You are aware of your heart and how it pumps blood through your body. But did you know that your body has a unique ‘second heart ‘?

Your heart pumps blood throughout the body — thousands of miles of veins carry it back.

Your blood is in continuous motion. Arteries deliver oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and other essentials to organs and tissues throughout the body. After your arteries deliver the goods, your blood must return through the veins to the lungs to pick up more oxygen and nutrients, get rid of carbon dioxide, and head back to the heart to be pumped out again. This circulation of the blood is vital to life.

Veins are a network of connecting tubes throughout the human body. They bring blood low in oxygen back to the lungs to reload with oxygen. Veins have tiny valves within them that allow blood to flow in only one direction, encouraging blood to flow in the right direction. When muscles contract near larger veins, they pump blood toward the lungs.

If your veins are not adequately carrying the blood back up to the heart and your valves are not closing as they should, the blood will flow back down to the legs. Healthy veins help the heart, brain, and every other part of your body.

The lower leg muscles act as a powerful pump that squeezes the deep veins in your lower legs. This “second heart,” also called your peripheral heart, springs into action each time you take a step.

Here are five ways to improve vein health.

• Be active. Exercise regularly and avoid standing or sitting continuously for a long time
• Maintain a healthy weight.
• Don’t smoke.

If you already have vein diseases such as venous insufficiency, varicose veins, or unexplained swelling, inflammation, or ulcers on your legs, ankles, or feet, contact our experts for advice.

Day-care treatment refers to medical procedures for patients who require specialised care but do not need to spend overnight in a hospital. With improvements in medical techniques such as minimally invasive surgery, anaesthesia and pain relief techniques, patients can get treated for certain conditions in less than a few hours. Minimally invasive surgery is generally linked to less pain, a shorter hospital stay and fewer complications. Progress in minimally invasive surgery makes it a good option for people with a wide range of conditions.

Super-specialised Daycare centres like C3 Medicare provide patients with hassle-free access to minimally invasive treatment procedures at the most affordable prices.

Benefits
• Short-stay, Day-care medical centres provide comfort and convenience to the patient and family
• Providing access to the expertise and experience of doctors that a traditional hospital has, but minus the hospitalisation.
• By choosing day-care treatment, patients gain access to a range of super speciality healthcare services. These include consultation with specialists, diagnostic services, state-of-the-art medical infrastructure, and experienced doctors, all without the need for hospitalization.

Nutrition is important at Each Step in the Cancer Journey. It can improve the patient’s quality of life during and after treatment.

The illness and side effects of cancer treatment can affect your appetite and tolerance for certain foods. Calorie needs during cancer treatment vary for each person based on weight, height, side effects, and type(s) of cancer treatment. Your calorie and protein intake may need to be increased to compensate for nutritional loss.

The right nutrition helps cancer patients maintain healthy body weight and strength, keep body tissue healthy, and decrease side effects during and after treatment.

Getting enough calories and protein, as well as making wise food choices, are important during cancer treatment. A healthy and well-balanced diet during cancer treatment includes eating and drinking the right food in the right quantities to maintain the nutrients the body needs, including vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, and fat.

Getting calories and protein
Your body needs enough calories and nutrients to stay strong. But cancer and treatment can make it hard to get what you need, which can be different before, during, and after treatment. During your treatment, your nutritionist may recommend a food plan that helps you get more calories and protein or eat more comfortably. Some of these foods may seem like less healthy choices. Once your side effects go away and your appetite goes back to normal, you can stop eating foods you feel are unhealthy.

National Cancer Institute, USA recommendations include:

In addition to paying attention to what to eat and how much to eat, cancer patients must also pay attention to how food is handled and prepared. Because of their weakened immune systems, cancer patients are at a greater risk of suffering a foodborne illness. Because of the higher risk, it is important that additional food safety practices are used at all times.

Ask your cancer care team to recommend a dietitian to help you plan your meals.

Take small steps toward eating a balanced diet.!

An alumnus of the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST) with deep expertise in Molecular Oncology, Dr. Mama has worked at premier global oncology medical institutions. With a career marked by remarkable dedication, Dr. Mama has a legacy of compassion and accessibility in cancer care. 

Seeing the acute lack of awareness amongst patients in navigating cancer treatment and access to affordable medical services, he returned to India with a commitment to give back to the community by sharing his expertise and addressing the challenges faced by cancer patients in India. He began this journey by pro bono helping over 35,000 patients diagnosed with Cancer navigate the challenges of Cancer treatment.

