Cancer

07/02/2019 • 7:17 pm 0

Man, 29, with terminal brain tumour denied cannabis prescription that family claims is ‘his only hope’ in race to save him

George Gannon

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When George Gannon became aware of a spate of dog poisonings where he was living in Thailand, he couldn’t stand by and do nothing. The animal loving Briton and his Canadian girlfriend Natalie Hobbs gave the strays a home, by setting up a small make shift rescue centre in their yard with seven dogs. He also managed to re-home several puppies. It was likely because of his ‘big-hearted’ nature that friends and family – and i readers – dug deep and raised £25,000 for the popular entrepreneur when he was stranded in the Asian country after waking up unable to walk or talk last September.

Diagnosed with a brain tumor aged just 29, Thai doctors made him stable, but they couldn’t provide the treatment he needed so his family made a desperate plea for help as George had no medical insurance. A month later he was flown home, but after a second surgery to remove more of his tumour and 10 rounds of radiotherapy, medics have told his devastated loved ones that there is nothing more they can do. George was set to have pioneering immunotherapy – a treatment that boosts the body’s natural defences to fight cancer – but he had just one session in December when he began to deteriorate. His family were told his growths had doubled in size.

Filed under: Cancer, CBD, brain tumour, Cancer, CBD oil, NHS

19/01/2019 • 3:34 pm 0

CBD Oil, What do you know?

Filed under: Cancer, CBD, Dementia, Disabilities, Alternative medicine, anti-inflammatory, Anxiety, Arthritis, Cancer, CBD, CBD oil, chronic pain, epilepsy, pain

15/08/2016 • 7:36 am 0

Cancer overtakes heart disease as No1 cause of death: Statins, healthier lifestyles and better treatment help cardiovascular deaths to plummet

Cancer overtakes cardiovascular disease as biggest killer for first time
People less likely to have heart issues and if they do more likely to survive
But cancer rates are gradually increasing as people live longer lives

Cancer rates, meanwhile, are gradually increasing as people live longer and access to expensive new drugs are failing to keep up with demand. Researchers last night revealed that deaths from the disease had overtaken heart deaths among women in 2014 – the most recent data available – as it did for men in 2011. It means that for the first time cancer is the number one cause of death for the population as a whole.

Study leader Dr Nick Townsend said: ‘Fewer people are having a cardiovascular event and more are surviving them. ‘We are seeing reductions in the causes of cardiovascular disease, with dramatic decreases in smoking rates in particular.’

There have also been big improvements in treatments, he said, with specialised heart units and use of stents in hospitals meaning people who do have heart attacks and strokes are more likely to survive. Dr Townsend, whose work is published in the European Heart Journal, said lifestyle factors – drinking, smoking, diet and exercise – have an impact on roughly 85 per cent of cases of cardiovascular disease. For cancer, lifestyle is responsible for between 40 and 50 per cent of cases, with the remainder caused by genetics and other factors.

This means that the improvements in lifestyle seen over the past 50 years in Britain have had a much bigger impact on heart disease than on cancer.

Click on the link to read more

http://goo.gl/xB6WEM

Filed under: Cancer, Cancer, heart disease

01/08/2016 • 4:15 pm 0

Thousands of cancer sufferers surviving decades after diagnosis. Macmillan researchers say

More than 170,000 people diagnosed in the 70s and 80s are still alive in what Macmillan researchers say is an ‘extraordinary’ number

People are twice as likely to live at least 10 years after being diagnosed with cancer than they were at the start of the 1970s, new research shows. More than 170,000 people in the UK who were diagnosed in the 1970s and 1980s are still alive – an “extraordinary” number, Macmillan Cancer Support said in its report Cancer: Then and Now.

The increase in long-term cancer survivors is due to more sophisticated treatment combined with an ageing population, the charity said, acknowledging that there was still a huge variation in survival rates according to cancer type. But it warned the consequences were increasing demand on the NHS, with more people living for longer, with long-term side-effects.

The Macmillan chief executive, Lynda Thomas, said: “More and more people are being diagnosed with cancer and, in general, having a more sophisticated life with their cancer than perhaps they would have done. What we are now seeing is that lot of people are coming in and out of treatment, so all of that does put pressure on the NHS.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/01/long-term-cancer-suvivors-nhs-macmillan-cancer-support-report

The number of people living with cancer in the UK is set to grow from 2.5 million to 4 million by 2030. Photograph: Alamy

Filed under: Cancer, Cancer

12/06/2016 • 2:26 pm 0

The dawn of a new era for cancer survival: Tailored treatment made ‘inoperable’ liver cancer vanish – giving new hope to patients

The dawn of a new era for cancer survival: Tailored treatment made ‘inoperable’ liver cancer vanish – giving new hope to patients

Molecular profiling helps doctors identify drugs to beat individual tumours
One patient was given new hope after inoperable liver cancer diagnosis
The approach has been hailed as the dawn of a new era for cancer survival

It was hailed as the dawn of a new era for cancer survival – ‘personalised medicine’ that helps doctors identify the drugs most likely to beat individual tumours. Now one of the first patients to benefit from such an approach, known as molecular profiling, has revealed how the breakthrough has given him new hope after he was diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer.

The procedure, details of which were announced last week, allows doctors to analyse tumour samples to determine a unique set of biomarkers – a chemical ‘fingerprint’ of that cancer. Profiling of the tumour sample, taken during a standard biopsy, can provide information about the cancer after just one or two weeks of analysis.

This can then be used to precisely match the patient’s treatment to their particular cancer, allowing scientists to offer a bespoke treatment and reducing the use of drugs that often have brutal side effects and could be of little benefit.

Click on the link to read more

http://goo.gl/YzYEo5

Molecular profiling gave new hope to retired company director Spartaco Dusi, 76, (pictured with his wife Giulana), after he was diagnosed with liver cancer in February at a hospital near his home in Sweden

Filed under: Cancer, Cancer, cancer survival, molecular profiling

11/04/2016 • 6:58 pm 0

Millions Will Discover the TRUTH About Cancer — The Little-Known Best Ways to Prevent and Beat It You Aren’t Being Told About — Starting April 12. Don’t Be Left Out of This Life-Saving Event…

This looks interesting and starts 12th April 2016. Sign up now if this affects you or your loved ones

The powerful cancer documentary seen and shared by millions when it first aired (to limited release) in 2015 is about to be unveiled to the world on April 12. For FREE, in its entirety, to those who sign up below today. You’ll discover the most effective ways to prevent and beat cancer — from 131 of the world’s top experts — that you won’t hear about elsewhere. Enter your first name and best email address below right now, and you’ll be first in line to see the entire 9-part series — for free — beginning with Episode 1 on April 12th…

Click on the link to sign up

A Global Quest

Filed under: Cancer, Cancer

01/02/2016 • 8:21 am 0

‘I wouldn’t wish it on anyone’: Heartbroken daughter to sue hospital after dad given wrong cancer diagnosis

A heartbroken daughter is planning to sue hospital bosses after medics diagnosed her dad with terminal lung cancer – but then wrongly changed their minds.

Doctors left Roger Taylor in a discharge area of North Manchester General Hospital for 15 hours after ordering the wrong ambulance, the Manchester Evening News reports. He died less than 24 hours after arriving home.

Mr Taylor’s daughter Elizabeth is now suing Pennine Acute NHS Trust, claiming he died prematurely due to its actions. Mr Taylor, from Bury , fell ill last May just a few weeks after his wife Janet – who he had cared for – lost her own battle with cancer. At the start of June, the hospital told him he had very advanced lung cancer, which had spread. It was decided he would not have chemotherapy, as it would prolong his life by only a few months. Two weeks later, on June 25, the hospital rang to say it was not lung cancer after all, but lymphoma – a disease that could be treated. Mr Taylor’s family cancelled what was going to be his last holiday, at a cost of £1,000, and prepared for treatment at the Christie.

