Health Issues - to PAP SMEAR or NOT to PAP SMEAR

The place I work for the pas 12 years has made some health initiatives  to the staff. We have been receiving emails on compulsory health screenings for those over 40 years old. Apart from that they also conduct PAP SMEAR screening to any interested female staff. So here's some input for those ladies out there .. don't forget to do your annual health checkup and pap smear! The Health Centre emailed a summary information about PAP Smear screening and I am sharing it with all on the net :-).

 

 The  PAP SMEAR

 

A Pap smear is a microscopic examination of cells scraped from the opening of the cervix. The cervix is the lower part of the uterus (womb) that opens at the top of the vagina.

It is a screening test for cervical cancer.

How the Test is Performed

You will lie on a table. The doctor or nurse will place an instrument (called a speculum) into the vagina and open it slightly. This allows the doctor or nurse to better see inside the vagina and cervix.

Cells are gently scraped from the cervix area, and sent to a lab for examination.

How to Prepare for the Test

Make sure your doctor or nurse knows about all the medicines you are taking. Some birth control pills that contain estrogen or progestin may interfere with test results.

Also tell your doctor or nurse if you:

• Have had an abnormal Pap smear
• Might be pregnant

Avoid the following for 24 hours before the test:

• Douching
• Having intercourse
• Taking a bath
• Using tampons

It is ideal to have a Pap smear done 10-20 days after the start of your last period.

 Menstrual fluid and blood may make it difficult for the pathologist to interpret results. Newer, liquid based Pap smears can separate cervical cells from mucus and blood, allowing a more accurate reading. Empty your bladder just before the test.

How the Test Will Feel

A Pap smear may cause some discomfort, similar to menstrual cramps. You may also feel some pressure during the exam.  You may bleed a little bit after the test.

Why the Test is Performed

It has been seen that women who do not participate in screening programs, and women whose interval between smears is more than 3 years, are at highest risk for developing cervical carcinoma (Figo Committee on Gynaecological Oncology, 2000).

 

In Malaysia, all women who are, or who have been sexually active, between the ages of 20 and 65 years, are recommended to undergo Pap smear testing. If the first two consecutive Pap results are negative, screening every three years is recommended. The Pap smear is a screening test for cervical cancer.

 

Most cervical cancers can be detected early if a woman has routine Pap smears.

You may not need to have a Pap smear if you have had a total hysterectomy (uterus and cervix removed) and have not had an abnormal Pap smear, cervical cancer, or other pelvic cancer.

 

We Love You!

Happy 8th Anniversary

dearest .. dearest .. dearest husband,

We love you with all our heart and cherish each day ... hours .. minutes .. seconds .. that we have been and will be together  and the years that we've been apart.

You have been always in our hearts, in our thoughts and our prayer.

May Allah All Mighty grants us this doa.. for us to be together again .. grow old together .. taking care of our two beautiful children together .. and spend our last days together.. InsyaAllah...here in this life and in jannah.

penat penat dan penat

Minggu ni teramat penat.. both the kids was down with flu... alhamdulillah my first born recovered after the 5th day of fever but my son had to be hospitalised on the 6th day... and now its the 8th day and his fever still fluctuating.


I am worried sick .. i cried a little while staying up with him in the hospital.. worrying about him.. was on leave from work for like dayss.. sorry boss!! My children comes first .. not you! As i blogged this .. ayman is laying beside me sleeping after taking his medication. he woked up just now ...calling me to lay down next to him and I said  I love you .. ayman .. Ayman loves mama? He responded .. sayang.... Kissed his small hands .. and he fell asleep.

Ya Allah .. berikan lah aku kekuatan untuk menjaga dan menguruskan anakku Ya Allah .. aku berdoa kepada Mu Ya.. Allah.." Jauhkanlah dia dari kesakitan, wahai Tuhan sekalian manusia, sembuhkanlah dia, dan engkaulah maha penyembuh yang tidak akan datang kesembuhan kecuali datang dariMu, kesembuhan dari jenis yang tidak akan kembali penyakitnya.

