How spotting cancer early TRIPLES chance of survival

How spotting cancer early TRIPLES chance of survival: 80% of patients with eight common forms survive for ten years if disease is spotted in initial stages

• Cancer Research UK have discovered how vital it is to find cancer early
• Findings revealed those found with initial symptoms were likely to live on
• However, patients in which the disease has spread will have lesser chance
• Britain currently lags behind most Western countries in terms of cancer survival rates 

Cancer patients are three times more likely to survive if the illness is diagnosed early, figures reveal.

The news underlines how crucial it is that doctors and patients pick up on symptoms before tumours spread.

Analysis by Cancer Research UK found 80 per cent of patients with one of eight common cancers survive for at least ten years if the disease is detected in its early stages.

But this falls to just 25 per cent for patients diagnosed in the later stages, when tumours have spread to the bones, brain, lungs or other organs. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3191637/How-spotting-cancer-early-TRIPLES-chance-survival-80-patients-eight-common-forms-survive-ten-years-disease-spotted-initial-stages.html

Test to predict likelihood of breast cancer relapse could help thousands: Women at high risk would be given drugs for longer after surgery and chemotherapy

• Test predicts how likely it is that breast cancer will return to sufferers 
• Those at high risk would be urged to take preventative drugs for five years 
• Oncotype DX test is not used by many hospitals as it is too expensive

Thousands of women could benefit from a new test for breast cancer which predicts how likely it is that the illness will return.

Those found to be at high risk would be urged to carry on taking preventative drugs for five years and beyond after they have had surgery.

Currently, all women with the most common form of breast cancer – oestrogen positive – are advised to take hormone drugs such as Tamoxifen for up to five years after surgery to remove tumours. But researchers from the Royal Marsden Hospital in London have claimed that a test already available on the NHS could be used in a slightly different way to identify high risk women who would benefit from taking the drugs for longer.

This is the Oncotype DX test, which analyses the genes in a sample of tumour removed after surgery to predict the aggressiveness of the cancer. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3133882/Test-predict-likelihood-breast-cancer-relapse-help-thousands-Women-high-risk-given-drugs-longer-surgery-chemotherapy.html

Breast cancer drug 'boosts survival rates by 40%': Thousands could benefit from two drugs that can eradicate tennis ball-sized tumours in just three months

• Experts hope NHS rationing body will approve drugs soon despite cost
• Medication used for women with particularly aggressive form of cancer 
• HER2-positive is responsible for 13,000 new cases in the UK each year
• In a trial involving 417 women, tumours disappeared in 30% of cases

Thousands of women with breast cancer could benefit from two drugs that stop tumours in their tracks, trials show.

In some cases, treatment was so effective that growths the size of tennis balls were completely eradicated in just three months.

Experts hope NHS rationing body NICE will approve the drugs soon – despite their cost – to enable more women to live longer with the disease and possibly be cured. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3106607/Breast-cancer-drug-boosts-survival-rates-40-Thousands-benefit-two-drugs-eradicate-tennis-ball-sized-tumours-just-three-months.html

New era in the war on cancer: Revolutionary treatment that will save thousands hailed as 'biggest breakthrough since chemotherapy'

• Immunotherapy teaches body to attack cancer cells and destroy tumours
• The treatment will replace chemotherapy within five years, say researchers
• It is particularly effective against skin and lung cancer, experts believe
• Trial patients expected to only survive months went on to live normal lives

A cancer treatment that teaches the body to attack tumours will save the lives of tens of thousands of patients, researchers claim.

Experts believe it could be the biggest step forward since chemotherapy and could replace it within five years.

The treatment is particularly effective against some of the deadliest types of the disease including lung and skin cancer. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3105049/New-era-war-cancer-Revolutionary-treatment-save-thousands-hailed-biggest-breakthrough-chemotherapy.html

How to keep your crown jewels safe: The things you should look out for and why you should check them once a month

• Men 'should get into the habit of checking their testicles once a month'
• Lumps can be cysts. These can be felt separately from the testicle
• A hard lump on front or side of a testicle can be a sign of testicular cancer
• Sudden pain is a sign of testicular torsion, requiring emergency surgery

The shape and consistency of soft-boiled eggs, with one usually larger and lower than the other — a man’s testicles should be familiar territory to him.

‘Get used to checking them once a month, preferably after a shower to relax the skin surrounding them’, says Phil Morris, a former soldier and a testicular cancer survivor who set up the website checkemlads.com

It’s a focus that young men especially find uncomfortable. ‘Cervical screening means women get used to embarrassing examinations — men don’t,’ says Steve Robertson, Professor of Men, Gender & Health at Leeds Beckett University. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3053317/How-crown-jewels-safe-things-look-check-month.html  

Cancer survival rates 10 years behind Europe: British figures still well below other countries despite billions being spent to improve situation over the last 15 years

• Cancer survival rates more than 10 years behind other European countries
• Breast cancer survival rates in UK below those achieved by others in 1990s
• Figures despite Britain spending billions to improve situation last 15 years
• Macmillan said it was ‘shameful’ and proves better rates not unachievable

Cancer survival rates in Britain lag more than ten years behind those in many other European countries, experts warn.

