Mother Lily undergoes lung operation

MANILA, Philippines – Regal Films matriarch Lily Monteverde underwent an operation on Thursday morning to remove an abnormal growth in her lungs.



According to entertainment website Pep.ph, Monteverde went under the knife around 7 a.m. Thursday at The Medical City in Pasig.

Prior to Monteverde’s operation, a Mass was held for her speedy recovery at the Imperial Palace Suites in Quezon City, which was attended by Monteverde’s friends in and out of showbiz.

In an interview with Pep.ph, Monteverde's daughter Meme said their family was really concerned after they learned that there’s a two-centimeter mass growth in her mother’s lungs.

Despite this, Meme said their entire family was able to hold on because Monteverde herself is handling the situation very well.

“She’s really a strong woman. She’s really amazing. So, kami, ako, I just let her be. Kung ayaw niyang magpahinga, I let her because I also don’t want to keep reminding her of her condition. In fact, kagabi, nag-e-exercise pa siya. I just let her,” she said.

“It’s a good thing naikuha ko na siya ng medical insurance two years ago. So it’s taken cared of. Hindi na kami ma-i-stress sa bagay na ’yon. And we can just all focus on taking care of her,” she added.

Meme said their family decided to just have Monteverde’s operation in the Philippines and they are all hoping for the best.

Meanwhile, Monteverde’s daughter Roselle thanked those who are continuously praying for their mother.

"We're so thankful to all our friends and relatives for their support and prayers. They stood by Mother during the time she was diagnosed. She felt so much love and care which made her really strong and hopeful,” Roselle said in a statement.

Roselle said they also appreciate the gesture of President Benigno Aquino III and Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas when they paid her mother a visit days ahead of her operation.

“Mother was so enlightened upon knowing of the President's visit. She couldn't believe it that a person so powerful will have time to visit her,” she said.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Smoking to blame for Dolphy's COPD

MANILA, Philippines - Smoking is the main cause of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that Comedy King Dolphy battled for six to eight years before finally succumbing Tuesday at 83.

Eric Quizon, Dolphy’s son, admitted in an interview that his father used to smoke.

In an emotional necrological service, singer Zsa Zsa Padilla, Dolphy’s long-time partner, said they initially could not understand why the comedian constantly felt sick even if he showed no outward symptoms like fever.

Eventually, from yearly medical checkups, he had to be make regular hospital visits, “hanggang (until) two-and-a half years ago, sinabi na sa amin ng doctor na Stage 4 na siya ng COPD. Kinailangang kausapin ang lahat ng mga anak niya (the doctor said he already had Stage 4 COPD. It became necessary to talk to all his children),” Padilla said.

Persons suffering COPD experience breathlessness, abnormal sputum characterized by a mix of saliva and mucus, and chronic cough. And as the condition worsens, normal activities like walking up short flights of stairs or carrying a suitcase can be very difficult.

Aside from smoking, pollution - both indoor and outdoor - can also cause COPD, the World Health Organization said in its website.

It is not known how many Filipinos suffer from COPD but the Department of Health lists it as the seventh in the top 10 causes of mortality in the country.

And in 2000, a workshop covering the Asia-Pacific region estimated that at least 6.3 percent of the Philippine population is suffering from COPD.

Not surprising in a country where there are at least 17 million smokers.

But the DOH website stressed that these are “misleading figures because COPD is under-diagnosed and often not listed either as primary or contributory cause of death.”

Second-hand smokers, including children, are also at risk for COPD.

An estimated 10 people die every hour in the Philippines because of tobacco use, causing a humongous health burden of about P300 billion a year.

Other factors that cause COPD include indoor and outdoor pollution, according to the World Health Organization website.

The WHO estimates that 64 million suffered from COPD in 2004, with more than three million dying of the disease in 2005, equivalent to five percent of all deaths in the world that year.

Ninety-percent of COPD deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries like the Philippines where the use of tobacco is high.

Without interventions to cut the risks and better tobacco-control management, deaths from COPD are projected to increase by more than 30 percent over the next 10 years, the WHO warned.

Because symptoms develop slowly, COPD goes mostly undiagnosed although the WHO said people normally diagnosed with the disease are aged 40 or older.

The disease is diagnosed through a test called spirometry that measures how much air a person can inhale and exhale and how fast oxygen passes through the lungs.

There is no cure for COPD, but risk of it can be avoided or lowered by refraining from, or quitting, smoking.

source: interaksyon.com

Prenatal smoking tied to worse asthma in kids

NEW YORK- Children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy may have a tougher time controlling their asthma than other kids do, a new study suggests.

The findings, from a study of nearly 2,500 U.S. kids, add to evidence that prenatal smoking may affect children's future lung health.

There are already plenty of reasons for women to quit smoking during, and ideally before, pregnancy, said lead researcher Sam Oh, of the University of California San Francisco.

This study offers more motivation for women, and for doctors to ask moms and expectant moms about smoking, Oh said in an interview.

"Pregnancy is a great opportunity for smoking cessation," he said.

Smoking during pregnancy is linked to increased risks of miscarriage, low birth weight, certain birth defects and other pregnancy complications.

As for asthma, many studies have found that secondhand smoke may worsen children's asthma symptoms, or possibly raise their risk of developing the lung disease in the first place. The same risks have been linked to moms' prenatal smoking.

But, Oh's team says, it has not been clear how much of an impact prenatal smoking might have on kids' asthma symptoms later in life, independent of any current exposure to secondhand smoke.

HIGHER RISK AMONG POOR MINORITIES

For their study, the researchers focused on 2,481 black and Hispanic kids between the ages of 8 and 17 who all had asthma and were mostly from low-income families.

In the U.S., poor, minority children are at particular risk of asthma. About 16 percent of low-income black children have asthma, versus the national prevalence of 9 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In this study, almost 19 percent of African-American moms smoked at some point during pregnancy, as did 5.5 percent of Hispanic moms.

Overall, their kids were at greater risk of poor asthma control later in life, even when childhood secondhand-smoke exposure was taken into account -- as well as other factors like a child's age and asthma medication use.

About 30 percent of Hispanic kids and 38 percent of black kids had poorly controlled asthma symptoms -- and the risk was 50 percent for those exposed to smoking in the womb, versus unexposed kids.

"There are measurable effects even years down the road," Oh said.

The findings do not, however, prove that prenatal smoking, itself, causes more-severe asthma symptoms later in life. They can only point to a correlation.

But there is lab research, in animals and human cells, suggesting there could be a direct effect, Oh pointed out.

Fetal exposure to tobacco smoke may, for example, impair early lung development, or have lasting effects on the activity of certain genes.

The bottom line, according to Oh, is that there is already a host of reasons for pregnant women to quit smoking for good, and this may be one more.

"This study provides more impetus for healthcare providers to ask about smoking at each visit," he said.

Some pregnant women may be able to quit with behavioral counseling. In some cases, a doctor may prescribe nicotine replacement therapy or other medication.

source: interaksyon.com