At that point, his family made a formal complaint. But just a week later the hospital changed its mind again – and said he did have incurable lung cancer after all. He was admitted to the hospital a fortnight later for a separate health issue, a visit he made alone in the belief it would only take a couple of hours. But when the decision was taken to discharge him, the nurse did not order him a palliative ambulance – so transport provider Arriva did not pick up the request until the following morning. After 15 hours waiting, he arrived home and died 21 hours later.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/i-wouldnt-wish-anyone-heartbroken-7284108?

Diagnosis: Roger Taylor, seen here with his wife Janet

Filed under: Cancer, NHS Blunders, Cancer, Hospital blunders

01/02/2016 • 8:12 am 0

10 symptoms of cancer you could be missing

A lump in the breast, sudden weight loss and blood in the stools. We think we know the signs of cancer. Except we don’t – and now experts are encouraging people to be more aware of less-known symptoms that could signal early disease and report them to their GPs. Research from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine shows England has some of the poorest survival rates in the Western world for common cancers such as colon, breast, lung, ovarian and stomach. In the UK, one in two people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and the disease is responsible for a quarter of all deaths. According to the National Institute of Clinical Excellence(Nice), about 5,000 lives a year could be saved by making earlier diagnoses.

But what are we looking for? “A lot of the early symptoms of cancer will be vague and non-specific,” says Peter Johnson, professor of medical oncology at Southampton University and lead clinician for Cancer Research UK. “It’s these that people need to be aware of and report to their doctors. But we’re not good at paying attention to our own bodies, to what’s normal for us, so we ignore minor symptoms which occasionally can be caused by early cancer.”

The good news is that most cancers are curable if caught in the early stages, says Dr David Bloomfield, clinical oncologist at the Sussex Cancer Centre, Royal Sussex County Hospital, and medical director for the Royal College of Radiologists. “Be aware of the red flags [see box below], but if something else is unexplained and unusual for you and doesn’t get better in a couple of weeks, get it checked out,” he says.

Together we have worked with Cancer Research UK and Britain’s leading oncologists to come up with a list of vague symptoms that shouldn’t be ignored.

Click on the ink to read the 10 symptoms

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wellbeing/health-advice/10-symptoms-of-cancer-you-could-be-missing/?

Artwork depicting cancer cells dividing

Filed under: Cancer, Cancer, symptoms

16/10/2015 • 7:00 am 0

Whistleblower outed by hospital bosses in cancer drugs cover-up: Health chiefs try to discredit and reveal name of professor

Professor revealed patients were needlessly put through chemotherapy
Had wished to remain anonymous after disclosing ‘macabre experiment’
Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust named whistleblower in a statement
Tried to discredit him by stating restrictions had been put on his ability to practice

An NHS whistleblower who revealed patients were needlessly put through the agony of chemotherapy has been outed by his bosses. The professor wished to remain anonymous after disclosing the ‘macabre experiment’ carried out by colleagues. But health chiefs tried to discredit him yesterday in a statement described as ‘obscene victimisation’.

The whistleblower had previously been gagged from warning the public about his concerns by bosses at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. He was also subjected to racist abuse, which became the focus of a criminal investigation. Last night, MPs and campaigners demanded intervention from the Health Secretary. Former colleagues of the whistleblower also contacted the Mail to speak out about his ‘horrendous treatment’.

One said: ‘The whistleblower was one of the most valued members of staff. There has been a witchhunt to silence him. Instead of tarnishing his name they should apologise to the patients.’ The Daily Mail yesterday revealed how 55 patients aged between 49 and 83 were wrongly exposed to chemotherapy by two doctors between 2005 and 2009. The chemotherapy, which was administered against guidelines, was of no medical use to the patients because their type of cancer required different treatment. But it exposed them to horrific and unnecessary side effects including higher risk of fatal infections and lost fertility.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3273193/Whistleblower-outed-hospital-bosses-cancer-drugs-cover-Health-chiefs-try-discredit-reveal-professor.html

The chemotherapy was administered in defiance of strict guidelines by oncologists Dr Margaret King, and Dr Mark Churn, to patients with colorectal cancer

Filed under: Whistleblowing, Cancer, NHS, whistleblower

24/09/2015 • 7:42 am 0

UK NHS cancer patients denied drugs due to inflated prices – say experts

Research reveals how drug firms are charging health service such high prices, some treatments can no longer be offered

Cancer patients are being denied drugs on the NHS that could lengthen their lives because of unnecessarily exorbitant prices, say experts. The drugs are cheap to make, and are available to patients in some other countries at much lower prices, according to new research.

Patients in the UK have been told the NHS will not pay for two such drugs because they are not cost-effective and they have been dropped from the list reimbursed by the government’s special cancer drugs fund.

The price of lapatinib (brand name Tyverb), for breast cancer, was set at $36,000 (£24,000) per patient per year in the UK but costs $17,724 in Thailand. Dasatinib (Sprycel), for leukaemia, was priced at $33,739 in the UK but at $15,423 in Brazil.

The researchers also ask why the UK is not succeeding in obtaining better discounts from drugs the NHS does use. Even some other high-income countries manage to barter the manufacturers down to lower prices than in the UK.

Imatinib (Gleevec) – for leukaemia and some other cancers – costs $31,867 in the UK but $28,675 in France and just $8,370 in Russia. Sorafenib (Nexavar), for liver cancer, costs $57,232 in the UK but $49,715 in Spain and $44,543 in France.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/sep/23/uk-cancer-patients-being-denied-drugs-due-to-inflated-prices-say-experts

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, drugs, expensive

13/09/2015 • 9:36 am 0

Cancer Plan: From Doctor To Diagnosis In 28 Days – The Independent Cancer Taskforce says the initiative, which is being trialled in five hospitals, could save 11,000 lives a year.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt wants patients to be given a definitive diagnosis or the “all clear” within 28 days of a GP referral. The target, which will be introduced from 2020, could help save up to 11,000 lives a year, according to the Independent Cancer Taskforce.

Five hospitals across the UK will pilot the programme before it is rolled out nationally. If the target is met Britain would become one of the first countries in the world to adhere to such a timetable.

Some £300m will be invested to help pay for the training of an additional 200 staff to carry out endoscopies. This will be alongside an extra 250 gastroenterologists the NHS had already committed to train.

Click on the link to read more

http://news.sky.com/story/1551539/cancer-plan-from-doctor-to-diagnosis-in-28-days?

Filed under: Cancer, 28 day timetable, Cancer, diagnosis

08/09/2015 • 4:45 pm 0

‘Doctor told me I was dying – he was wrong’ Cancer patient claims she was mistakenly told she had just six months to live and to go and plan her funeral by a doctor

Margaret Lowbridge, 74, of Oldbury, says she was told by Professor David Ferry, her consultant at Dudley’s Russells Hall Hospital, to go home and arrange palliative care. She says she only learned of the error when she was sent a letter asking her to attend a follow-up appointment 18 months later.

Mrs Lowbridge has now developed lung cancer, which she believes may be because she was advised not to undergo any more treatment, causing her existing cancer to spread. She was first diagnosed with bowel cancer in January 2009 and underwent surgery. She was left with a colostomy bag and had chemotherapy. The treatment seemed to have been a success until June 2013, when a regular check-up showed a lump.

Mrs Lowbridge said she was referred back to Professor Ferry who offered her chemotherapy but the treatment caused a deep tissue infection and was withdrawn. She says she was then told no further treatment could be offered and she should contact a Macmillan nurse in relation to palliative care. She said she was also told she would not be alive in six months and should arrange her funeral.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2015/09/07/doctor-told-me-i-was-dying-he-was-wrong/

Margaret Lowbridge

Filed under: Cancer, NHS, Cancer, misdiagnosed

21/08/2015 • 9:48 am 0

Thousands of breast cancer patients have debilitating surgery ‘needlessly’ for early form of tumours which won’t harm them

Thousands of women are diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
Around 80 per cent elect for surgery which can involve removal of breasts
But new research reveals doctors were ‘over-enthusiastic’ with operations
The risk of someone dying from DCIS is broadly same as a healthy woman

Thousands of women are having needless surgery for breast tumours which won’t harm them, researchers have warned.

