Breakthrough
treatment targeting cancer
Sydney
doctors are leading the way in a technique for detecting cancer, which
allows them to target and treat the disease more accurately and effectively.
The technique involves radioactive tracers, which light up when they
find an area where cancer may have spread.
The Australian-made radioactive tracers have much less radiation than
a standard X-ray, but once injected into a primary cancer, become
powerful seekers in the lymphatic system, travelling to and highlighting
the main lymph gland that may be harbouring spreading cancer. Pinpointing
the exact location means surgeons can remove, with unprecedented accuracy,
only the affected area so there's less surgery involved.
The specialised scan has been restricted to melanoma and breast cancers
but now this breakthrough with better tracers and mapping means more
cancers can be treated and thousands more lives saved.
"It's being applied to an increasing number of patients - with
prostate cancer, colon cancer, stomach, even lung cancer there was
a recent case description," said Dr Roger Uren, Associate Professor
of Medicine at University of Sydney.
The lymph screening is completely changing the way people are being
treated for some cancers. With the suspect area now able to be identified
so quickly, surgery is carried out within 24 hours while the radioactive
tracer is still active. And that means total treatment time is minimal.
Patient Nick Hacket is delighted he's still in remission after tracers
mapped which lymph node the melanoma on the back of his knee was most
likely to spread to. It was removed and surgeons are confident it
hadn't spread.
"It was reassuring because I didn't have to have any more treatment,"
he said."
Source:
National Nine News 7/09/03
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Pill
for fewer periods approved in US
AP - The first birth control pill specially designed to reduce the
frequency of women's periods - from once a month to four times a year
- has been approved by the US government.
Hence the name: Seasonable.
The pills aren't a new chemical. They contain the same combination
of low-dose oestrogen and progestin found in many oral contraceptives.
Nor is the idea of menstrual suppression new.
For decades, many doctors have told women how they can skip a period
by continually taking the active birth-control pills in each month's
supply and ignoring the week of dummy pills in each packet
But Seasonale promises to make the option a little more convenient,
with packaging that gives women 12 straight weeks of active pills
and then a week of dummy pills for their period.
The Food and Drug Administration's approval means menstrual suppression
could become more common in the US, as Seasonale's advertising alerts
women to the option.
Seasonale isn't perfect, the FDA cautioned.
While women have fewer scheduled periods, studies show Seasonale users
have about twice the risk of unexpected "breakthrough" bleeding
between periods as woman taking conventional monthly cycle pills,
especially in the first few cycles of use.
Also, 7.7 per cent of Seasonale users dropped out of studies of the
drug citing unacceptable bleeding, compared with 1.8 per cent of women
taking conventional monthly pills.
Some Seasonale users had so much breakthrough bleeding that their
total days of bleeding over a year were no less with the new drug
than with regular pills, FDA said.
The agency ordered that Seasonale's label state that women must weigh
that inconvenience against fewer regular periods.
"Each woman will respond to this product somewhat differently,"
said FDA's Dr Scott Monroe.
"Some will find they respond entirely as the product was designed
to function, and others will have increased intermenstrual bleeding
to the extent that they choose not to continue with the product."
Maker Barr Laboratories plans to have prescription-only Seasonale
in pharmacies in the United States by November to compete with other
brand-name oral contraceptives, which sell for roughly $US$1 ($A1.55)
a pill. Generic versions can cost half that amount in the US.
Seasonale also may be attractive to women who experience severe cramping,
heavy bleeding and other menstrual-related symptoms, a number Barr
estimates at 2.5 million in the United States.
But the National Women's Health Network says some Seasonale proponents
falsely imply that limiting menstruation is generally healthier, a
message the consumer group calls particularly unwise for young girls.
"We already have a lot of shame and stigma in this society about
menstruation," cautions the network's Cynthia Pearson, who has
asked Barr to ensure that Seasonale ads don't convey that impression.
During the menstrual cycle, fluctuations in oestrogen signal the uterine
lining, or endometrium, to thicken in preparation for nourishing an
embryo. If pregnancy doesn't occur, that excess lining is sloughed
off, accompanied by bleeding.
The big safety question is whether four periods a year are enough
to allow the uterus to shed any tissue that builds up.
A study by Eastern Virginia Medical School, which developed the three-month
pill regimen, shows they are.
