Mid- Island Medical Laboratory Ltd.

You ask and we delivered…….We now offer COVID-19 Testing.

1. PCR Testing (Done by appointments only)

2. Rapid Antigen Testing

These test are done at our main branch(Superior H plaza across Mandeville Hospital) and our junction branch(Pines Plaza)

Please call for further information or visit if your in the area.

We look forward to serving you

Stay safe…..

Men: 7 cancer-fighting foods

Focused on Health - June 2013


men, cancer, foods, colon, prostateIt’s no secret that a healthy diet helps reduce your chances for cancer. Doctors and dietitians have recommended a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, protein and fiber for quite some time.

But which foods should men eat to reduce their cancer risks and why? See our list of powerful cancer-fighting foods below to find out.

1. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are packed with lycopene, a natural chemical found in plants. This chemical is a powerful antioxidant that may lower prostate, lung and stomach cancer risks.

2. Watermelon

Watermelon also is a good source of lycopene. It’s got vitamin C and beta-carotene that help rid your body of harmful cells that can lead to cancer.

3. Soy

Soy fills the body with isoflavones or plant estrogens. Studies hint that men with prostate cancer who eat soy have lower prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. That’s good because high PSA levels can be a sign of prostate cancer.

READ ALSO: Do soy foods increase cancer risk?

4. Beans

Beans are high in fiber. And a high-fiber diet can help protect your body from colon cancer. Beans also are loaded with plant proteins, making it a healthy alternative to red meat. This is a wise swap because eating more than 18 oz. of beef, pork or lamb each week can raise your colon cancer risks.

5. Broccoli

Broccoli has lots of vital nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium and folate. It’s even rich in fiber to help lower your colon cancer risks. Research also shows that eating non-starchy vegetables, like broccoli, may lower your risks for oral, lung and stomach cancers.

6. Garlic

Garlic is a flavorful vegetable that’s got the potential to protect your body from stomach and colon cancers. In fact, studies show the more garlic you eat, the more cancer-fighting benefits you’ll have against colon cancer.

7. Green tea

Green tea’s antioxidants may help cleanse your body of toxins and prevent abnormal cells from turning into cancer. Drinking green tea also gives you cancer-fighting nutrients that may prevent, or slow, cancer cells from growing in your colon, liver and prostate.

READ ALSO: Iced green tea with mint recipe

It’s important to eat right to lower your cancer risks. So, don’t forget to add these items to your shopping list.

5 Things You Need to Know Before Your Next Pap Smear

Getting up close and personal with your gyno isn't on the top of anyone's to-do list, but neither is getting cancer. So most of us show up for our yearly exam, put on the paper gown, and scoot down (and down and down) to get our pap smear.

But before you head to the dreaded appointment, check out these tips to make your experience a little more positive.

1. You don't need a pap smear every year. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recently changed their recommendations on pap testing. If you're in your 20s, you should be getting a pap test every three years. After age 30 you can space out the scoot-n-smear to every five years as long as you do an HPV test at the same time. After 65, you're in the clear, as long as none of your results have ever come back abnormal.

2. You do need an HPV test (eventually). Seventy percent of cervical cancers are caused by two strains of the human papilloma virus. So even if you're monogamous, not currently sexually active, or just dislike acronyms, you should be getting tested for HPV once you turn 30, Francis Chang, M.D., an ob-gyn at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, says. Younger women don't need the test, though: HPV is super common in your 20s but unlikely to cause problems, as your body usually will fight off the virus on its own.

3. Don't go if you're on your period. Menstrual blood can tamper with the test results, so ACOG recommends waiting to schedule your pap until you've finished bleeding. Some doctors don't mind performing a pap smear on a light day, but skip if you're bleeding heavily.

4. Speak up if you're uncomfortable. Gynecological exams can be harrowing for anyone, but can be particularly difficult for some women. Tell your doctor if you have experienced sexual abuse or assault, if you have pain before the exam, if you have panic attacks, if this is your first exam, or any other reason that might make you fearful. Most doctors are happy to make accommodations to help you feel more comfortable, such as allowing you to bring a friend or partner, talking you through the procedure, taking additional time, or even prescribing medicine like Va**um in advance.

5. A positive test result doesn't necessarily mean you have cancer. Chang says there's no need to freak out if you get a positive test result for the Pap or HPV. He explains that you'll come in for a follow-up exam where the doc will swab your cervix with vinegar and iodine to look for abnormalities and then take a biopsy. It may be nothing—false positives do happen—but if it turns out there are cancer cells, know that when it's caught early, cervical cancer is one of the most treatable cancers.

ZIK-V IS IN THE CARIBBEAN; NEXT DOOR TO JAMAICA

There are media reports that the mosquito-borne virus – Zika – is now in the Caribbean.

The report of the first case of Zika in the region comes one month after the first cases of the Zika were reported in Brazil.

According to the reports, a 12 year old girl in Puerto Plata on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic has contracted the virus.

Zika is similar to dengue with symptoms including fever, joint and muscle pain, conjunctivitis, headache, weakness, rash and swelling of the lower limbs.

It’s spread by the same mosquitoes that transmit Chikungunya.

But the head of the Caribbean Public Health Agency, CARPHA, Dr. James Hospedales says unlike, Chick-V, the Caribbean as a whole is in a much better position to handle the Zika virus.

He says the region has learnt lessons from the poor response to Chikungunya.

Last year’s outbreak of the Chikungunya virus cost the region dearly.

In Jamaica, alone the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica indicated that the impact of Chik V on the country’s productivity was no less than almost 7-billion dollars.

Health Minister, Dr. Fenton Ferguson, came under fire over his Ministry’s poor response to the mosquito borne virus.

Now its another virus that people are fearing — Zika or Zik V — and its carried by the same Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Dr. Hospedales says the region is in a far better position to battle the new virus.

But while he says the region is in a better position to fight Zika … he admits that that ‘better position’ is still not good enough.

Dr. Hospedales says Zika is mild compared to Chick-v, but it still needs to be taken seriously.

HIV is also known as HIV/AIDS. Hiv infection is caused by a retrovirus....This retrovirus binds to CD4 cells (for the most part). You may detect the virus by several different methods. An elisa test (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay). You may also detect it by doing a test referred to as a western blot (a gel protein electrophoresis).

Source: HealthTap, https://www.healthtap.com/topics/hiv-and-aids-slogan

What does a cholesterol test measure?

Fasting blood tests can measure cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood. This test, also called a lipoprotein profile or lipoprotein analysis, measures:

Total cholesterol (the total amount of cholesterol in your blood)

HDL, high density lipoprotein (good cholesterol)

LDL, low density lipoprotein (bad cholesterol)

triglycerides, another fatty substance found in the body.

Blood cholesterol measurements can be used to help minimize the risk of stroke, heart attack, and peripheral artery disease. The cholesterol level is one of the many risk factors that can be controlled.

DID YOU KNOW?
There are more than 100 types of blood tests available.

The liquid portion of blood, plasma, constitutes 50-55% of the total blood volume.

Some of today’s automated diagnostic blood systems can process about 3,600 tests per hour.