Debilitating and distressing operations do not improve survival chances for patients with a common form of early breast cancer, a study found. Furthermore, patients with this type of the illness – considered a precursor to a more serious form – are no more likely to die than the general population. The Canadian research involving 108,100 women has prompted experts to warn doctors can be ‘over-enthusiastic’ with surgery.

In the UK, around 4,600 women a year are diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), whereby cells inside some of the milk ducts turn cancerous. About 80 per cent elect to have surgery, which involves either removal of the lump and surrounding tissue or one or both breasts in their entirety. But in the wake of the new research, Dr Otis Brawley, chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society, said it was clear treatment had been excessive.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3205431/Thousands-breast-cancer-patients-debilitating-surgery-needlessly-early-form-tumours-won-t-harm-them.html

Filed under: Cancer, Cancer, DCIS, needless surgery

20/08/2015 • 8:54 am 0

NHS England must act as patients miss out on cancer drug tests

It’s a wonder of modern science that, for at least some types of cancer, doctors are now able to exploit the unique genetic faults in a person’s tumour to treat their disease with precision drugs. These ‘targeted medicines’ are part of a new generation of cancer treatments that are revolutionising the way some patients are treated. Several of these types of drugs are already available on the NHS; more are on the way.

But not every patient’s tumour contains these faults. So to find out who could benefit from targeted drugs, patients need to be offered tests, known as ‘molecular’ diagnostic tests. But there’s a problem. These tests aren’t being offered to all patients equally across the NHS in England.

We’ve blogged before about this problem, and how we want the Government and NHS England to act.

But today, further highlighting the sad state of affairs, we’ve published a new report showing the extent of the problem in the NHS in England. The findings are stark: thousands of patients are missing out on tests entirely, some of whom may have gone on to receive a targeted medicine that could have helped them.

This is a long standing issue that needs to be rectified urgently. The recent cancer strategy recognises this, and recommends that NHS England “transform access” to these tests.

So what is the situation and what needs to be done?

Click on the link to read more

http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2015/08/20/nhs-england-must-act-as-patients-miss-out-on-cancer-drug-tests/?

Download the report here Molecular Diagnostic Provision in England

Filed under: Cancer, Cancer, drug tests, molecular diagnostic

07/08/2015 • 8:02 am 0

New era in war on cancer is delayed…. by NHS red tape: Groundbreaking treatment that could extend lives of thousands won’t be available for a year

A new era in the war on cancer is being delayed by NHS red tape, experts have warned.

Nivolumab – a groundbreaking lung cancer drug that could extend the lives of thousands – is being launched in the UK for the first time today. But NHS patients will be denied access to the drug for at least a year – and potentially far longer – as bureaucrats decide how to pay for it. Experts last night called for a complete overhaul to the way cancer drugs are funded on the NHS, claiming poor access to cutting-edge treatments is one reason why the UK’s cancer survival rates lag behind other nations.

Professor Paul Workman, chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research,said: ‘The system is at breaking point. This will only get worse as fantastic cancer research science offers increasing opportunities for highly innovative and effective new drugs. ‘Having these individual battles on each drug is wasting a huge amount of everyone’s time.’

There are 44,000 new cases of lung cancer in Britain each year, making it the country’s second-most common cancer – but survival rates in England are way behind those of Norway, Australia, Sweden and Canada. Nivolumab is licensed for an advanced form of the disease called non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, which affects a third of all lung cancer patients.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3187433/New-era-war-cancer-delayed-NHS-red-tape-Groundbreaking-treatment-extend-lives-thousands-won-t-available-year.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Filed under: Cancer, NHS, Cancer, delayed, groundbreaking lung cancer drug, Nivolumab

17/06/2015 • 11:43 am 1

‘Something’s not right. I’m sick of this’: Teenage girl who was told to ‘stop Googling’ the rare cancer that eventually killed her left heartbreaking messages begging doctors to take her seriously

Bronte Doyne died 16 months after being told she would survive cancer
Her mother Lorraine has released daughter’s messages before she died
Teenager had rare cancer that only around 200 people a year get worldwide
Miss Doyne told she’d survive after an operation to remove liver growth
Online research said it would come back but doctors said: ‘stop Googling’

A teenage cancer victim begged doctors to take her seriously in a series of desperate messages written shortly before she died, it was revealed today.

Bronte Doyne, 19, said she was ‘fed up of trusting’ medics who refused to accept she was dying and was told to ‘stop Googling’ the rare illness that would eventually kill her. Miss Doyne died in March 2013, 16 months after she developed fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FBC), a rare form of liver cancer which only affects 200 people a year worldwide. The teenager had an operation in September 2011 to remove the cancer and was told she would make a full recovery, but online research in America told her that FBC often returns.

But ‘aloof and evasive’ doctors at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) treated her with ‘woeful lack of care and empathy’ and refused to accept this and told her to ‘stop Googling’. In a text weeks before she died she said: ‘Need answers. Want to know what’s going on. Something’s not right. I’m sick of this’. And days before she died she wrote: ‘Can’t begin to tell you how it feels to have to tell an oncologist they are wrong. I had to, I’m fed up of trusting them’.

Please click on the link to read more

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3126052/Teenage-girl-told-stop-Googling-rare-cancer-killed-left-heartbreaking-messages-begging-doctors-seriously.html

Bronte Doyne

Filed under: Cancer, Cancer, FBC, woeful lack of care

16/06/2015 • 7:33 am 0

Manchester’s latest weapon in the fight against cancer: New £28.5m research centre opens its doors today 16th June

The facility, opposite The Christie in Withington, will help develop new treatments by bringing world-class scientists under one roof.

The battle to beat cancer gets a huge boost today with the opening of Manchester’s £28.5m specialist research centre The centre, opposite The Christie in Withington, will help develop new treatments by bringing world-class scientists under one roof. The vision for the project – a joint initiative by the hospital trust, Cancer Research UK and the University of Manchester – is to develop ‘personalised therapies’ for patients.

Prof Nic Jones, the centre’s director, said: “I am thrilled to see the building open as it looks absolutely fantastic. “The new research centre will make a tremendous difference to the way cancer is treated in future. “The new centre will attract world-class scientists and help to save thousands of lives both here and around the world.”

Click on the link to read more

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/health/new-manchester-cancer-centre-christie-9459948

Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC)

Filed under: Cancer, Cancer, Cancer Research UK

01/06/2015 • 2:04 pm 0

Cancer sufferer feels ‘fantastic’ after revolutionary new treatment

Pam Smith says she feels “fantastic” after revolutionary new cancer treatment Immunotherapy shrunk her tumour

A new type of cancer treatment is being hailed as a breakthrough in fighting the deadly disease. Immunotherapy, which uses the body’s own immune system to destroy deadly tumours, has been lauded as one of the biggest breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer for decades.

One patient who has tried the breakthrough drug, Pam smith, says she feels “fantastic” after her treatment. “The drugs have shrunk the tumor: they’ve shrunk it from 9mm to 4mm. “I feel fantastic […] every time I go to the hospital now they’re giving me good news with the scans.” She added that it’s “so sad” for people who can’t get access to the drug. “One of these drugs that I was on was worth £22,000 a time so you know very, very expensive but well worth it in the long run”.

Click on the link to watch the Telegraph interview with Pam Smith

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11643583/Cancer-sufferer-feels-fantastic-after-revolutionary-new-treatment.html

How much patients benefit from the new immuno-therapy treatment announced today in the fight against cancer will depend on which drugs suit them best, according to a leading expert. Speaking to ITV News, Dr Alan Worsley of Cancer Research UK said that patients might respond best to one type of drug or a combination of therapies.

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2015-06-01/cancer-treatment-success-will-depend-on-patient-suitability/?

