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'Brisk walks' to prevent cancers 31 August 2010 Last updated at 10:42 GMT Courtesy of BBC news Brisk walking can help shed excess weight About 10,000 cases of breast and bowel cancer could be prevented each year in the UK if people did more brisk walking, claim experts.The World Cancer Research Fund scientists say any moderate activity that makes the heart beat faster should achieve the same.For example, data suggest 45 minutes a day of moderate exercise could prevent about 5,500 cases of breast cancer. Physical exercise helps prevent obesity, which is a cancer risk factor. To read full article please click on this link www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11137074 |
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Reorganised cancer services lead to speedier diagnoses
The number of women with possible symptoms of breast cancer in need of urgent assessment who are seen within a two-week deadline is now as high as 95.6pc, according to new figures.The eight hospitals now offering specialist breast cancer services have been told they should see 95pc of these "urgent referrals" in two weeks.The figures for May show this target was exceeded but the success rate fell during the winter months and was at 93.5pc in January, 84pc in February and 82pc in March.It meant that 432 women with symptoms that needed to be checked were not seen within the two-week time frame during those three months, when hospitals were under pressure due to admissions from emergency departments.Women who are deemed non-urgent should be given an appointment within 12 weeks and the target for hospitals is again 95pc. To read full article please click on this link www.independent.ie/health/latest-news/reorganised-cancer-services-lead-to-speedier-diagnoses-2316892.html |
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27 August 2010 Last updated at 02:07 GMT Courtesy of BBC NEWS |
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Plan to remove waiting lists, A&E trolleys [Posted: Thu 26/08/2010 by Niall Hunter, Editor - www.irishhealth.com] The HSE is launching an ambitious plan to revamp how patient care is delivered in Ireland which it claims will eventually clear A&E trolleys from hospitals and eliminate waiting lists.The doctor charged with organising the plan, however, has admitted that implementing it will be a huge challenge against a background of massive cutbacks in the health service.No specific funding commitments for the plan have been given and the bulk of the financing for it is expected to come from savings made in the system.The precise details of how the programmes will transform the delivery of care to patients with serious illnesses have yet to be finalised. However, the HSE's Director of Quality and Clinical Care Dr Barry White said it was planned that the programmes would be implemented from next year.The HSE has recently set up 20 national clinical programmes across a range of specialties from heart disease to asthma to emergency medicine and stroke, all headed up by leading consultant specialists in each field. DACC invite you to read full article by clicking on this link please www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=17785 |
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Nicotine in cigarettes linked to breast cancer
Nicotine in cigarettes has been linked to breast cancer for the first time as researchers find the substance may promote the growth of tumours. Nicotine is the chemical in cigarettes which causes addiction and has now been linked to the development of breast cancer. Previously smoking was not thought to be a major cause of breast cancer although it is known to increase the risk of several other forms of the disease. Researchers at Taipei Medical University examined 276 samples from human breast cancer tumours and found the cells had large numbers of receptors which nicotine was able to attach to when compared with normal cells. They also found that when normal cells were treated with nicotine, it promoted the development of cancer characteristics. Because the findings were linked to nicotine and not the usual carcinogenic chemicals in cigarettes, it raises questions over nicotone gum, inhalers and patches, that many use to help them quit the habit. The findings are published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. In an accompanying editorial, Dr Ilona Linnoila, of the Center for Cancer Research at the National Cancer Institute, writes that the study "suggests not only that smoking could be causally related to breast carcinogenesis but also that nicotine could directly contribute to the molecular mechanism of carcinogenesis in addition to indirectly contributing by promoting addiction to smoking." |
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Prescription charge from October 1 [Posted: Tue 24/08/2010 by Niall Hunter, Editor - www.irishhealth.com] The controversial 50 cent per-item prescription charge for medical card patients is to come into effect from October 1, Health Minister Mary Harney has announced.The measure was announced in the last Budget, after a much higher prescription charge had been suggested in the 'Bord Snip' report.The 50 cent charge will be in respect of each prescription item dispensed to medical card holders, the Department of Health said.The total charge per family per month is capped at €10 and, according to the Department, those who exceed the monthly fee ceiling will have to apply for a refund from the HSE. The prescription charge will not apply to: The Department said it was working with the the HSE and the Irish Pharmacy Union to put in place the necessary arrangements for the implementation of the charges.The charge has been criticised by Age Action Ireland, which said it was a tax which specifically hits the sick and the poor and its impact would not be felt by those who have good health or decent incomes.Prescription charges have been in operation in the UK NHS for many years. However, those on lower incomes are have traditionally been exempt from them, and the entire population is entitled to free GP consultations.Prescription charges have recently been abolished in Northern Ireland, have already been removed in Wales and will no longer apply in Scotland from next year. |