9.50 pm- 15/1/2012

Busy Busy Busy and Lazy

Its been 2 long months since i visited and updated by own blog. I was busy and lazy. Sorry ..
So what have I been up to lately?

Well october was full with meetings and policy updates at work .. had to rush to ensure that the Majlis endorses our regulations. Then, I was on leave for two weeks with husband and  children .. we went on vacation at Port Dickson and Frasers Hill. In november .. again busy with my children's school matters. Naureen will be attending primary school while Ayman will be attending playschool. I was hunting for playschool/preschool/ and going to the Jabatan Pelajaran jalan duta to handle naureen's school matters.

It was hectic... now its already the 2nd week of December.

I have enrolled Ayman to an Islamic based Preschool - Genius Aulad. Prior to enroll him there i did alot of visiting a few islamic preschool around Klang Valley. There's the CIC Taman Permata, Alimkids Playgroup and Al-Hidayah Preschool... Little Caliphs was too far from the rest of these preschool. At the end of November, I made up my mind to enrol Ayman at Genius Aulad Wangsa Maju. The medium of instruction is English and like most of the Islamic preschool in the klang valley, it stresses on the following mission:

"The provision of an Islamic foundation through English language-based Islamic religious and conventional pre school education. "

So not only will he be educated with the conventional syllabus but it will also be integrated with Islamic education such as arabic letters, solat, doa, hafazan .. fardhu ain etc. InsyaAllah, I believe I have made the best choice of education for Ayman. 

Then, comes Naureen's school matters... previously I registered her to SK Taman Setiawangsa, but result came out that she is to be enrolled at ST Mary Kuala Lumpur. I am more than okay with it as I was a ST Mary alumnus and I know the school is good! My family told me to appeal the result as it was too far and it would be difficult for them to manage her if I am not around.. so I relented and appeal to Jabatan Pelajaran. In October, I received a shocking letter. The Jabatan Pelajaran accepted my appeal but instead of sending Naureen to SK Taman Setiawangsa, they sent her name to SK Taman Kepong!!!! A school that I have never registered and its not even near to our home. I scrambled to appeal for the second time.. went to Jalan Duta again .. submit my appeal but I still have to go to SK Kepong to register her.. if not she will not have a school to go to next year.

Oh well ... she has a school .. and I am fine with it. The only problem would be to get her ready by 6.45 am so that she'll arrive at SK Taman Kepong by 7.00 am - 7.15 am. Then pick her up after school at 1.30 pm. I am fine with it .. long term plan would be to relocate to Kepong. I do not want to change school if she is already able to adapt positively in the school.

I have prepared most of the school stuff .. except buying books... tomorrow will go and get the list from the school.

InsyaAllah .. all will be well.





Taser- A funny story

Taken from : http://nursinglink.monster.com/topics/4637-funny-taser-story/posts

A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Taser for their anniversary submitted this:

Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol and Pawn Shop that sparked my interest.The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie.What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized taser.The effects of the taser were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety….??WAY TOO COOL!

Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home.I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button.Nothing! I was disappointed.I learned, however, that if I pushed the button AND pressed it against a metal surface at the same time; I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs. AWESOME!!! Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-A batteries, right?
There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh and blood moving target.

I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and thought better of it.She is such a sweet cat.But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong?

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and taser in another. The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries.

All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5 inches long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference; pretty cute really and loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries) thinking to myself, 'no possible way!'

What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best…? I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, 'don't do it dip shit,' reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad.I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of it.I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and . . .HOLY MOTHER OF GOD WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION . . .WHAT THE HELL!!!

I'm pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again.I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and ting ling in my legs?

The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room.

Note: If you ever feel compelled to 'mug' yourself with a taser, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself! You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor.A three second burst would be considered conservative? THAT HURT LIKE HELL!!!

A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape.My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace.The recliner was upside down and about 8 feet or so; from where it originally was.My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching.My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs.I had no control over the drooling.

Apparently I shit myself, but was too numb to know for sure and my sense of smell was gone.I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head which I believe came from my hair. I'm still looking for my nuts and I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return!!