X-rays showing a patient’s tumor, circled, before, leftm and after immunotherapy

Filed under: Cancer, Cancer, cancer revolutionary new treatment, Immunotherapy

07/05/2015 • 8:55 am 0

Cardiff University scientists in cancer breakthrough

Scientists working on stem cell research at Cardiff University believe they have made a potential breakthrough in combating cancer.

Researchers have identified a compound which targets aggressive tumour cells found in breast, pancreas, colon and prostate cancers. The discovery has now been licensed to biotech investors Tiziana Life Sciences. It is hoped the compound can eventually be developed for clinical trials. The research was conducted by Cardiff University’s European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute (ECSCRI) and the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Scientists revealed details of the compound – called OH14 – on Thursday morning when the deal with Tiziana was made public on the London Stock Exchange. Tiziana already has an established relationship working with Cardiff University. Italian investor Gabriele Cerrone named the company after his partner who died three years ago from breast cancer. News report from BBC News

Click here to read the Cardiff University Press Release in more detail

http://www.newswise.com/articles/new-anti-cancer-stem-cell-compound-in-development

Filed under: Cancer, Cancer, cancer breakthrough

20/04/2015 • 8:46 am 1

Terminally ill woman accuses NHS of robbing her daughters of their mum by refusing to pay for medicine

A terminally ill woman has accused the NHS of robbing her two daughters of their mum by refusing to pay for life-saving treatment. Jemma, 31, suffers from a rare stomach cancer known as Wild Type Gastrointestinal and is currently taking three life-prolonging drugs. However, NHS England stopped dishing out the final drug in the sequence last month. Jemma said: “The final drug is the most effective and it is heart-breaking they have removed it from the treatment list. “The cancer that I have is extremely rare and the research into it is limited so it angers me that they are removing a drug that has been proven to work. “I am lucky that I have managed to spend 14 months on the first drug, Imatinib, in the series but I know that it will soon have no effect on my body. “The second drug, Sutan, is not very effective and I know that when I have to be put on it I will have minimal time left. “You can buy Regorafenib [the third drug needed] privately but that costs £3,700 a month and I don’t have that kind of money.

“Family members have offered to sell their houses and belongings to pay for my treatment but I can’t accept that. “I cannot ask my family to put their lives on hold when I might only get another year of life.”

Click on the link to read more

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/terminally-ill-woman-accuses-nhs-5551577

Urgent: Jemma Peacock needs life-saving drugs for her rare form of cancer but the NHS have withdrew them

Filed under: Cancer, NHS, Cancer, Drug Regorafenib, NHS, Wild Type Gastrointestinal

11/04/2015 • 2:14 pm 0

Dogs can sniff out prostate cancer in men 98% of the time

Tests showed that a man’s best friend can detect the deadly disease in 98 per cent of cases after smelling their urine. Experts have hailed the findings as “spectacular” and called for more support for the “tested, time-old technology.” Dr Claire Guest, co-founder of the Buckinghamshire charity Medical Detection Dogs, said research had found a 93 per cent reliability rate when detecting bladder and prostate cancer. She said: “These results are spectacular. They offer us further proof that dogs have the ability to detect human cancer. “It is particularly exciting that we have such a high success rate in the detection of prostate cancer, for which the existing tests are woefully inadequate.”

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with more than 40,000 cases diagnosed every year.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/569831/Dogs-sniff-out-prostate-cancer

Filed under: Cancer, Cancer, dogs, Prostate cancer

06/04/2015 • 5:29 pm 0

Mother is stunned to discover she has aggressive form of cancer after reading a Facebook post describing all her symptoms

A mother who spent months feeling unwell was horrified to discover she probably had cancer – after spotting all her symptoms on a Facebook post.

Laura Everley, 36, had experienced bloating, lower back pain and constipation over a three-month period. She also frequently needed to urinate. But having previously suffered irritable bowel syndrome and endometriosis, she put the symptoms down to those conditions. It was only when she stumbled across a post on her Facebook timeline, which detailed all the same symptoms, that she realised it could be cancer. Tests later revealed she had an aggressive ovarian tumour – and the disease had begun to spread. After performing a hysterectomy to remove her womb as well as her ovaries, surgeons revealed the cancer had already begun to spread. Mrs Everley is now undergoing chemotherapy and doctors are confident she can beat the disease. She hopes her story will raise awareness to the symptoms of ovarian cancer, prompting other women to see their doctor if they are worried.

Warning signs of the disease can be difficult to recognise, particularly in the early stages. This is because they are often the same as symptoms of other less serious conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS). Mrs Everley said: ‘The symptoms are the same, so I thought it could have been irritable bowel syndrome

Click on the link to read more and watch the video

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3027386/Mother-stunned-discover-aggressive-form-cancer-reading-Facebook-post-describing-symptoms.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Laura Everley, 36

Filed under: Cancer, Cancer, ovarian tumour, Warning signs

23/03/2015 • 7:44 am 0

Brain tumour boy Ashya King is free of cancer, parents say

Wonderful news. My highest admiration goes out to Ashya’s parents that had the faith and courage to defy doctors here in the UK. Joanna

*****

The parents of five-year-old Ashya King, who were jailed after taking him abroad for brain tumour treatment, say their son is now free of cancer

Ashya King is free of cancer after he was given treatment not available for him on the NHS, his parents have claimed. The five-year-old’s family have told of his “miracle” recovery, as the centre where he was treated declared him cancer-free, The Sun reported. Ashya’s mother Naghmeh, who alongside her husband Brett sparked an international manhunt last summer by removing the little boy from hospital in Southampton without medical consent, described the news as incredible.

“If we had left Ashya with the NHS in Britain, he would not be with us today. He was too weak and would not have survived,” she told the paper. Ashya was finally allowed to undergo treatment at the Proton Therapy Centre (PTC) in Prague for brain cancer after a long legal battle fought by his parents.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/children/11489212/Brain-tumour-boy-Ashya-King-is-free-of-cancer-parents-say.html

Ashya King with his mother Naghmeh in October 2014 after his proton therapy treatment

Filed under: Cancer, Hospital, NHS, Uncategorized, Ashya King, brain tumour, Cancer, Proton therapy

22/03/2015 • 11:34 am 0

Is this a miracle cancer vaccine? Scientists hail breakthrough treatment as a ‘game changer’

Scientists are having extraordinary success treating cancer with new vaccines they believe could be a ‘game-changer’ in the battle against the disease.

They have worked out how to teach the body’s immune system to identify cancer cells, allowing patients to be primed to destroy cancer. In one case an American woman given just weeks to live was cleared of advanced blood cancer. She is still alive three years later, and her doctor says she is not a one-off. British researchers are now working on a related approach. Both methods involve taking T-cells, which fight infection, and giving them the ability to recognise a special tag on the surface of cancer cells, called the WT1 protein. The research is being carried out on patients with leukaemia. But the scientists hope their vaccines will eventually be used to fight many types of cancer, including that of breast, bowel and prostate – whose cells tend to have WT1 on their surfaces.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3005816/Is-miracle-cancer-vaccine-Scientists-hail-breakthrough-treatment-game-changer.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Filed under: Cancer, Uncategorized, Cancer, destroy cancer, miracle cancer vaccine

17/03/2015 • 10:54 am 0

The biggest privatisation in NHS history: why we had to blow the whistle by Kate Godfrey

I’m not a journalist, but as of this morning I know what it feels like to be part of the biggest leak in NHS history.

Published on openDemocracy, the memorandum of information for the £700m sell-off of Staffordshire cancer services is now available for the 800,000 directly affected and 3 million indirectly affected patients to read online.

That document, together with others relating to the joint £1.2bn privatisation of cancer and end-of-life services in Staffordshire, was sent to me. They are commercially confidential, secret agreements that will rebuild NHS services for hundreds of thousands of people, but are for the eyes of the bidding companies only. Not only is this the first billion-pound NHS privatisation, it is the first time that it has been deemed acceptable to put care designed to meet the needs of our most vulnerable patients on sale.