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Report: Cancer is the world's costliest disease Cancer is world's top 'economic killer' as well as its leading cause of death, report finds Marilynn Marchione, AP Medical Writer, On Monday August 16, 2010, 7:22 pm EDT Cancer is the world's top "economic killer" as well as its likely leading cause of death, the American Cancer Society contends in a new report it will present at a global cancer conference in China this week.Cancer costs more in productivity and lost life than AIDS, malaria, the flu and other diseases that spread person-to-person, the report concludes.Chronic diseases including cancer, heart disease and diabetes account for more than 60 percent of deaths worldwide but less than 3 percent of public and private funding for global health, said Rachel Nugent of the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based policy research group.Money shouldn't be taken away from fighting diseases that spread person-to-person, but the amount devoted to cancer is way out of whack with the impact it has, said Dr. Otis Brawley, the cancer society's chief medical officer.Cancer's economic toll was $895 billion in 2008 -- equivalent to 1.5 percent of the world's gross domestic product, the report says. That's in terms of disability and years of life lost -- not the cost of treating the disease, which wasn't addressed in the report. The World Health Organization has long predicted that cancer would overtake heart disease this year as the leading cause of death. About 7.6 million people died of cancer in 2008, and about 12.4 million new cases are diagnosed each year.Tobacco use and obesity are fueling a rise in chronic diseases, while vaccines and better treatments have led to drops in some infectious diseases. DACC invite you to read article by clicking on this link below please finance.yahoo.com/news/Report-Cancer-is-the-worlds-apf-3339685699.html?x=0 |
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Breast cancer death rate is second-highest in EU
The NUMBER of women dying from breast cancer is falling, but Ireland still has the second-highest mortality rate in Europe, a new study shows. Research comparing cancer rates in 28 countries in 2006 -- the most recent figures available -- found 30.5 women per 100,000 died here from breast cancer, compared to just 18.9 per 100,000 in Spain. Screening for the disease, availability of new treatments and speedier diagnosis means the mortality rate has fallen, but we lag behind the best-performing countries. This is because breast cancer treatment was carried out in up to 37 hospitals up to 2007 -- the year after the period being studied -- and, in some cases, the specialist medical knowledge to treat the disease was not available.The National Cancer Control Programme interim director Tony O'Brien said last night that women were now treated in nine centres which offered the best medical expertise, and that Ireland would see improvements. Researchers in Northern Ireland, France, Italy and Norway had compared mortality rates from breast cancer, as recorded on death certificates, from countries across western and central Europe. The study, published in the 'British Medical Journal', found that breast cancer mortality decreased by almost 27pc in Ireland between 1989 and 2006. Overall, the breast cancer mortality rate across the 30 European countries fell by a fifth to 24 women per 100,000 population. DACC INVITE YOU TO READ FULL ARTICLE BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK BELOW PLEASE www.independent.ie/health/latest-news/breast-cancer-death-rate-is-secondhighest-in-eu-2295593.html |
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HSE to outline closures and service reductions in bid to avoid €90m deficit ·By Anne-Marie Walsh Industry Correspondent Courtesy of Irish Independent Friday August 13 2010 THE HSE will today outline drastic cuts, including the closure of a children's residential service, health centres and home help services, in a bid to avoid a deficit of €90m this year.Documents seen by the Irish Independent reveal a range of measures will be taken to slash costs in the west. They include a major reduction in community health services and downsizing of hospitals.Copies of presentations to be given to unions at the Labour Relations Commission today say the cost containment plan is "a must and non-negotiable".The HSE West will say its budget overrun was €59m at the end of June, and is forecast to rise to €90m by the end of the year. to read full article please click on this link www.independent.ie/health/latest-news/sweeping-health-cuts-on-way-2295607.html |
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Breast cancer - the future is brighter [Posted: Tue 10/08/2010 by Deborah Condon - www.irishhealth.com] The pace of change in breast cancer research has been "enormous" in recent years, according to breast cancer specialist Prof Arnold Hill. However, the launch of a new clinical research programme will further shorten discovery times and "speed up the discovery of new drugs getting to our patients", he predicts.This collaborative research initiative, in association with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and Aviva, will allow for the creation of Ireland’s first National Breast Cancer Bio Resource of tissue and serum samples. But what does this mean for patients and health professionals “There are 2,400 new cases of breast cancer each year and in the last two years, we know that services have been centralised into clinical care in eight designated cancer centres."In line with that, we’ve always had excellent research groups working on breast cancer and what this initiative is about is bringing together the basic science – researchers with the clinicians – providing an infrastructure to allow them to work together to speed up discovery,” explained Prof Hill, who is professor of surgery at the RCSI and Beaumont Hospital and director of Breast Cancer Ireland. This will allow breast cancer researchers nationwide to work together. DACC invite you to read full report by clicking on this link please www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=17713 |
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New breath test could reveal if you have cancer Wednesday, 11 August 2010 BBC News A breath test could one day be used to detect four of the most common types of cancer, say scientists. Researchers have developed sensors that can spot chemical signs of lung, breast, bowel and prostate cancer in a person's breath. They believe further work could lead to a cheap, portable “electronic nose” that can help doctors diagnose cancer at an early stage. The scientists carried out tests on 177 volunteers including healthy participants and patients with different cancers. They showed it was possible to use sensors to detect chemicals emitted from tumour cells that appear in the breath. Professor Abraham Kuten, one of the researchers from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, said: “If we can confirm these initial results in large-scale studies, this new technology could become a simple tool for early diagnosis of cancer along with imaging. “It could also be an easy way to assess and monitor the effectiveness of cancer treatment and detect relapses earlier.” The research is reported in the British Journal of Cancer. |
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Irish Cancer Society News Date: 10 Aug 2010 |
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Chemical link to testicular cancer probed |
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Print Herpes virus used to treat cancer By Emma Wilkinson Health reporter, BBC News 1 August 2010 Last updated at 23:12 |