Identifying critical gaps in cancer care and examining solutions across India’s cancer care ecosystem through multi-stakeholder collaboration, Dr. Mama develops practical solutions for reshaping how cancer patients are treated and improving efficiencies in cancer care. 

An investor in several healthcare companies in the USA and Europe, he is also a mentor for start-ups at Oxford University.

He founded C3 Medicare, a medical daycare centre to build capacities in Cancer Navigation and Cancer Care services and leverage the power of  Interventional Radiology to provide affordable minimally invasive image-guided diagnosis and treatment using the least invasive techniques available.

Dr. Mary Mandapathil is the Director of Clinical Services and Consultant Anaesthesiologist at C3 Medicare. She completed her M.D. (Anaesthesiology) from Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, in 2010 and PG Diploma in Hospital and Healthcare Management from Symbiosis Institute.

She worked as a Specialist at Lakeshore Hospital, Kochi and subsequently as a Consultant in the Department of Anaesthesiology at Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and later as a Consultant at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai. She has been a speaker at numerous conferences and is AHA-certified in BLS, ACLS and PALS.

Dr Mukul Mutatkar has been a consultant in Interventional Radiology in Imaging and vascular for three decades.

A graduate of the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) and a  B.J Medical College(BJMC) postgraduate, he underwent training in MRI and CT in the USA, Germany, Japan, and Australia.  He has also trained in the UK and France with short sessions in Trivandrum and Japan for Interventional Radiology.

He is one of the founders, directors, and consultants of the successful OMEGA MRI Centre and the PDS CT Scan Centre in Pune.

Dr Sainani, a renowned medical oncologist who has been practising since 2002 at various hospitals in Mumbai, graduated from MBBS at Lady Harding Medical College Delhi and completed her MD at INHS Asvini Hospital Mumbai in 1997. nAfter a fellowship in Haematology at B J Wadia Children’s Hospital, she trained in oncology at the renowned Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai’s major cancer referral centre.

She trained at Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia’s Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, and today provides stem cell transplant expertise to centres at Jaslok Hospital and Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital.

A member of the European Society for Medical Oncology(ESMO), Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology ( ISMPO), Indian Cooperative Oncology Network( ICON), ImmunoOncology Society of India (IOSI), Mumbai Haematology  Group( MHG).

She has been a part of many clinical research trials and has publications in national and international journals.

Dr Murarka, a highly experienced surgical oncologist with an impressive 40-year career, completed his post-graduation at the renowned Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. He further honed his skills through training at the prestigious Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York & St. Mark’s Academic Institute, U.K., solidifying his position as a leading expert.

Dr. Murarka is a specialist in Surgical Oncology and a Consultant at various hospitals, including Saifee Hospital, Raheja Hospital, Nanavati Hospital, Sushruta Hospital, and Ramakrishna Mission Hospital.

Dr Murarka has worked at the top hospitals in the city and country, including Lilavati Hospital, Hinduja, S.L. Raheja (Fortis), and Breach Candy.

Dr. Murarka has published several papers in India and abroad and is a member of several prestigious medical associations.

Dr Pant, an Interventional Radiologist specialising in vascular and non-vascular IR for the past two decades, is an alumnus of Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. He further trained in Interventional Radiology for both Peripheral and Neuro-Intervention at the Bombay Hospital and Institute of Medical Sciences, Mumbai.

He was the Director of Imaging and Radiology and Consultant in Interventional Radiology at the Department of Radiology & Imaging at Sir H. N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre.

Dr Pant has expertise in various interventional procedures, such as Intracranial Aneurysm therapy, Stroke Intervention, Portal Hypertension, and Endovascular Repair of Abdominal and thoracic Aortic Aneurysms. He has experience in the interventional treatment of liver cancer by TACE and RFA.

He has been awarded the Vishisth Seva medal by the President of India and a commendation by the GOC-in- C southern Command.

An academician for over two decades, Dr. Pant has been a postgraduate teacher under MUHS, Nasik, and an examiner at the Interventional Radiology fellowship and DNB (radiology). He has been a professor (Radio diagnosis) at MUHS, Nasik, since 2010. He is also a member of the Executive Council and was the past Vice President of the Indian Society of Vascular and Interventional Radiology. He has published 18 papers and presented his work at many conferences.