Uniquely for a privatisation on anything of this scale, there has been no public consultation, simply a series of weak “engagement” events led by paid “patient champions”. For the past year unpaid patients have not been able to have their say. Thanks to the brave person who shared the documents, now they can.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/16/nhs-privatisation-biggest-history-staffordshire-cancer

‘Staffordshire commissioners want to hand all management and care of cancer and end-of-life patients to a private company.’ Photograph: Alamy

Filed under: Hospital, NHS, Whistleblowing, Cancer, NHS, secret agreements, whistle-blowing

10/03/2015 • 8:42 am 0

Government accused of breaking promises on NHS cancer treatment

Ministers have been accused of failing cancer patients after it emerged that three key improvements to services pledged by the coalition have been delayed.

The hold-ups, involving key aspects of the government’s 2011 cancer strategy, have prompted concern that the growing number of people developing the disease will not get the best treatment possible. The coalition has not delivered on its promise made to provide the NHS in England with 12 extra machines, called linear accelerators or linacs, which give patients high doses of radiotherapy. Jane Ellison, the public health minister, said in December that the NHS had 265 such machines in 2011-12 but just four more than that – 269 – in 2013-14, with just 256 “in full clinical use”.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/09/government-accused-breaking-promises-nhs-cancer-treatment

Filed under: Cancer, Hospital, NHS, Cancer, cancer treatment, failing cancer patients

09/03/2015 • 9:07 am 0

One in 10 cancer sufferers left housebound for lack of help

One in ten cancer sufferers are left housebound while others lack help washing and dressing because of a lack of help from social services, a leading charity has said. Macmillan Cancer Support says at least 160,000 patients are constantly or often left stuck in their homes, while 100,000 are regularly unable to wash themselves, dress or go to the toilet because of a lack of care workers. The findings, based on a survey of more than 1,000 cancer sufferers, suggest 11 per cent are often left housebound, while 7 per cent lack help with their basic needs.

“People at all stages of the disease are lacking the care and support they desperately need, with devastating consequences for their health and dignity,” the report warns. “This lack of dignity is contributing to the huge emotional toll that cancer can inflict. People are living with constant feelings of fear, anger and isolation, not to mention depression and anxiety.”

Click on the link to read more

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11457431/One-in-10-cancer-sufferers-left-housebound-for-lack-of-help.html

Cancer sufferers are not given enough help at home, charities say Photo: ALAMY

Filed under: Cancer, NHS, Cancer, care workers, housebound

25/02/2015 • 8:50 am 0

‘I was given indigestion pills for tumor in my throat’ “Lucky to be alive”: Bruce Millar

A father who was prescribed indigestion tablets when he had cancer of the oesophagus is campaigning for better awareness of his illness among GPs and the public. Bruce Millar, 57, went to the doctor after having trouble swallowing. He was told it was indigestion and prescribed omeprazole. When his condition did not improve Mr Millar was referred to surgeon James Gossage at the London Bridge Hospital. He diagnosed cancer of the oesophagus, the disease that killed New Labour strategist Philip Gould.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/i-was-given-indigestion-pills-for-tumor-in-my-throat-10068444.html

“Lucky to be alive”: Bruce Millar had a six-hour operation after his cancer was finally diagnosed

Filed under: GP's, Hospital, NHS, NHS Blunders, Cancer, tumor

09/02/2015 • 9:40 pm 0

Heartache of cancer girl who accepts she’ll never experience true love before she dies

Oh so sad and what a beautiful girl. I hope she gets bag loads of cards for Valentines Day, and hopefully there will be a knight in shining armour with a heart as big as hers, Joanna

Angelic in a beautiful, flowing white wedding dress, Kathryn Cartwright blinked back her tears and smiled for her adoring mum. It should have been a moment to be cherished, a bride-to-be excitedly preparing for her big day. But 24-year-old Kathryn will never marry, nor even know what it feels like to be in love . The bittersweet moment was just another tick on her bucket list – something she wanted to experience before her life ebbs away. For cancer has cruelly robbed Kathryn of the chance of finding true happiness. Unsure she’d even live to see her 24th birthday last month, she knows for sure her chances of finding Mr Right have faded away.

Please click on the link to read

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/heartache-cancer-girl-who-accepts-5122106

– If you would like to send Kathryn a card, we will forward it to her. Please send to Features, The Sunday People, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AP.

Time runing out: Kathryn posed in a wedding dress as part of her bucket list

Filed under: Cancer, Uncategorized, bucket list, Cancer, Valentines Day

07/02/2015 • 6:08 pm 1

Breakthrough cancer treatment ‘only offered to private patients’

A breakthrough cancer treatment is being denied to NHS patients while those paying privately can receive the procedure, it has been claimed. London’s University College Hospital is reportedly blocking patients funded from the public purse from using its £2 million gamma knife machine. Patients’ with medical insurance or private funding are however able to access the cutting edge treatment at the hospital.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11394360/Breakthrough-cancer-treatment-only-offered-to-private-patients.html

A doctor talks to a patient on a gamma knife machine Photo: Alamy

Filed under: Cancer, Uncategorized, Cancer, gamma knife machine, NHS

04/02/2015 • 10:18 am 0

One In Two People Will Develop Cancer In Their Life, Warns Charity

One in two people will develop cancer at some point in their lives, new figures suggest. A forecast from Cancer Research UK predicts that the UK could face a “crisis” if the NHS does not plan ahead. The news coincides with World Cancer Day, which aims to take a positive and proactive approach to the fight against cancer.

The new figure, which replaces the previous of one in three, is the most accurate forecast to date from the charity and is published in the British Journal of Cancer. Cancer Research UK said it highlights the urgent need to bolster public health and NHS cancer services so they can cope with a growing and ageing population and the looming demands for better diagnostics, treatments and earlier diagnosis. Prevention must also play a role in the effort required to reduce the impact of the disease in coming decades, as there will “never be one single magic bullet” to cure all cancers.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/02/04/world-cancer-day-one-in-two-people-develop-cancer_n_6610838.html

Filed under: Cancer, Uncategorized, Cancer, Cancer Research

01/02/2015 • 7:02 pm 0

Moving exhibition shows what it is to care with Marie Curie – A new photographic exhibition by Patrick Olner

They are there to help and support during the darkest days of people’s lives, bringing gentle comfort and some order to the process of dealing with terminal cancer. Marie Curie provides care and support for more than 40,000 terminally ill people and their families in the UK each year. From the simplest of gestures like the holding of a hand, making a cup of tea, to the nursing of those whose lives are ending, legions of volunteers and nurses go the extra mile so every day. Now their work and care has been documented in a project which is about to form an exhibition in the Pierhead in Cardiff.

Freelance photographer Patrick Olner from Porth in Rhondda Cynon Taf spent just over a year recording the support offered by the charity’s volunteers in south, west and north Wales. His black and white photos capture everything from the tender arms around a patient, the nurses heading out to people’s homes, to the fundraisers who try to boost the charity’s income.

Click on the link to read and view photo’s

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/marie-curie-exhibition-shows-what-8558145?

Filed under: Cancer, Uncategorized, Cancer, Marie Curie, terminally ill

22/01/2015 • 9:34 am 0

Not all prostate cancer is the same…promising research – From Daniel Sencier’s blog

There’s slow-growth prostate cancer, then there’s a deadlier form that spreads to other parts of the body and requires aggressive treatment.

Edmonton researchers are developing a test that for the first time can differentiate between the two types.

“It allows us to customize and treat the patients far more effectively,” Rocco Rossi, CEO of Prostate Cancer Canada, said Tuesday.

