Gallstones affect both sexes and all ages but seem to be more common in the overweight and in women who have had repeated pregnancies.

The condition tends to run in familes but whether because of heredity or common environment factors, such as diet, is not yet certain.

What are these stones which are so common and cause so much concern?

The gallbladder is pear shaped, about 10 cm long, and lies tucked under the liver. It acts as a reservoir of bile and concentrates it.

Bile is formed in the liver and contains the acids necessary for the digestion of fats and also bile pigments, which are breakdown products of the red blood cells.

Diet may be the most important cause but, again, the mechanism is not proven. Diets high in refined sugar, those lacking in fibre and those high in polyunsaturated fats predispose to the formation of stones.

Although most stones contain cholesterol and some consist only of this substance, a diet high in cholesterol does not seem to lead to stones.

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Nature isn’t fair. Just when a man is losing the hair on his head, a woman may be gaining a crop of unwanted hair elsewhere.

But the middle years of the menopause are not the only time an excess of hair can worry women — the problem may start in the teens.

The amount and distribution of body hair is often determined by our genes and varies with the race or ethnic group to which we belong.

For most women, fine hair on the trunk, the limbs, the face and around the nipple is normal and accepted, But when the hairs are dark and coarse like a man’s, concern is felt and expressed.

Hirsutism, or excess of body or facial hair, is usually caused by an increase of the amount of androgen or male hormone in the female.

Women produce male hormones both from the ovaries and the adrenal glands, which lie above the kidneys and produce the “stress” hormones, adrenalin and cortisone. Some chemicals, which have this androgenic activity on the hairs, may be produced in the skin.

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The word remission means that the cancer growths have got smaller. If your doctor tells you that you are in a complete remission, this is certainly extremely good news. It means that no traces of cancer can be found in your body at that particular time. It does not guarantee that there are no cancer cells still in your body. As you already know, there are no tests that can detect very tiny cancer seedlings. Fair enough, you may say, but surely a complete remission means at least a definite possibility of permanent cure. I’m afraid that even this is not always true. Complete remissions can be produced by palliative cancer treatments. These remissions are never permanent. On the other hand, a complete remission with potentially curative treatment certainly does mean possible permanent cure. You can’t say it is a definite cure until later—after enough years have gone by for any dormant seedlings to activate and make their presence obvious.

The expression partial remission means the cancer deposits have got smaller, but are still detectable. They can still be felt, or seen on X-rays, scans, biopsies etc, or detected through blood tests. A treatment that quickly produces a partial remission may eventually produce a complete remission if continued. People with partial remissions tend to live longer than people whose cancers don’t respond to treatment. However, of course, no one who has only a partial remission is ever cured.

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