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Thousands queue for cancer check-up [Posted: Thu 30/09/2010 by Deborah Condon - www.irishhealth.com] Over 2,000 people were given free mouth check-ups as part of Mouth, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Day yesterday. A further 1,000 people who were unable to be seen will be invited for a check-up soon.Three Irish people die from mouth, head and neck cancers every week, more deaths than from skin melanoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma or cervical cancer, yet public awareness of these diseases remains low.Most patients with mouth, head and neck cancer tend to present for treatment when their cancer is at an advanced stage, greatly reducing their chances of survival or a better recovery. Yesterday's awareness day was organised by new support group, MHNC (Mouth, Head and Neck Cancer), which is made up of cancer survivors, healthcare professionals and health promoters.According to the group, queues started forming at Dublin Dental Hospital at 6.45am and the hospital started seeing people at 8am, an hour ahead of schedule. Altogether, 1,360 people were seen, while details of a further 600 were taken.In Cork, 700 people were seen and details of another 400 were taken.MHNC said that the 1,000 people who could not be seen would be ‘directly invited to attend for a check-up shortly'.Meanwhile an analysis of the check-ups is expected to be available in the coming weeks.Mouth, head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, with over 500,000 cases each year. Around 400 new cases are diagnosed in Ireland every year. These cancers are considered largely preventable as the two major risk factors are consumption of alcohol and smoking.
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Cancer test can rule out need for chemotherapy
Up to 200 women a year with breast cancer may be able to avoid chemotherapy treatment if a new diagnostic test becomes more widely available, it was claimed yesterday.The test can help suggest the type of cancer treatment a woman needs and potentially save them having to undergo chemotherapy.It analyses 21 genes in the tumour's genome and provides doctors with the likelihood of tumour recurrence over the next 10 years to determine whether chemotherapy would be beneficial.The Oncotype DX genomic test, which costs about €3,000, is not yet available to public patients for free in the country's eight cancer centres and it is not covered by health insurers.Mike Falahee, the sales and marketing manager of Genomic Health Ireland, makers of the test, said applications for its introduction into the public and private health insurance systems were being reviewed.If introduced in Ireland, it would cost about €1.86m to test the 600 women here who develop breast cancer annually; a round of chemotherapy can cost up to €10,000.Dr Janice Walshe, a medical oncologist in St Vincent's Hospital, said the test, which was trialled on 150,000 women in 55 countries including Ireland, could help avoid under-treatment or over-treatment.The tests are taken by means of a tissue sample and are sent for molecular analysis to a laboratory in the US, with a results turnaround time of seven days. To read full article please click on this link www.independent.ie/health/latest-news/cancer-test-can-rule-out-need-for-chemotherapy-2357115.html |
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Major cuts announced in HSE West [Posted: Tue 28/09/2010 - www.irishhealth.com] The working hours of thousands of temporary staff are to be cut in a bid to deal with a budget overrun of over €50 million in the HSE West area.The cutbacks, announced today, also provide for staff redeployment, curtailments in student nurse numbers and cuts in overtime payments and travel allowances.Working hours of temporary staff would be cut by 7,000 hours per week, The HSE has said no extra Government funding will be provided and difficult choices would have to be made to stay within budget.There are fears that current and future cuts will have a devastating effect on patient services.A group of Galway surgeons has said it has serious concerns about the impact the cuts will have on patient care. |
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A check-up at the dentist could aid cancer survival
Three people will die here this week from head, neck or mouth cancer yet it rarely makes the headlines. But a two-minute screening exam as part of a routine dental check-up could improve survival rates for patients from the current 10-35pc to over 80pc.Cancer survivor Gerry Collins (54) from Wicklow had left his days of heavy drinking and smoking behind him and replaced his addictions with hill walking when he was struck with the illness. "I was a heavy drinker and smoked 60 cigarettes a day but I gave them up two years before my diagnosis."One day my neck swelled but it didn't last. It happened again and I went to the doctor who prescribed antibiotics for a sore throat."They weren't working and I returned to the doctor three times. I suspected I had cancer and was referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist who sent me to an oncologist."He found I had a tumour at the base of my tongue." Doctors prescribed a round of extremely aggressive chemotherapy and radiotherapy which left him fighting infections, mouth blisters, and feeling extremely weak and ill. "They decided on this regime because of my physical fitness. It was incredibly tough and has affected my saliva glands which means I have to drink water regularly."The treatment worked and doctors told me the tumour was gone. Since then I have been going for check-ups while trying to rebuild my life."He adds: "I knew smoking was hazardous but was not aware that drinking was also a risk factor."He is now organising a health exhibition in Dublin to be