Click on the link to read more

http://danielsencier.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/not-all-prostate-cancer-is.html?spref=fb

Filed under: Cancer, Uncategorized, Cancer, Prostate, research

19/01/2015 • 8:20 am 0

NHS is failing patients, cancer charities warn after life-saving drugs are dropped

An alliance of cancer charities has condemned the system for allocating life-saving drugs in the NHS as a failure after the decision to pull the plug on funding for 25 separate treatments. In a letter to The Telegraph, the heads of 15 cancer charities described the announcement last week as a “knee-jerk” reaction to save money, which would leave thousands of sufferers facing uncertainty – and do nothing to solve the problem of funding new treatments. But they disclose that talks are getting under way between the Government, the pharmaceutical industry and charities to design a new system to help the NHS cope with demand.

An estimated 8,000 cancer patients a year could have their lives cut short following the decision to scale back funding from April. It came after the Cancer Drugs Fund, set up by the Coalition in 2011 following a Conservative election manifesto pledge that treatments should no longer be denied on grounds of cost, announced it is on course to overspend its £280 million budget.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/nhs/11354200/NHS-is-failing-patients-cancer-charities-warn-after-life-saving-drugs-are-dropped.html

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, charities, drugs, life-saving

05/01/2015 • 9:05 am 0

What I learned as a cancer patient will make me a better doctor

All cancer doctors deal with harrowing stories. Like many, I had coped during my six years as a consultant oncologist at the Christie, by adopting a firm belief that it could never happen to me. Unsurprising then, my sense of shock when, just over a year ago, I left my busy gastric cancer clinic to receive the results of my own biopsy, taken from a breast lump the week before. If I am totally honest I knew what was coming. The mammograms and ultrasound scan had left me with little doubt, but I had clung to the slim hope it was just a big scare.

Despite years of training in clinical communication skills, I now know how it is that patients only recall the first sentence when bad news is broken. “I have the results of your biopsy and I am afraid it is not good news”, is what I heard my surgeon say. I had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The rest of the consultation passed in a blur. In that moment it felt like my whole identity had been turned on its head. I was no longer a cancer doctor, I was a cancer patient with all the fears and questions that anyone faced with that diagnosis experiences: how will I cope? Who will look after the children? What will happen with work? Will my husband manage? Will I die?

http://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/views-from-the-nhs-frontline/2015/jan/05/learned-cancer-patient-better-doctor?

A friendly word from the receptionist, or the secretary you call to check on a lost appointement can make all the difference to someone with cancer. Photograph: Alamy

Filed under: Cancer, Uncategorized, Breast Cancer, Cancer, Doctor

30/12/2014 • 9:50 am 2

Tiny microscope can take agonising wait out of cancer tests

Time can be crucial when diagnosing illness. And with conditions such as cancer, the current method of testing samples of tissue for disease – a biopsy – can be a slow process, with an anxious wait for results. The procedure can cause discomfort and pain. Furthermore, it often has to be repeated, as the sampling is not always accurate. Now, scientists have developed the world’s smallest microscope – the size of a pin – which is inserted into the body, allowing doctors to ‘see’ cancer and make an instant, precise diagnosis, saving the patient from the need for a biopsy. It is already being used for pancreatic cancer, a disease with a poor prognosis as it’s often detected late, and scientists are now looking at using it for colon, bladder, oesophageal and lung cancer.

Please click on the link to read more

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2890493/Tiny-microscope-agonising-wait-cancer-tests.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Filed under: Cancer, Uncategorized, Cancer, diagnosis, Pancreatic cancer

24/12/2014 • 8:01 am 0

Patients with cancer and heart disease will suffer ‘needless deaths’ under NHS plans

Patients with cancer, heart disease and other major conditions will suffer harm and needless deaths under new NHS funding proposals, hundreds of hospital specialists have warned. More than 300 consultants have written an open letter to the head of the health service pleading for the reversal of plans which they say will mean swingeing restrictions on care. Under the NHS funding proposals, hospitals which provide specialist care to increasing numbers of patients will be reimbursed just half the cost of every extra case. The formula is part of attempts to divert more funds into out-of hospital care, and long-term prevention of disease. But hospital consultants say the 50 per cent funding rate for extra cases will cause devastation, given that the numbers of patients will inevitably rise with Britain’s ageing population.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/nhs/11311392/Patients-with-cancer-and-heart-disease-will-suffer-needless-deaths-under-NHS-plans.html

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, heart disease, major conditions

19/12/2014 • 9:42 am 0

NHS managers ‘delaying cancer tests to meet targets and avoid fines’ are putting lives at ‘serious risk’

Patients with suspected cancer are being refused urgent tests by NHS managers in a ploy to meet waiting times targets, senior doctors have warned. Some patients have their cancer risk ‘downgraded’ and are told they do not qualify for the two-week track. They are then not seen for up to six months. Many are later confirmed to have cancer and campaigners warn that such lengthy delays are putting lives at ‘serious risk’. Cancer survival rates in Britain are notoriously lower than those elsewhere in Europe and this has partly been blamed on GPs not picking up the early warning signs, and referring patients for tests. But an investigation by Pulse magazine has identified that doctors are increasingly having referrals ‘bounced back’ by hospital managers who say patients are unlikely to have cancer, so can wait longer.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2880025/NHS-managers-delaying-cancer-tests-meet-targets-avoid-fines-putting-lives-risk.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, delays, NHS

30/11/2014 • 1:39 pm 1

Chemotherapy from your GP: Cancer sufferers to undergo treatment at family doctors – as Osborne announces ANOTHER £1bn cash boost for health service

Doctors surgeries will be upgraded using a new £1 billion fund paid for by bank fines, George Osborne announced today. The Chancellor said the cash would pay for a ‘permanent improvement in GP services’ and comes on top of an extra £2 billion injection into the NHS budget set to be formally announced on Wednesday. The funding will allow patients to undergo chemotherapy and dialysis closer to home. The announcement, ahead of Wednesday’s Autumn Statement by the Chancellor, is designed to blunt Labour’s electoral advantage on the NHS. But Labour’s shadow chancellor Ed Balls this morning promised to spend an extra £2.5billion on top of the Government’s £3 billion cash injection. Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show this morning Mr Osborne insisted that increasing funding for the NHS was only possible because the economy was growing. He said: ‘Because we have a strong economy and we’ve got the public finances under control, we can afford to put £2 billion into the front-line of the NHS, across the UK.’

Click on the link to read more

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2854837/Chemotherapy-GP-Cancer-sufferers-undergo-gruelling-treatment-local-surgery-1bn-overhaul-family-doctors.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, chemotherapy, GP's

16/11/2014 • 9:32 am 0

Cancer Cures – 100 Years of Suppressed Medicine – SHOCKING Watch This!

I posted on Friday “Over 100 of the UK’s leading Cancer specialists oppose the ‘Saatchi Bill’”

Please watch the video below and tell me why the Saatchi Bill should not go through to the House of Lords?

Filed under: Uncategorized, Alternative medicine, Cancer

14/11/2014 • 9:32 am 0

Fears over soaring cancer cases

The number of people diagnosed with cancer has risen by almost 40 per cent in two decades, experts have said, amid warnings that the NHS is struggling to cope with soaring numbers of cases. New analysis from Macmillan Cancer Support suggests that in 2016, more than 360,000 people in the UK will be diagnosed with the disease – the equivalent to the entire population of Cardiff being diagnosed. The figure – a 37 per cent rise from 1996 – means more than 1,000 diagnoses are being made each day. The increases are largely due to people living longer, and being more likely to develop cancer, as well as improvements detecting the disease.

