308 Views no discussions Tweet Sharing is caring! Share HealthLifestyleNewsRegional Martinique leads the world in prostate cancer rates by: OZY – October 28, 2015
Share FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique – From the outside, the French Caribbean island of Martinique looks like a paradise: turquoise waters beneath colorful wooden homes that climb up lush green slopes of banana leaves.Life seems pretty laid-back — no one expects Martinique to lead the world in any rankings. But this Caribbean island does lead the world in one dark, tragic metric: prostate cancer rates. According to the World Cancer Research Fund International, in Martinique: For every 100,000 men, 227 have prostate cancer.That number is almost twice the rate of the second country on the list: Norway (129). The United States, by comparison, comes in at No. 14, with 98 incidents per 100,000. And Martinique’s is an outlier result that looks even more eyebrow-raising when you run comparisons to figure out why.Maybe it’s the geography? Maybe something about this little pocket of the Caribbean causes the cancer rates to spike? If so, the neighboring islands of Dominica, or even Puerto Rico, should also show those rates. They don’t. While Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados are also in the top five, Martinique’s rates are still double. Maybe it’s the genetics? The island is a French colony, but if French genetics are the problem, then the French should have just as high rates. They don’t. Though their rates are the third-highest on the list, they are still half that of Martinique’s. And as a 2009 paper from the International Journal of Oncology found, “the growth curves of incidence rates” for Martinique and metropolitan France have been “significantly diverging since 1983.”But some doctors have come up with a damning diagnosis: those green slopes of banana leaves. Turns out, they’re a little too green. The high cancer rate in Martinique is being linked to pesticides, primarily used in banana plantations to combat weevils. According to the 2009 paper, researchers found that the islanders’ connective tissue was being contaminated by “extremely high levels” of a nasty cocktail of “DDT, DDE, alpha, beta and gamma HCH, aldrin and dieldrin.” The paper concludes that environmental factors such as the “intensive and prolonged exposure to carcinogenic, mutagenic and reproductive toxin pesticides” may be the culprit.One of the lead authors of that paper, Dr. Dominique Belpomme, professor in clinical oncology at the Paris University René Descartes, was asked in 2007 by politicians in Martinique to give advice on the health effects of chlordecone pollution — also called kepone, a colorless pesticide related to DDT. It is so toxic that in 2011, it was banned globally by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. “But today, unfortunately, chlordecone was replaced by the use of other toxic pesticides,” he tells OZY, “so there is no end to pollution.” Now, concerned citizens of Martinique believe the chemicals have poisoned their entire food chain, plus their rivers and coasts.For its part, the government of Martinique, which declined to comment to OZY, has launched an investigation into the issue, through the country’s public-health prosecutors. Indeed, the rate has drawn some attention, with locals protesting and mainland France contributing aid to research and monitoring. But the results of these changes may not be evident for years. And that’s got not just the young men of Martinique worried. As Dr. Belpomme points out, the pesticides might also be linked to “women with breast cancer and children with congenital malformations.” (OZY) Share
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Hurricanes break 33-year-old record to beat Jaguars by four wickets
BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC) – Leeward Islands Hurricanes laid waste to a 33-year-old record by executing the highest successful run chase in the history of the modern first class championship, as they shocked two-time reigning champions Guyana Jaguars by four wickets here yesterday.Set what appeared to be an improbable victory target of 369 on Sunday’s penultimate day, Hurricanes batted imperiously to reach their target at 17:07hrs. On the final day with 21 balls left in the contest at Warner Park, to register their first win over Jaguars in 2-1/2 years.The monumental effort was spearheaded by opener Montcin Hodge who stroked 114 – his second first class hundred – while Jamaican Nkrumah Bonner stroked an up tempo 82 off 114 balls and opener and captain Kieran Powell, 54.Wicketkeeper Jahmar Hamilton came at the end to unleash a cameo unbeaten 49 from 43 deliveries and it was he who hit the winning runs, smashing left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie over long on for six to end the game in style.Left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul claimed four for 109.The effort by Hurricanes eclipsed the previous best run-chase back in 1983 when Windward Islands overhauled 368 to beat Trinidad and Tobago by two wickets at Queen’s Park Oval.For the Hurricanes, it was their first win of the new Regional Four-Day Championship season, following their draw against Barbados Pride in the opening round here last week and represents one of their best starts to a first-class campaign in recent years, after a tough last few seasons.Jaguars, meanwhile, saw their unbeaten streak finally broken, as the loss was their first in 19 outings.Resuming the day on 47 without loss and requiring a further 322 for victory, Hurricanes were propelled by three vital partnerships.Hodge extended his first-wicket stand with Powell to 93 and added a superb 145 for the fourth wicket with Bonner – a partnership that set up the win.And when Hurricanes lost three wickets for 23 runs in the final session, Hamilton and Jeremiah Louis – who was unbeaten on 26 at the end – combined in an unbroken 63-run, seventh-wicket partnership to seal the result.Hodge and Powell set the tone early on, carrying Hurricanes safely through the first hour to frustrate Jaguars.The right-handed Hodge, starting the day on 26, faced 287 deliveries in just over 6-1/2 hours and counted ten fours and a six while Powell, unbeaten on 20 at the start, faced 113 balls in just over 2-3/4 hours at the crease and struck five fours and a six.Powell eventually holed out in the deep off Permaul and Akeem Saunders followed soon afterwards for ten, stumped trying to use his feet to the same bowler.Hodge put on 32 with left-hander Chesney Hughes (23) in a stand that took Hurricanes to lunch on 134 for two and when Hughes fell in the fourth over following the resumption, it paved the way for Hodge and Bonner to entertain.The right-handed Bonner was positive from the outset, stroking three fours in three hours at the crease and his enterprise saw Hurricanes reach tea at 236 without further loss.Hodge reached triple figures in the fifth over after the break before finally departing, missing a charge at Permaul and going stumped. Even then, however, Hurricanes kept their focus and Bonner and Hamilton ensured there was no disappointment later on.JAGUARS 1st innings 293HURRICANES 1st innings 158JAGUARS 2nd innings 233-8 decl.HURRICANES 2nd innings (target: 369 runs, o/n 47 without loss)K. Powell c Barnwell b Permaul 54M. Hodge stp. Bramble b Permaul 114A. Saunders stp. Bramble b Permaul 10C. Hughes c Chanderpaul b Reifer 23N. Bonner stp. Bramble b Permaul 82J. Hamilton not out 49R. Cornwall run-out 0J. Louis not out 26Extras: (lb-5, w-10, nb-1) 16Total: (6 wkts, 111.3 overs) 372Fall of wickets: 1-93, 2-109, 3-141, 4-286, 5-309, 6-309.Bowling: Joseph 16-1-56-0, Reifer 15-1-65-1, Barnwell 15-1-47-0, Motie 24.3-3-89-0, Permaul 40-7-109-4, Johnson 1-0-1-0.Points: Hurricanes 15.4, Jaguars 6.2.Man-of-the-Match: Montcin Hodge.