It tracked 682 women taking either Seasonale or regular monthly pills
for a year. Seasonale proved equally effective at preventing pregnancy.
Side effects, too, were similar with the exception of breakthrough
bleeding, which did decrease with each cycle of Seasonale use.
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Qld
to ban under-18s from some piercings
Queensland would ban under-18s from having their nipples or genitals
pierced under laws soon to be introduced, Premier Peter Beattie said.
Mr Beattie said practitioners who broke the new laws could be fined
up to $3,000 or jailed for six months.
The penalties would double for practitioners who pierced a minor whose
decision-making capacity was impaired by alcohol, drugs or an intellectual
disability.
"While adults are free to make up their own minds about the dangers
of nipple and genital piercing, minors need these laws to protect
them from health risks and exploitation," Mr Beattie told reporters.
"There have been cases reported of children as young as 13 having
nipple or genital piercing."
He said research suggested that nipple piercing may affect milk-producing
ducts and could cause infection, possibly causing breast feeding problems
for women later in life.
A bill including the new legislation would be introduced into parliament
later this year.
September
2003.
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'Scalpel'
tourism: the benefits and risks revealed
3 November 2003
Reporter: Brady Halls
From tummy
tucks to breast enlargements, even brain surgery, many Australians
are turning their backs on local hospitals in favour of treatment
at overseas medical facilities. Today, ACA's Brady Halls considers
the trend, known as "scalpel" tourism, and weighs up some
of the benefits and drawbacks of going under the knife in a foreign
country.
Long renowned
for its vibrant culture and cut-price shopping, Thailand is becoming
increasingly popular for its "scalpel" tourism and Bangkok's
Bumrungrad Hospital - a five-star facility that treats nearly one
million patients a year - is now a sought-after destination.
It's so
sought-after that Sydney-based travel agent Barbara Gross, from Sabra
Travel, has been engaged by the hospital to handle the travel arrangements
for Australians seeking out treatment in Thailand. Two of those Aussies,
31-year-old Kylie Hennessey and her mum Jillian, began the journey
several weeks ago.
For Kylie,
having a breast enlargement was her answer to an age-old problem.
"Since
breast feeding two kids it's become an issue, I've become more self-conscious
about my chest and am looking forward to feeling more comfortable
in a nice dress," she says.
Jillian,
on the other hand, opted for an upper eyelift in an effort to offset
the problem of age.
"I'm
sick and tired of people telling me I'm tired when I'm not tired!"
she says. "They're taking out some of the excess skin in the
upper eye lids where I've lost definition of the eyelids. It'll make
my eye look wider open."
According
to Kylie's husband Steve, going overseas for surgery has added bonuses.
"We're
renovating the house and realistically if we got it done in Australia
it would have set us back 12 to 24 months with our renovations,"
he says.
The same
applies to Jillian, whose eyelift comes at half the price.
Despite
the influx of foreigners keen to go under the knife, Ruben Toral,
director of International Programs at Bumrungrad Hospital, says his
number one challenge is reinforcing in people's minds that the hospital
provides quality care.
"Any
individual who comes here, be that from the United States, Australia
or Europe, they come into the hospital and see quality from the moment
they come into the hospital lobby to when they get into their rooms,"
he says. "Internationally trained doctors … a five-star
facility they would expect to find in the US or Australia - they wouldn't
expect to find it in Thailand."
Ruben Toral
is prepared to lay his hospital's reputation on the line, which is
why he flew ACA over to Thailand. But there are critics who worry
about the potential dangers to Australian patients. Dr Mukesh Haikerwal,
vice president of the Australian Medical Association, says undergoing
foreign operations is at your own risk.
"The
AMA would be concerned about things like what the facilities are like,
who are the people who are doing the work, what their training is
like but most importantly, is the surgery actually necessary and what
is the follow-up going to be after the surgery is completed,"
he says.
Head of
Cosmetic Surgery at Bumrungrad, Dr Amorn Poomee recommends his foreign
patients have a check-up with their doctor back home but says he's
very accessible.
"My
phone number and e-mail is always open in case they have any questions
or problems," he says.
Before
heading to Thailand, Kylie and Jillian certainly tossed up the pros
and cons. Now there's no turning back.
A special thank you to ACA
Channel 9 November 3 2003
For this article.
