The controversy over PIP breast implants shows no signs of abating though, over the weekend, the government tried to take a lead on the issue by running a national press campaign advising women on what to do if they had the implants.

As well as appearing in national newspapers and websites, the adverts will also appear in GP surgeries and other parts of the NHS, stressing that there is no need for the women to have the implants removed unless they are suffering pain or tenderness. It also emphasises that there is no link with cancer, despite eight French women who have the implants, having been diagnosed with the disease and it also says there is no evidence to show that there is an increased risk of harm from the PIP implants compared with other brands.

Women can find out whether they had PIP implants by checking their medical notes free of charge; those who had them on the NHS will be able to have the implants removed and replaced free of charge and will receive a letter within the next few weeks, while for those women whose private clinic refuses to pay for the treatment, they will be able to have the implants removed on the NHS but not replaced.

Health secretary Andrew Lansley said that the ad campaign aimed to give women clear advice on what type of action they can take. He said that private companies should all provide the aftercare that their patients need and deserve and said it was not fair to the taxpayer or other NHS patients for the NHS to foot the bill.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/13/breast-implant-advertisement...

The Health Secretary is set to respond to fears that patient care is poor in many care homes and hospitals by announcing a series of spot checks.

Andrew Lansley is due to announce, in a major speech, that a programme of unannounced checks by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which took place over the summer, are to be extended and he will promise tough action in circumstances where they find the standard of care to be unacceptable. He will say: “Where there is great care, we will celebrate it. But whenever there are pockets of poor performance, we will root it out.”

He says that around 50 hospitals, 500 care homes and 150 centres for people with learning difficulties will face the checks and ministers have told the CQC to get tough with those who fail, with action possibly leading to the closure of services if necessary.

In the same speech the health secretary is expected to announce a new scheme to assist hospitals which are struggling financially with a bail-out for about 50 NHS trusts with fresh support for those trusts which are being faced with bills from private finance initiative (PFI) schemes. This help follows an audit, ordered by the Department of Health, into the finances of NHS trusts throughout the country.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8849566/Hospitals-face-spot...

New research has shown that doctors are too often failing to spot the side-effects of cancer treatment. The study, which was conducted by the government’s National Cancer Survivorship Initiative, shows that up to a quarter of those who have had treatment for cancer, are later diagnosed with another serious medical problem which has not been picked up by their GP.

It says that with about two million people in the UK having had some treatment for the disease, there will be up to half a million who will have suffered a debilitating side-effect, which includes osteoporosis, heart disease and bowel problems. A leading doctor has said that the research highlights a basic lack of knowledge about cancer as well as a lack of communication between GPs and hospital specialists.

Professor Jane Maher, medical director of Macmillan Cancer Support, said that patients were being put at risk through vital information not being communicated and the patient’s medical records not being marked clearly enough. As examples, she says that too many doctors are seemingly unaware that some forms of breast cancer can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, while a third of patients, who have treatment for cervical, bowel, prostate or bladder cancer are known to have later problems with their bowels or their urine function.

Professor Maher says that the survey shows that GPs are not recording whether a patient has had cancer treatment, partly because of a lack of communication with hospitals and also because they are failing to realise the importance of recording such information. An improved treatment summary is currently being trialled by the NHS and Macmillan which would see the oncologist explain more clearly the treatment and the risks associated with it.

Source:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/25/cancer-patients-side-effects-treatment

Scientists believe they are moving closer to finding a universal vaccine to kill off the bug that causes meningitis.

The experts, from the Children’s Hospital, Boston in the US say that the new vaccine targets proteins which will tell the body to produce immune cells which stop the bug taking hold. It is hoped that this will be more effective than current vaccines which trick the body into developing antibodies against the sugar which coats the bug. However, as different strains have different sugars, the antibodies can be defeated in this way.

The streptococcus pneumonia bug causes meningitis, septicaemia and pneumonia and kills over a million young children in developing countries each year. Meningitis affects 3,000 a year in Britain alone and kills 300.

The scientists are led by Dr Richard Malley, who has spent over 10 years trying to develop the vaccine. He said that clinical trials of the new vaccine will start once the recipe has been perfected. He added: “Our approach has the advantage of potentially providing protection regardless of the country.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1357807/Meningitis-vaccine-bea...

Scientists are hopeful that a new drug will prove to be a breakthrough in the fight against skin cancer.

Trials being conducted at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London have shown that the drug stalls growth of the most aggressive form of skin cancer and increases the overall survival rate in comparison to current treatments.

The drug, currently known as RG7204, targets a specific faulty gene which is found in half of all malignant melanoma cases and it is hoped that the new treatment could extend life by six or seven months whereas current treatments can only stop the progression of the cancer for a couple of months.

The study involved 680 skin cancer sufferers worldwide and in 70% of cases using the new drug showed at least some shrinking of the tumour.

Rates of malignant melanoma have increased faster than any other cancer over the last 25 years and it is now the second most common cancer in young adults in the UK. It affects almost twice as many young women as it does men.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8269430/Skin-cancer-drug-of...

British scientists are confident that new research, just published, is a significant breakthrough in the fight against prostate cancer.

The scientists have developed a test to discover which men are at the highest risk of contracting the disease and it is now hoped that current blood testing for the disease could be replaced by the new urine test which detects levels of the MSMB protein.

The research showed that the protein is at reduced levels in those who have prostate cancer and there are claims that the new test will be twice as precise as the current one, giving more accurate predictions of the disease. Prostate cancer currently affects 35,000 men in Britain each year and leads to 10,000 deaths.

The research could lead to urine testing kits being made available at GP surgeries with the results being available within hours. A trial of 1,200 men is currently underway and further, larger-scale trials, may then be carried out next year.

Dr Kate Holmes, research manager at The Prostate Cancer Charity, said: “The study suggests that measuring levels of this protein could potentially be a powerful way to predict how likely a man is to develop prostate cancer. However, further research on a much larger scale is needed to determine how effective the detection of MSMB in the urine is for predicting the risk of, and potentially even diagnosing, prostate cancer.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/oct/14/scientists-urine-test-prostate-cancer-risk