Click on the link to read

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/11229016/Fears-over-soaring-cancer-cases.html

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, numbers

02/11/2014 • 11:40 am 0

Amazing gamma knife machine removes brain tumours without general anaesthetic

THE final minutes before entering an operating room for surgery lasting 13 hours to remove a large tumour from her brain still haunt Ellen Beardmore: “Waiting to be wheeled down for open brain surgery is absolutely terrifying,” she says. “All you think is: ‘I am going to die, I am going to die’.” Seven months later Ellen had gamma knife surgery, a revolutionary new treatment, to stop the remaining parts of the tumour from spreading inside her brain, and the experience was incomparable. “When I went into the gamma knife machine I was a bit unsure of what was going to happen but I was awake the whole time and could not feel anything. “If I had the choice I would not go through open surgery again.” She spent eight days in hospital and five weeks off work after the open brain surgery but needed just a day off after the gamma knife procedure. The 27-year-old, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, who has made a full recovery, was fortunate to live near one of only seven gamma knife machines in England, yet only four of these are being used by the NHS, due to lack of funds. Two treat only private and foreign patients, while one at the Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield has been mothballed. It is no wonder Ellen is one of many who are calling for NHS England to make this advanced radiotherapy available to every cancer patient who could benefit.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/530416/Gamma-knife-machine-remove-brain-tumours-without-general-anaesthetic?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+daily-express-life-and-style-news+%28Daily+Express+%3A%3A+Life+%26+Style+Feed%29

Filed under: Uncategorized, brain surgery, Cancer, gamma knife surgery

31/10/2014 • 1:48 pm 0

Cancer survival rates slip back as too many sufferers diagnosed in A&E not by GPs

Cancer survival rates for some forms of the disease are going “backwards”, figures have revealed. People diagnosed with 19 out of the 24 most common cancers are living longer. But survival rates over five years for bladder, thyroid, Hodgkin lymphoma, testicular and mesothelioma fell, the Office for National Statistics. But in addition to the historical data, the ONS has for the first time produced predictions of survival rates for those diagnosed with cancer in 2013 over a one-year and five-year period. Experts voiced their disappointment at the statistics.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/cancer-survival-rates-slip-back-4539346

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, Statistics

09/10/2014 • 11:20 am 0

‘I HAVEN’T decided to die’, says Lynda Bellingham, as she urges others to talk about ‘unsexy’ diseases like bowel cancer

Lynda Bellingham gives her first TV interview about coming to terms with her terminal cancer diagnosis, and how she hopes her story will help others in the same situation.

Lynda Bellingham says she has not ‘chosen to die’, despite the fact she plans to stop having chemotherapy for bowel cancer. The 66-year-old actress has spoken at length in the past fortnight about her diagnosis and treatment, since announcing her condition was terminal. Today she said she had taken the decision about chemotherapy while at her wit’s end with the pain and side effects of the treatment – and had wanted to get some control back over her life.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2784995/I-HAVEN-T-decided-die-says-Lynda-Bellingham-urges-talk-unsexy-diseases-like-bowel-cancer.html

Click on the link to watch her TV interview on BBC Breakfast

“BREAKING NEWS: 20th October: Actress Lynda Bellingham died in her husband’s arms yesterday after losing battle with cancer”

She was such an inspiration to so many suffering from Cancer. RIP Lynda
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2799796/actress-lynda-bellingham-dies-husband-s-arms-bowel-cancer.html

Filed under: Uncategorized, bowel cancer, Cancer, cancer diagnosis, chemotherapy, terminal cancer

02/10/2014 • 7:26 am 0

NHS funding crisis set to hit cancer patients

Cancer patients will have to wait months to be diagnosed after visiting their GP as the NHS here faces a financial meltdown, it was warned yesterday. People at risk of stroke and those with debilitating and life-limiting conditions will also be caught up in the growing crisis. Health chiefs also said the NHS needs a £21million injection or the number of people waiting at least 15 weeks for a first hospital appointment will rise by 20,000. A leading GP claimed the predicted rise in waiting times will be disastrous for sufferers.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-funding-crisis-set-hit-4363132?

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, diagnosed, GP, NHS

30/09/2014 • 9:11 am 0

As Lynda Bellingham reveals she has only months to live… Bowel cancer patients left undiagnosed for YEARS

Katie Pearson could be forgiven for being angry or full of resentment and bitterness. But the terminally ill 35-year-old is determined to remain positive and enjoy what time she has left. In October 2010, Katie was diagnosed with bowel cancer, a disease more commonly associated with the over-50s. Her late diagnosis — two years after her first symptoms — meant the cancer was already very advanced, having spread into her pelvis and lymph nodes. Despite treatment, the cancer spread further, and last September she was told that patients with cancer as advanced as hers aren’t expected to live more than a year.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2774079/Lynda-Bellingham-cancer-Bowel-cancer-patients-left-undiagnosed-YEARS.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Filed under: Cancer, bowel cancer, Cancer, terminally ill

25/09/2014 • 3:42 pm 0

Cancer survey highlights importance of specialist nurses for patients – Nursing Times.Net 25 September, 2014 – By Jo Stephenson

More than a third of cancer patients felt there were not enough nurses on duty to care for them in hospital, according to the latest national survey, which also highlights the importance of providing specialist nurses.

The survey of more than 110,000 cancer patients suggests services have improved over the last four years, however, it reveals ongoing concern about nursing staff levels.

Click on the link to read more

Cancer survey highlights importance of specialist nurses for patients

Read the full results of the cancer patient experience survey, Click on the link

http://www.quality-health.co.uk/surveys/national-cancer-patient-experience-survey

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, survey

22/09/2014 • 8:06 am 0

52,000 cancer cases a year are spotted too late: Delays blamed on ‘stiff upper lip’ mentality and pressure on GPs not to refer patents for costly tests

Half of all cancer cases are spotted at a late stage when treatment is less likely to be successful, experts have warned. They calculate that more than 52,000 patients a year are having their odds of survival cut because the disease is not being caught quickly enough. The shocking figure is based on huge variations in diagnosis around England, with some cancers almost five times as likely to be diagnosed late in some parts of the country as others. Lung cancer is the most likely to be spotted late – with fewer than one in four cases caught early. Late diagnosis is blamed on factors from a ‘stiff upper lip’ to GPs under pressure not to refer patients for costly tests. Cancer Research UK, which commissioned the analysis of NHS data, said that early diagnosis is ‘crucial to give patients the best chance of survival’. Delays in treatment can not only be deadly, but can also mean patients are subjected to much more aggressive treatments than would have been necessary earlier in the disease’s progress.

Click on the link to read more

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2764639/52-000-cancer-cases-year-spotted-late-Delays-blamed-stiff-upper-lip-mentality-pressure-GPs-not-refer-patents-costly-tests.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer

08/09/2014 • 8:07 am 0

Cancer services weakened by coalition’s NHS shakeup, says report

Cancer services have been weakened by the coalition’s shakeup of the NHS and lack the money to cope with the growing number of people getting the disease, a report on Monday claims.
Diagnostic and treatment services are under such strain that improvements in recent years are in danger of unravelling, according to the charity Cancer Research UK. Its findings are based on anonymous interviews with 45 leading cancer experts and an online survey of 450 other NHS cancer personnel.

Click on the link to read more
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/08/cancer-coalition-nhs-health-service-budgets

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, Cancer Research UK

28/08/2014 • 8:38 am 0

Cancer patients with depression ‘are being overlooked’ – Have you experienced any of the issues raised in this story? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk and include your contact details

Three-quarters of cancer patients who are clinically depressed do not get the psychological therapy they need, according to research in the Lancet.
This “huge unmet need” is partly due to a focus on physical symptoms at the expense of good mental healthcare, researchers say.
They argue depression is often overlooked but could be treated at a fraction of the cost of cancer drugs.
Charities say the current situation is “heartbreaking”.
People often wrongly assume that major depression is part of a natural reaction to cancer – but this is much more than transient sadness, the Edinburgh and Oxford university researchers say.
Their report suggests a new nurse-led treatment could help thousands of people.
In a series of studies they analysed data on 21,000 cancer patients living in Scotland.
They found 6% to 13% of people had clinical depression, compared with just 2% of the general population at any time.