held in February.Cigarette smoking and prolonged or excessive drinking are responsible for around 90pc of mouth cancers. The condition is more common in men and most cases develop in people aged over 40. Head and neck cancers can affect the lips, tongue, gums, cheeks and roof of the mouth, the back and sides of the throat and nose, facial bones, the ear and eye.As part a national awareness day this Wednesday, the Dublin Dental Hospital, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2 (01-6127200 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 01-6127200 end_of_the_skype_highlighting) and the Cork Dental Hospital, in the campus of Cork University Hospital (021-4901100 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 021-4901100 end_of_the_skype_highlighting), are offering free, painless mouth examinations to members of the public. No appointment is necessary. |
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27 September 2010 Last updated at 00:37 GMT Courtesy of BBC News Painless laser device could spot early signs of disease By Katia Moskvitch Science reporter, BBC News Fibre-optic probes could use lasers to distinguish between cancerous, pre-cancerous and healthy cells Portable devices with painless laser beams could soon replace X-rays as a non-invasive way to diagnose disease. Researchers say that the technique could become widely available in about five years.The method, called Raman spectroscopy, could help spot the early signs of breast cancer, tooth decay and osteoporosis.Scientists believe that the technology would make the diagnosis of illnesses faster, cheaper and more accurate. to read full article please click on this link www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11390951 |
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Depression risk for partners of cancer patients [Posted: Sun 26/09/2010 by Deborah Condon - www.irishhealth.com] Men whose partners have breast cancer are at an increased risk of developing mood disorders that are so severe, they may require hospitalisation, the results of a new study indicate.It is already widely recognised that diseases can compromise the mental health of not only the affected patients, but also their closest relatives. Partners in particular are at risk because they may feel stressed and may be deprived of emotional, social, and economic support.A few small studies have suggested that partners of cancer patients often develop major psychosocial problems, however to date, data on partners' risk for severe depression has been limited. Danish researchers analysed how frequently the male partners of women with breast cancer were hospitalised with serious mood altering conditions, including major depression and bipolar disorder TO READ FULL ARTICLE PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=17929 |
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19 September 2010 Last updated at 17:20 GMT Courtesy of BBC News New insight into breast cancer risk Genetic factors influence a woman's risk of breast cancer Women with a "high risk" breast cancer gene may find out more about their chances of developing the disease by having other parts of their DNA checked, say researchers.Differences in a separate genetic "region" were found to raise or lower the risk for women with the BRCA1 gene.In future, such results could help women decide on preventative treatment.The DNA region, reports the journal Nature Genetics, could also have an impact on ovarian cancer risk.Scientists have known for some time that certain genetic mutations are linked to a substantially higher risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer at some point in a woman's lifetime.Carrying a mutated BRCA1 gene, for example, means at least a 65% risk of breast cancer by the age of 70, and a 40% risk of ovarian cancer.However, the remaining uncertainty can be damaging and distressing for women - some even elect to have their breasts or ovaries removed to reduce the chances of falling ill. To read full article please click on this link www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11349472 |
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Cervical cancer jab campaign starts [Posted: Thu 16/09/2010 - www.irishhealth.com] The nationwide HPV vaccination campaign for cervical cancer is now underway, and the HSE says it will help protect more than 57,000 schoolgirls from developing cervical cancer as adults.The vaccine – Gardasil – is free of charge and is being offered to all girls attending first and second year of second level schools, according to head of the HSE National Immunisation Office, Dr Brenda Corcoran. |
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Operating theatres idle as 46,000 await treatment
HOSPITAL theatres are lying idle, leaving surgeons unable to operate on patients as public waiting lists grow, doctors warned yesterday.The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) said 46,000 patients and children are on waiting lists across the country -- a rise of more than 5,400 (16pc) compared with last year.It comes against a background of theatre closures in Cork, Mullingar, Dublin, Galway, Letterkenny over the summer while Limerick Regional will only have half its theatres open over the next three months.The longest waiting lists are in Galway University Hospital, the Mater and Beaumont in Dublin, Cork University Hospital and Waterford Regional.The doctors' body also blamed bed closures for lengthening lists -- including Beaumont (52), the Mater (60) Cavan General (28) and Limerick Regional (40).Asked if doctors themselves were contributing to the delays because they were breaching their contracts and not treating an agreed quota of public patients, the organisation's President, Dr Margo Wrigley, insisted specialists were frustrated by the closures.Consultants, "find it extremely frustrating that a theatre is closed for a period of weeks and they have no operating times", she said. To read full article please click on this link below www.independent.ie/health/latest-news/operating-theatres-idle-as-46000-await-treatment-2337871.html |
