeavors, but not before over 6,000,000 Jewish people and another 1,500,000 non-Jews were murdered either in one of the many concentration camps scattered across Europe, as well as outside of the camps by soldiers and roaming gangs in the European cities and towns. Indeed, it was in the earlier years of Nazism that thousands and later, millions were slaughtered in these towns before the concentration camps were fully operational.

One catalyst towards the state-sponsored onslaught of Jews was Kristallnacht (Crystal Night), a name given to reflect the shards of glass that had fallen from the mass destruction of Jewish-owned stores and synagogues in Germany. The pretext to commit these callous attacks was based on the assassination (November 9, 1938) of a Nazi diplomat by Herschel Grynszpan, a German-born Polish Jewish teenager. German police and soldiers stood aside while mobs of Germans, incited by Hitler’s state-sponsored propaganda machine, began their rampage throughout Germany.

Survivors and witnesses have accounted for the mass murder of Jews by German soldiers or groups loyal to the Nazis, who would take people from their homes and kill them without mercy. Women and children included. This slaughter is well documented in the areas of western Russia, where Jews were coldly shot in the fields that surrounded the small Russian towns.

One survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau was Miriam Blumenthal, an author and honoree from many distinguished U.S. and European organizations. She currently spends much of her time educating the world about tolerance and the lessons of the Holocaust. 

Additional information can be found at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which provides a large variety of information on the Holocaust and welcomes people to join in their membership for the continued fight against antisemitism.

January 27th is the date marked by the United Nations to commemorate victims of the Holocaust and we should all pause for a moment of silence to reflect on the millions of innocent lives lost during this dark period in history.

 

New Cancer Wonder Drug Approved in England

Those suffering from melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer, now have access to drug nivolumab. National Health Service in England, a publicly funded healthcare system providing free services, has approved the use of the new drug.

Nivolumab is a drug that is part of a new wave of immunotherapy treatments. These treatments work to target the body’s own immune system and attack tumors by blocking a negative regulator of T-cell activation. Nivolumab is twice as effective as chemotherapy and allows dying patients to live longer with much less side-effects. The drug is delivered by a drip IV with 73% higher survival rate in those on nivolumab versus those on chemotherapy with only a 42% survival rate.

Nivolumab is not yet approved for treating lung cancer in England since officials calculate the treatment would be less cost effective than it would be for skin cancer. In Europe, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommended approval of nivolumab for metastatic melanoma as a monotherapy. The Food and Drug Association here in the US has received approval for treatment of nivolumab for melanoma in December 2014 and in March 2015 it was also approved for the treatment of squamous non-small cell lung cancer.

Current clinical trials are also showing promise in the use of nivolumab for gastric cancer. These new immunotherapy treatments be the beginning of curing cancer by boosting the body’s natural defenses to fight cancer for good.

Raising Awareness of Cervical Cancer Screening

Cervical Cancer warning sign

All women are encouraged to have a Pap test during the month of January, which is Cervical Health Awareness Month. Every year more than 4,000 patients die with cervical cancer with a total of 13,000 diagnosed annually.

While cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer for women, it develops over time and is one of the most preventable types of cancer. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is present in nearly all cervical cancers, but that does not mean having an HPV infection will result in cervical cancer. By age 50 more than 80% of women will have been infected with HPV, but the majority of women infected do not develop cancer.

Cervical cancer is a profound health equity issue that is linked strongly with poverty and lack of access to medical care. However, in the US the Affordable Care Act requires cervical cancer screening tests are provided at no cost to women. Improving access to screening and vaccines that already exist could eliminate the disease.

“The landscape constantly changes and so must we,” ASHA/NCCC President Lynn Barclay said in a statement. “When it comes to sexual and reproductive health, we should be comfortable in our own skin and have the confidence to seek the care and support we need. I urge every woman to talk with her healthcare provider about Pap and HPV tests.”

Cervical cancer starts in the cervix and approximately 80% to 90% are caused by uncontrolled growth of abnormal squamous cells.

Regular screening is important because early cancers of the cervix do not cause symptoms. There are possible symptoms of advanced disease: abnormal bleeding between menstrual periods, after sexual intercourse, after a pelvic exam, and after menopause; pelvic pain not related to menstruation; heavy or unusual discharge that may be watery, thick, and possibly have a foul odor; increased urinary frequency; and pain after urination.

Psychotherapy May Be Effective In Easing IBD Symptoms

According to the New York Times blog, ‘Well’, a review published online December 22, 2015 in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology ‘Short- and Long- Term Efficacy of Psychological Therapies for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis’ suggests that psychotherapy may be “effective in easing the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome…even after therapy has ended.”

Irritable bowel syndrome can cause diarrhea, cramping, fever and sometimes rectal bleeding and Crohn’s Disease is part of this. The chronic ailment affects up to 11 percent of the population, and there is no cure or completely effective treatment.

After examining “data from 41 clinical trials that included 1,183 people assigned to psychotherapy and 1,107 controls,” investigators found that one year “after the end of treatment, 75 percent of the treatment group had greater symptom relief than the average member of the control group, although the benefits were modest.”

“I.B.S. is notoriously difficult to treat,” said the lead author, Kelsey T. Laird, a doctoral candidate at Vanderbilt University, “so the fact that these effects are just as strong six to 12 months later is very exciting — a significant effect, which did not decrease over time.”

Whether a given individual will benefit from psychotherapy is still unknown, Ms. Laird said. But, she added, “We do know that this seems to be one of the best treatments out there. So I would recommend it.”

Supporting Ms. Laird’s recommendation, the Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology report  said “Psychological therapies reduce GI symptoms in adults with IBS. These effects remained significant and medium in magnitude after short and long-term follow-up periods.”.