Dr. Bertha Chioma Ekeh's health talk emphasizes the importance of routine health checks, disease screening, and lifestyle modifications for enhancing health and preventing disease. Key topics include cancer screenings for prostate, breast, and cervical cancers, as well as the importance of early detection and the impact of lifestyle choices on overall health. Effective health promotion strategies are highlighted, including immunizations, lifestyle counseling, and maintaining a healthy diet.

1. Essential Routine Health
Checks and Practices
Dr Bertha Chioma Ekeh
A Health Talk given at SUN NEWSPAPERS on Sept 28th 2022

2. Disclosure
 Associate Professor/Consultant Neurologist Dr Bertha Chioma Ekeh; B, Med Pharmacology,
MBBS, FMCP (Neuro)
 University of Uyo/University of Uyo Teaching Hospital
 Adjunct Consultant Neurologist, Ibom Specialist Hospital Uyo
 Nigeria
 Author of 7 books
 Public Speaker
 webpage https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Bertha-Chioma-Ekeh/e/B07D442KRX
 Blog https://medicalinfoblog.net
 I HAVE NO CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

3. Content
 Introduction
 Health Promotion
 Screening
 Cancer Screening
 Life Style Modifications

4. Introduction
 "The doctor of the future will give no
medicine, but will interest his
patients in the care of human frame,
and in the cause and prevention of
disease."

- T. A. Edison

6. Health promotion
 Defined by the World Health Organization's (WHO) 2005 Bangkok Charter for
Health Promotion in a Globalized World as
"the process of enabling people to
increase control over their health and its
determinants, and thereby improve their
health".

7. Principles of health promotion
 Includes five domains:
 Screening for disease at an early stage
 Counseling about a healthy lifestyle (e.g., diet, exercise, smoking cessation, falls prevention, safe
driving)
 Immunizations (pneumococcal, influenza, tetanus vaccines)
 Chemoprophylaxis (aspirin, statins, bisphosphonates)
 System changes to promote patient safety

8. Importance of Screening
 A primary goal of screening
 The early detection of a risk factor or disease at a stage when it can be corrected or
cured
 Early identification of hypertension or hyperlipidemia allows therapeutic
interventions that reduce the risk of cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events
 Routine antenatal checks

9. Commonly screened diseases
 Breast cancer and cervical cancer in women
 Colorectal cancer
 Diabetes
 High blood pressure
 High cholesterol
 Osteoporosis
 Overweight and obesity
 Prostate cancer in men
 HIV Screening

10. Cancer Screening
 Prostate cancer
 Breast cancer
 Cervical cancer

11. Prostate Gland
 The prostate sits deep in the pelvis, beneath the bladder
 It’s a small, soft organ: size of a walnut or a ping-pong ball about 30g in weight.
 The most important is producing seminal fluid: a component of semen
 Plays a role in hormone production
 Helps regulate urine flow
 The urethra, a tube that carries urine and semen out of the body, passes through
the prostate.

12. Benign Prostate enlargement
 Aging process
 Affects 1/3 of men > 50 Yrs
 May cause symptoms
 May improve
 Occ Prostatectomy

13. Symptoms of prostate enlargement
 Frequent urge to urinate especially in the night
 Difficulty in starting and maintaining urination
 Blood in urine or semen
 Pain or burning urination
 Painful ejaculation
 Frequent pain or stiffness in lower back, hips, pelvic or rectal area, or upper thighs
 Dribbling of urine or weak stream
 Incomplete emptying

14. Prostate Cancer
 Commoner in men older than 60 years: most often diagnosed in men aged 65-74
years
 Seen in men as young as 17 years
 Mortality over 2-fold higher in Blacks than in Whites
 Incidence is highest in Blacks and Caribbean men of African descent
 Risk factors include ethnicity, age, and country of residence.

15. Prostate Cancer
 There are often “NO Symptoms” during the early stages
 Advanced symptoms
 May still also show no symptoms
 Advanced prostate cancer present with the following:
 Bone pains
 Unexplained weight loss
 Fatigue

16. Screening for Prostate cancer
 Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) Test
 PSA is a substance made by the prostate
 High levels of PSA in the blood that cancer may be present
 PSA levels also can be affected by—Certain medical procedures, medications, An
enlarged prostate or A prostate infection

17. Breast Cancer
 It is the most frequently diagnosed life-threatening cancer in women
 It is the leading cause of cancer death in women in less developed countries
 It has been surpassed by lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in women in
developed countries.
 Early breast cancers are asymptomatic; No pain or discomfort
 Breast cancer is often first detected as an abnormality on a mammogram before it
is felt by the patient or healthcare provider.