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Consultants want funding for frontline care [Posted: Wed 15/09/2010 - www.irishhealth.com] The HSE is planning to take around 17% of hospital beds out of the system, according to the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA).The IHCA, in a pre-Budget submission, says acute hospital bed numbers were cut by 900 last year and a further 1,100 are due to be closed this year.It says these reductions were to be facilitated on the basis that community and co-located private hospital beds would be increased significantly to reduce demand for acute beds; however, this has not happened.The IHCA says the reduction in acute beds is therefore leading to much reduced capacity in hospitals in the face of increasing demand, and theatre closures too, have added to capacity problems.The Association noted that waiting lists for hospital treatment have increased and that although the HSE does not produce official figures on them, outpatient waiting times are growing in many specialties as demand increases.The IHCA has called on the Government to increase funding for front line acute hospital and mental health services.It says Budget provision should be made to pay for a halving of the waiting lists for hospital inpatient and day case services. |
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14 September 2010 Courtesy of BBC news |
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Study pinpoints high cancer risk Simple screening test uncovers 192 cases
A SMALL-scale bowel screening programme uncovered cancers and pre-cancerous tumours in 192 people who believed they were healthy.The number of cases uncovered indicates the pressure there will be on hospital services when a promised national screening programme gets under way in early 2012.The local community screening drive by Tallaght Hospital in Dublin invited 9,993 people to take a simple test to see if they might have bowel cancer, a disease which causes the deaths of 900 people every year.Consultant gastroenterologist Prof Colm O'Morain said 5,063 accepted and 10pc had blood in their stools which needed further investigation.After more than 400 of this group had colonoscopies -- a more intensive examination -- it emerged that 154 had pre-cancerous tumours and 38 were positive for the disease.Speaking at the launch of the results of the two-year programme yesterday, Prof O'Morain said the group, aged 50 to 74, were sent written invitations to their homes to take part in the test. They were asked to send stool samples back to the hospital in special kits and these were then tested to find any traces of blood. to read full article please click on this link below www.independent.ie/health/latest-news/study-pinpoints-high-cancer-risk-2336371.html |
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Bowel cancer screening a success [Posted: Mon 13/09/2010 by Niall Hunter, Editor - www.irishhealth.com] Just under three per cent of patients tested positive for cancer in the country's first bowel cancer screening programme, new results show.Dublin's Tallaght Hospital started its own bowel cancer screening programme in 2008 and 5,063 people took part in the programme. The hospital says the results whow that the programme has been highly successful.Participants were asked to send stool samples back to the hospital in test kits. If blood was found in their samples, they were offered a colonoscopy.Late stage or early stage cancer was confimrmed in 137 people, or 2.7% of those tested.According to Prof Colm O'Morain, consultant gastroenterologist at Tallaght Hospital, practically all colorectal cancer can be cured or prevented if early stage cancers are detected and removed.He said the expertise gained from the Tallaght programme will be particularly crucial in the commencement of future countrywide colorectal screening.A nationwide colo-rectal screening programme is due to start in 2012, focusing initially in the 60 to 69 age group. DACC invite you to read full article by clicking on this link please www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=17871 |
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2 September 2010 Courtesy of BBC News |
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'Lifestyle' cancers our biggest challenge By Jane Kirby Saturday September 11 2010 Courtesy of The Irish Independent CANCERS linked to unhealthy lifestyles are "one of the biggest challenges facing the world", an expert said yesterday.The rise in cancer linked to poor diet and lack of exercise poses as much of a problem in the 21st Century as providing access to clean water did in the 19th, he added. And Prof Martin Wiseman, medical and scientific adviser for the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), warned that millions of people around the world face an early death from the disease.While the increase in many cancers is linked to the fact that people are living longer, around 80,000 cases could be prevented every year in the UK if people ate better, kept to a healthy weight and exercised.Around one in three of the most common cancers in high-income countries and about one in four in medium and low-income countries could be stopped if people led healthier lives, estimates suggest.According to the United Nations, the number of deaths from cancer worldwide is to double by 2030.And global cases of cancer have risen dramatically in the last 30 years, from 6.3 million in 1980 to 8.1 million in 1990 and 11.3 million in 2007.But Prof Wiseman said this doubling was not inevitable, and more