FemmeFocus Junction

  A teenager’s first gynaecology visit can be quite daunting. The most common reason for their check-up is usually dysmenorrhea or heavy menstrual bleeding. Some girls even get admitted to the hospital with severe anemia to receive a blood transfusion. Some mothers bring along their young daughters to familiarize them with gynae visits, while others come for birth control counseling. We rarely get consults for early or delayed puberty.    Puberty typically begins between the ages of 10-14 and lasts around 2-3 years. During this time the girls experience physical and emotional changes as their bodies develop and prepare for reproductive maturity. The breasts begin to grow and develop, and there is hair growth in the pubic and axillary regions. Hormonal changes lead to acne on the face and the body. Girls experience a growth spurt, gaining weight and height. The final step in the girl’s puberty is the onset of menses. It is important that every girl develops at her own ...

  Burnout is often related to prolonged stress and exhaustion related to work or caregiving responsibilities. It can lead to mental and physical exhaustion, reduced performance, irritability, and withdrawal from social interactions. With time the person’s work performance decreases and feels dissatisfied with work and personal life. It took me a while to understand my symptoms are related to exhaustion and burnout. It is very profound, and it can’t be fixed with a good night's sleep or a relaxed weekend. This happened to me at the end of my registrar training. From the previous year, I had started preparing for the fellowship exams. This is when time was divided between work and night shifts and studying. The exams passed and I realized I had to re-write my research document. Another year went by with me sacrificing all my free time writing and doing corrections. On top of this, as my training time was coming to an end, I had to start struggling to find a job. It wasn’t a consult...

  The 10 th of April is International Siblings Day. It is meant to celebrate the bond between siblings and honour the special relationship they share. It is time to recognize the support, love, and connection that siblings bring to each other’s lives. Whether you have a brother, a sister, or multiple siblings, it is an opportunity to show appreciation for their presence and the unique memories and experiences you have shared together. I have a younger brother, and we have a five-year age gap. I wasn’t really happy back then when he was born.  Even though my mom was a housewife, she was not coping with looking after me and my brother. By the time I was 7 and going to grade 1; Grandma who used to live with us was taking care of me most of the time. I found it difficult to connect with my little brother then. We started enjoying each other’s company when I was in grade 5 and by then he was about 5 years old. He happened to be a more social and happy child than me. In 2006, h...

  Cervical cancer poses a significant burden in Sub-Saharan Africa, due to limited access to preventive measures, early detection, and treatment services. At our facility, we usually diagnose three to four new patients with gynaecological cancer and mainly cervical cancer every month. They are often quite young and have concomitant HIV infection. Women often present with severe anaemia, pain, foul-smelling vaginal discharge, or even kidney failure.   Last month I had to counsel the family of a young patient in her 30s who was very sick and delirious with end-stage cervical cancer and her biopsy results were still pending. The family members were her aunt and her sister. They were devastated to hear the news and they were not coping looking after her and her 3 young children, the youngest who was 18 months old.   According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 25% of all cervical cancer cases worldwide occur in Sub-Saharan Africa, even though this regio...

  Medicine is a long and confusing journey. Going to medical school in my hometown, I had no idea what I was stepping into. One of my family friends who was a qualified dentist tried to convince me to do dentistry because the training is easier and there are no internship night shifts. My university marks were borderline for the medical school near home and I could be accepted in another province. My family suggested I choose pharmacology as a second option so I managed to stay close. I had made up my mind and I wanted to become a doctor. Medical school and the difficult exams went smoothly, we were slowly introduced to bedside teaching and the hospitals and I found it very fascinating. Some of my friends didn’t enjoy dealing with patients and they had already made up their minds to exit clinical medicine or do radiology or pathology. Community service was in the rural areas. I was doing family medicine in a rural clinic. Dealing mostly with outpatients, prescribing paracetamol o...