Even for breast cancer – one of the most treatable forms of the disease – the figures are still well below those reached by France, Sweden and Italy in the late 1990s.

For lung cancer, the rates are so far behind that patients in Britain are now half as likely to survive as those living in Austria. 

Macmillan Cancer Support has described the situation as ‘shameful’ and warns too many patients are dying needlessly here when they would survive had they been treated elsewhere in Europe. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3008614/Cancer-survival-rates-10-years-Europe-British-figures-countries-despite-billions-spent-improve-situation-15-years.html

You can’t catch a cold from kissing - but don’t hold hands!

Revealed: Fact and fiction about protecting yourself from bugs and viruses

• Diseases spread through touching another person or an object with germs
• Children are likely to carry bugs because of developing immune system
• Getting plenty of sleep is a precaution you can take against cold infections
• Feeling more positive was linked to a greater ability to fight off a cold

Diseases can spread through touching another person or an object contaminated with germs from someone else, or through the air, for example, when someone sneezes and the droplets enter your nose or mouth or get on to your hands.

A disease’s contagiousness is measured by its basic reproduction number. ‘This is the number of people without immunity who would likely be infected by one person with the virus,’ says Paul Griffiths, professor of virology at University College London. ‘One of the worst viruses for that is measles, with a basic reproduction number of 17. It’s airborne and really contagious. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2965656/Viruses-t-catch-cold-kissing-don-t-hold-hands.html

Forget Viagra, just eat like a Greek! Fish, salads and olive oil could change lives of men suffering from impotence, experts say

• Research found healthy foods clean out blood vessels, especially in penis
• Dr Athanasios Angelis says Mediterranean diet helps a man's performance
• He recommended plenty of cereals, nuts, fish and poultry – but no kebabs
• Red meat once a week is enough and recommended small glasses of wine

Never mind those little blue pills – men who have problems between the sheets could reinvigorate themselves simply by eating a Mediterranean diet. Eating fish, salads and olive oil, and enjoying the odd glass of wine, could transform the lives of men suffering from impotence, according to Greek cardiologist Athanasios Angelis. He said his research had shown that consuming such healthy foods helped clean out blood vessels, especially the narrow ones in the penis that are essential for a man to perform. 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2944293/Forget-Viagra-just-eat-like-Greek-Fish-salads-olive-oil-change-lives-men-suffering-impotence-experts-say.html

How the menopause can drive women MAD! Panic attacks, violent rages, hallucinations: just some of the terrifying symptoms you’re NOT warned about

• Christina Roberts suffered from anxiety and almost ended up agoraphobic
• She was initially prescribed anti-depressants before being switched to HRT by a doctor in New York
• Samantha Cole had similar problems with the menopause, she started to feel really down and victimised for no reason
• Jo Gordon was suffering from extreme rage and frustration, which she and her family found very hard to deal with 

When Christina Robert saw a strange man climbing in through her bedroom window, she was terrified.‘He was wearing dark jeans and a black leather jacket. I ran on to the landing and screamed for someone to call the police,’ says the 52-year-old writer, who lives in London.

‘My 16-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter rushed out to see what was wrong. It was only then that I realised it couldn’t possibly have happened — we were on the fourth floor. The entire thing was a hallucination.’

Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2925818/How-menopause-drive-women-MAD-Panic-attacks-depression-hallucinations-just-terrifying-symptoms-youre-NOT-warned-about.html

Revolutionary new PILL could treat skin cancer: Scientists discover drug could help patients resistant to standard treatments

• Drug called a panRAF inhibitor could help advanced skin cancer patients
• Skin cancer patients can become resistant to standard drugs within a year 
• The new drugs hit several cancer cell survival routes at once
• They suppress tumours without any significant side-effects
• Clinical trials focusing on safety and dosage will begin next year

A revolutionary new pill for advanced skin cancer is to be trialled next year. Laboratory tests suggest that the drug is likely to be effective in melanoma patients who no longer respond to existing treatments.

Known as a panRAF inhibitor, the drug may also help people with a strain of cancer that cannot be treated with standard drugs.

Melanoma, or malignant skin cancer, affects around 13,000 people and causes more than 2,000 deaths in the UK each year. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2894612/Revolutionary-new-PILL-treat-skin-cancer-Scientists-discover-drug-help-patients-resistant-standard-treatments.html