should be done to prevent lifestyle cancers.He was speaking ahead of the WCRF's international scientific conference in London, which will hear from speakers from the World Health Organisation and International Agency for Research on Cancer."The challenge we face in preventing cancer is of the same scale as people faced in making drinking water freely available in the 19th Century in urban areas."We have seen over the past century that, as countries have become more industrialised, people in those countries have become more overweight, less active and eaten more processed foods. Information "But this does not have to happen. By giving people the information they need to make their own choices, we can avoid the typical path of developing the unhealthy behaviours that have promoted chronic diseases in the 20th and 21st centuries."It is important to rem- ember that it is largely because of our successes in preventing the spread of communicable disease that people are now living long enough for cancer to be affecting a significant proportion of the world's population. This is because cancer is mostly a disease of old age."But unless we can stop the rising number of lifestyle- related cancers, millions of people will die unnecessarily young."It is estimated that a quarter of all cancer deaths are caused by unhealthy living and obesity.Cancers that are particularly influenced by lifestyle include those that affect the bowel, stomach, mouth, foodpipe and breast. |
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Gene-risk women are 'timebomb' for cancer
Women who have genes that leave them at a very high risk of developing breast cancer were described as "timebombs" by a leading cancer surgeon yesterday.Surgeon James Geraghty of St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin said it was essential that special care plans be made available to these women to allow them to easily avail of breast cancer screening and possible radical surgery. Survival Speaking at the launch of Breast Cancer Awareness Month he said that, overall, the 2,600 women diagnosed annually with the disease now have an increased chance of survival thanks to various factors including the quality of care in the eight specialist hospitals and advanced drug treatments.However, a very small number of younger women, who have a strong family history of the disease, and find they have one or more breast cancer genes, need to be looked after, he said.They have a 56-84pc chance of going on to develop breast cancer in their lifetime and also a risk of getting ovarian cancer.An expert group has prepared a report with recommendations on their care which is with the Health Service Executive, he said.Women with the defective gene can reduce their risk of developing the cancer by 98pc by having a double mastectomy, he added. DACC INVITE YOU TO READ MORE BY CLICKING ON LINK www.independent.ie/health/latest-news/generisk-women-are-timebomb-for-cancer-2332704.html |
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HSE tight-lipped on outpatient lists [Posted: Fri 10/09/2010 by Niall Hunter, Editor - www.irishhealth.com] Three of the four HSE regions have refused to reveal up to date statistics on the exact number of people across the country waiting for public outpatient appointments in hospitals.Only the HSE South provided these figures to irishhealth.com,while the other three areas said a request for such figures would had to submitted through a Freedom of Information requestThe HSE South region told irishhealth.com that nearly 30,000 people are currently on waiting lists for outpatient clinics at Cork and Kerry hospitals. This means nearly 5% of the population of the two counties is on an outpatient waiting list.All four regions were asked to provide the up-to-date figures for the number of people on waiting lists in hospitals in their area, broken down into specialty and length of time waiting. The other three regions - Dublin North-East; Dublin Mid-Leinster and West all said such requests should be channelled through FOI.The HSE did not provide an explanation as to why, if this information was apparently obtainable within the HSE and hospitals, it could not be channelled through a media query. To read full article please click on this link www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=17866 |
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9 September 2010 Courtesy of BBC News |
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6 September 2010 Last updated at 23:01 GMT Courtesy of BBC news UK radiotherapy 'lagging behind' Radiotherapy 'needs more public attention' Too few UK cancer patients are receiving state-of-the-art radiotherapy care, experts say.Cancer Research UK (CRUK) warns only 7% of patients receive a new type of radiotherapy, compared with 20% in Europe. Writing in the BBC's Scrubbing Up column, CRUK experts said patients were receiving older types of radiotherapy - or having to travel abroad for care.The UK's cancer tsar said plans were being developed to improve care. The number of people receiving radiotherapy in the UK tripled between 2000 and 2009, and the number of radiographers (the health service staff who delivers radiotherapy) rose by 40% between 2000 and 2006. But CRUK estimates that, in total, only 38% of cancer patients in England are getting radiotherapy - although research shows that up to 50% might benefit. to read more click on this link please www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11179359 |
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Link between bone drugs and oesophageal cancer 2 September 2010 Last updated at 23:03 GMT Courtesy of BBC News The drugs work by strengthening the bones Long-term use of bone-strengthening drugs - used to treat fractures - may boost the risk of oesophageal cancer, Oxford University research suggests. |