Please click on the link to read more
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-28954661

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, depression

26/08/2014 • 8:52 am 0

Cancer patient ‘kept on trolley in hospital storage room without food for THREE nights’

A cancer patient claims she was treated “like a dog” after being kept on a trolley in a hospital storage room for three nights.
Charlene Lynch, 27, who suffers from Hodgkins lymphoma, also claims she was not fed because staff did not know she was there.
She was admitted to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown, Dublin, last Friday, when she required emergency surgery on her foot.
But after the procedure, instead of being sent to a post-op recovery ward, a bed shortage meant she was  abandoned in the tiny room and given a curtain for a blanket

Click on the link to read more
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/cancer-patient-kept-trolley-hospital-4107868

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, Neglect, NHS

22/08/2014 • 7:45 am 0

Cancer Patient Does This To Show The World What Being Sick Really Means

What a really inspirational video. This helps others be strong too.

Please click on the link to watch
http://sfglobe.com/?id=2632&src=share_fb_new_2632

A brilliant quote

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer

15/08/2014 • 9:37 am 0

Prostate cancer drug ruling a ‘fiasco’, says charity

Abiraterone is already given to patients at the end-of-life after chemotherapy as it gives patients an extra few months.
But the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence said it was not cost-effective to offer it earlier.
It said while the drug improved quality of life, it was unclear whether it had the same impact on life expectancy.
This was due to problems with the research data, NICE said, claiming the trial was finished early – something disputed by the drug’s makers Janssen.
‘Vital opportunity’
Instead, patients will have to rely on their doctors applying to the Cancer Drugs Fund, a special pot set aside for cancer drugs not routinely available on the NHS.
Some 3,000 patients have done this in the last year, but that fund is due to end in 2016.
Owen Sharp, chief executive of Prostate Cancer UK, the largest men’s health charity, said the whole process was “a fiasco”.
Jump media playerMedia player helpOut of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.
Cancer patient Mike Sawkins: “I’m privileged to be on this expensive drug”
He criticised NICE’s inflexibility and the drug company’s results-gathering process, saying: “This decision is a kick in the teeth for men with advanced prostate cancer.

Click on the link to see video and read more
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-28785250

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, drugs, NHS, Prostate cancer

13/08/2014 • 9:58 pm 0

Newlywed dies of cervical cancer after being ‘too young’ for a smear test

A young woman died from cervical cancer just four months after her wedding, having been repeatedly told she was too young for a smear test.
Dawn Weston was refused a smear test when we she went to the doctors with crippling back pain at the age of 24.
But months later she was diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer.
She was refused a test as the age limit in the UK is 25 but just days before she died a routine screening letter was sent to her home.
Her family are now petitioning to change the law so that women under the age of 25 are able to have routine smear tests.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/11032403/Newlywed-dies-of-cervical-cancer-after-being-too-young-for-a-smear-test.html

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, Cervical Cancer, Smear

31/07/2014 • 10:36 am 0

What your friends with cancer want you to know (but are afraid to say)

People with cancer are supposed to be heroic.
We fight a disease that terrifies everyone.
We are strong because we endure treatments that can feel worse than the actual malignancies.
We are brave because our lab tests come back with news we don’t want to hear.
The reality of life with cancer is very different from the image we try to portray.
Our fight is simply a willingness to go through treatment because, frankly, the alternative sucks. Strength? We endure pain and sickness for the chance to feel normal down the road. Brave? We build up an emotional tolerance and acceptance of things we can’t change. Faith kicks in to take care of the rest.
The truth is that if someone you love has cancer, they probably won’t be completely open about what they’re going through because they’re trying so hard to be strong.
For you.
However, if they could be truly honest and vulnerable, they would tell you:

Please click on the link to read the ten things your friends with Cancer want you to know
http://roadkillgoldfish.com/friends-cancer-want-know/

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer

29/07/2014 • 8:53 am 0

Cancer patient denied life-giving drugs by NHS has to find £2,000 a WEEK to fund them

Terminally ill with brain cancer, Reece Hawley’s spirits were raised when doctors told him the drug Avastin could significantly prolong his life.
But the 21-year-old’s glimmer of hope was cruelly snatched away by health chiefs who refused to fund the treatment on the NHS.
And now the trainee primary school teacher is desperately trying to raise £2,000 a week to buy the drug – which can extend a cancer sufferer’s life for up to two years.
His generous friends and family have put on a string of events to find the cash so they can have more time with Reece.

Click on the link to read more
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/cancer-patient-denied-life-giving-drugs-3928687

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer

07/07/2014 • 7:27 am 0

Woman who claims UK doctors failed to spot her cancer 16 TIMES chooses German treatment instead

A woman who claims that doctors failed to diagnose her terminal cancer during SIXTEEN appointments has given up on the NHS and gone abroad for care.
And now, after pioneering treatment in Germany that has cost thousands of pounds, Leigh Naylor is showing signs of recovery from cervical cancer.
Within weeks of the treatment, her “incurable” 8cm tumour –which she says medics here took 18 months to spot – started to shrink.

Click on the link to read more
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/woman-who-claims-uk-doctors-3817812

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, NHS

07/07/2014 • 7:14 am 0

Naming and shaming GPs for too few cancer referrals will bring NHS to its knees, warn doctors

Government plans to name and shame doctors with poor cancer referral rates will cause huge queues in surgeries, hundreds of GPs warn today.
Dr Maureen Baker, the head of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said the chaos would be caused by doctors referring virtually all patients to be on safe side.
A second letter, signed by hundreds of doctors, said the plan was a “bullying tactics” and risked “bankrupting” the NHS.
Doctors face being marked with a red flag on an NHS website if they repeatedly miss signs of cancer in patients.
Practices will be given a green rating if they have quick referral times for patients who show possible signs of having the disease.

Click on the link to read more
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10950019/Naming-and-shaming-GPs-for-too-few-cancer-referrals-will-bring-NHS-to-its-knees-warn-doctors.html

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, NHS

23/06/2014 • 8:35 am 0

Cancer patient abandoned in ‘revolting’ hospital

Daughter of terminal ill woman speaks of how her mother was left in degrading conditions in the Buckley Ward of Epsom Hospital, which is already the focus of another serious complaint

A terminally ill woman was ‘left cold and filthy’ in an Epsom Hospital ward already the source of a serious complaint, her daughter claims.
Zelanie Cooper has decried the treatment of her mother Patricia Osborne, 71, at the hospital’s Buckley Ward.
Mrs Cooper, 43, from Tadworth, said Mrs Osborne, who was recently diagnosed with stage four cancer, was left ‘degraded, humiliated and terrified’ by her experience on the ward, in which she was found smeared in her own excrement.

Click on the link to read more
http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/cancer-patient-mistreated-epsom-hospital-7305964

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, Negligence, NHS

31/05/2014 • 11:01 am 0

NHS misses cancer waiting times target for the first time

The NHS in England has breached a cancer waiting times target missed for the first time, as experts warned that more lives were being put “at risk” because of delays in a health service under “huge strain”.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/nhs-misses-cancer-waiting-times-target-for-the-first-time-9463313.html

Filed under: Uncategorized, Cancer, NHS

12/05/2014 • 11:43 am 0

‘I’m so lucky to be here. But there’ll always be anger that the doctors missed my cancer’

As Stephen is rushed back to hospital, dying cancer boy whose appeal touched the world reveals the blunders that haunt him
Stephen Sutton was diagnosed with bowel cancer aged 15

Teen from Burntwood, Staffordshire, was told it was terminal two years ago
Wanted to raise £10,000 for Teenage Cancer Trust before he died
His story captured the hearts of the nation – with scores of people donating
Says he will always feel ‘anger’ at the doctors who miss diagnosed him
Teen was told by medics he was suffering from constipation for six months
Yesterday he was taken back into hospital with ‘breathing difficulties’
He wrote that there was ‘no immediate panic’ and he was ‘currently stable’

Click on the link to read Stephen’s story

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2625787/Im-lucky-But-therell-anger-doctors-missed-cancer-As-hes-rushed-hospital-dying-cancer-boy-whos-raised-3-2m-reveals-blunders-haunt-him.html

George Gannon

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