P. S.My wife loved the gift, and now regularly threatens me with it!

'If you think Education is difficult, try being stupid."

I Serve - 100 years of existence

taken from wikipedia : SMK St Mary Kuala Lumpur.

"St. Mary's School, locally known as SMK St. Mary in Malay, is a public all-girls secondary school located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Each student in St. Mary's is also known as St. Marian."

I am a St. Marian (1982 - 1989) Eventhough, I completed my high school at another all girl school - the famous Sultan Ibrahim Girls School in Johor Bahru, my heart will always be with St Mary KL. Previously, the primary and high school were located at Jalan Tengah in the middle of Kuala Lumpur. Next to Menara Promet (the sold MAS building). The old school was demolished and replaced with a posh High Rise Serviced Condominium called St Mary Residences (a whopping RM 1.3 million per unit!).

St Mary is always well known for its talent shows, musicals and drama. It was here that I was exposed to Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens and Charlotte Bronte. I remember we have sessions on English Literature and Sastera Melayu. I adore each time and I would read..reread .and read again the books. After I moved to SIGS, JB.. there was no literature sessions .. its just you! So in SIGS, I would end up in the library after school, rummaging for literature books. I would sit there and read to my hearts contend until the student librarian told me to leave! :-). It was also the first time, I was exposed to English drama and Story telling during Islamic week. I was 12 when I had to be a stand-in for Allayarhamah Aspalaila in a school play - KL zone. Our school was very active in KL. Drama contest and cheerleeding! Where the netball team goes .. I was there to cheer ;-) ! . I was also a Mcneilian.. In St Mary, students are grouped into 4 houses for sports day. Well.. I was a Mcneil ( Blue House) in Form1 and 2 but I was a Pring (Yellow House) in primary school. Mcneil, Pring, Pope (Green House) and Playne (Red House) are the names of the previous headmistresses of St Mary KL from 1917 - 1934.

There were so many fond memories. Now, 22 years later.. I'd like my daughter to gain the experiences that I acquired while in St Mary. I always harbour the feelings to have my daughter schooled there. Yesterday, my prayers were answered! She was admitted to St Mary primary school which is located in Selayang (the new location). I know that its quite far from Keramat and we have to go out atleast around 6.30 am in order to reach St Mary before 7.30 am. Insyaallah, I know we'll go through it. It will be a difficult first 2 years for us to commute from Keramat to Selayang. Insyaallah, we'll move there when the time is right. My parents are not keen on it as its quite far so they asked me to appeal to the Jabatan Pendidikan, Jln Duta so that she'll be readmitted to SK Taman Setiawangsa. As an obedient daughter and wife.. I did as told but again .. deep in my heart.. I hope that the appeal is rejected! :-) My hubby would be furious reading this entry... but I'm so sorry.. I know she'll do good in St Mary as I've did! I would love to teach her the school song.

Oh by the way, my mom was also a teacher in St Mary KL in the 70s until 1982. She taught Geography, Bahasa Malaysia and Sejarah! I remember when I was a toddler.. mom would bring me to school when there's events or go to school trips. During Eid celebration her students would come to our house and have barbecues! Ohh .. can't wait for naureen to start school!

Here's the school website - http://stmary_kl.webs.com/.

St Mary will be 100 years old in 2012!

United and strong,

Sing we a glad song,

For the school and the rules,

That guide us,

Of the colors and crest,

Of our works and our rest,

Of the things that our school provide us.

For God and for school,

Afar be it known,

We stand by the badge of our school,

The yellow and blue,

Shall ever be seen,

To the fore,

In sports and pure knowledge.

Will aye seek her fame,

Yea make good her claim,

For the name and the fame,

The dearest,

So work for the whole,

And sing from the soul,

For the sake of St. Mary,

The dearest.

Shared by a facebook friend

A friend shared this in Facebook. Just search youtube.. you may find some videos.
Some shots/videos that captured the Saturday events. Those images you won't get to see in Malaysian TV ;-).