18. Risk Factors
 Risk factors you cannot change
 Increasing age especially after the age of 50 years
 Inherited genes like BRCA1 and BRCA2 have a higher risk of breast and ovarian
cancers
 Early menarche (<12 years) and late menopause (>55years) high levels of
hormones
 Previous history of breast cancer
 Family history; first degree relatives or multiple family members

19. Angelina Jolie
 12% of women will develop breast cancer
 60% 0f those who have inherited a harmful
mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2
 Women who have at least two close
relatives—a mother, sister, or daughter—who
have had breast or ovarian cancer are also at
much higher risk
 Jolie’s mother died of ovarian cancer at age
56
 These women are good candidates for
prophylactic mastectomy

20. Contd
 Risk Factors You Can Change
 Physically inactivity
 Obesity especially after menopause
 Hormones like oral contraceptives and hormone replacement after menopause
 1st pregnancy after the age of 30 years, not breastfeeding
 Drinking Alcohol
 Smoking

21. Symptoms of Breast cancer
 New lump in the breast or armpit
 Thickening or swelling of part of the breast
 Irritation or dimpling of the skin of the breast
 Redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast
 Nipple pain
 Discharge other than breast milk, including blood
 Any change in the size or the shape of the breast
 Pain in any area of the breast

23. Screening for Breast cancer
 Women in their 20s and 30s should have a clinical breast exam (CBE)
 This should be part of a periodic (regular) health exam by a health professional
preferably every 3 years
 Starting at age 40, women should have a CBE by a health professional every year
 Women age 40 and older should have a mammogram every year

24. Cervix

25. Symptoms of cervical cancer
 Bleeding between periods
 Bleeding after sexual intercourse
 Bleeding in post-menopausal women
 Discomfort during sexual intercourse
 Vaginal discharge with a strong odor
 Vaginal discharge tinged with blood
 Pelvic pain

26. Cervical cancer
 There are 2 types of tests used for cervical cancer screening.
 The Pap test
 The HPV (human papilloma virus) test
 All women should begin cervical cancer screening at age 21.
 Women between the ages of 21 and 29 should have a Pap test every 3 years.
They should not be tested for HPV unless it is needed after an abnormal Pap
test result.
 Women between the ages of 30 and 65 should have both a Pap test and an
HPV test every 5 years
 This is the preferred approach, but it is also OK to have a Pap test alone every
3 years.

27. Watchword
Early diagnosis makes a
“world of difference”

28. Eye Examination
 18-60 years Every 2 years
 ≥ 60 years Annually

29. The silent killer

30. Triple Curse
 This was actually defined in African Americans
 More likely to be hypertensive
 Less likely to have their blood pressure controlled
 Once it's not controlled, it's 3 times worse" in terms of stroke risk
 George Howard, Dr PH, professor, biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham

31. Effects on Organs
Brain
Eyes
Heart
Kidneys
Arteries

32. General Benefits of Lowering BP
Average Percent Reduction
Stroke incidence 35–40%
Myocardial infarction 20–25%
Heart failure 50%

33. Obesity

34. Effects of obesity

36. Prevention
 Healthy Food
 Avoid fast foods
 Exercise
 Healthy School environment
 Reduce the menace of social media
 Occupy them positively

37. Cholesterol
 Note

38. Blood sugar
 Accessible

39. Complications of Diabetes
 Brain
 Heart
 Eyes
 Kidneys
 Nerves
 Foot ulcer

40. Good health seeking behaviour
 See your Doctor
 May need some investigations
 Take your medications as prescribed by your Doctor

41. Healthy African Diet

42. Qualities of Healthy Food
 Fresh food
 Unprocessed/minimally processed food
 Plant oils
 Fruits and vegetables
 Drink water

43. Cooking Methods
Boil
Steam
Roast
Grill without oil

44. Salt intake

45. Reduce Alcohol Intake

46. French Paradox

47. Drink Water

48. Quit smoking

49. Exercise

50. NEAT

51. Sitting is the New Smoking!!!!

52. Beauty Products

53. Why skin products?
 The skin is the largest organ in the body
 Absorption from all the pores of the body
 Dangerous substances include: Hydroquinone, Mercury
 Dangers range from destruction of the skin, kidneys, liver
 Skin cancer

54. Safe Sex
 Death Toll from HIV
 WHO estimates that as of 2021HIV/AIDS has killed approximately 40.1 million
people
 Approx 38.4 million people are infected with HIV globally
 700,000 still die from HIV every year
 Hepatitis B/Liver cancer
 Other Sexually transmitted Diseases
 Cervical Cancer

55. Safety Tips

56. Good Hygiene
 Hand washing
 Clean your house
 Food hygiene
 Mosquito treated nets

57. Good Sleep

58. Pray