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Lower Cancer Survival In UK Consistent With Later Diagnosis

HEALTH

Survival rates for four major cancers are lower in the UK (excluding Scotland) than they are in Australia, Canada, Sweden and Norway, and on a par with those of Denmark, a pattern that reflects diagnosis and treatment differences of these countries, said researchers.

The study, from the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP), appears in the 22 December online issue of the The Lancet.

In their background information the authors explain that cancer survival rate is a key measure of the effectiveness of healthcare systems in a nation or region and highlighting differences is one way to stimulate change to raise standards and reduce inequalities.

For this study, the first in a series, a working group of ICBP researchers compared the cancer survival rates of four major cancers - breast, ovarian, colorectal, and lung - in 12 jurisdictions in six countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, UK (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not Scotland) and Sweden.

The data covered 2.4 million adults diagnosed with primary colorectal, lung, breast (women), or ovarian cancer between 1995 and 2007, with follow-up to the end of December 2007.

The researchers prepared their estimates of 1 and 5 year relative survival rates in 252 "life tables" controlled for background mortality by age, sex and calendar year.

The findings show that:
    * Relative survival for all four cancers improved in all countries during 1995 to 2007.
    * However, it was persistently higher in Australia, Canada and Sweden.
    * Survival was intermediate in Norway, and lower in Denmark and the UK (England, Northern Ireland, and Wales).
    * For example, in the case of bowel cancer, there was more than 12% difference in survival rates between the lowest performer, the UK, and the highest performer, Australia.
    * And in the case of lung cancer, only 8.8% of UK patients survived until 5 years after diagnosis compared with 18.4% in Canada.
    * Differences in survival rates were particularly noticeable for the first year after diagnosis and for patients aged 65 years and older.
    * For breast cancer the disparities were much narrower for all ages, but much less so or not at all for the other cancers (for breast cancer the international differences narrowed from about 9% to 5% for 1-year survival and from about 14% to 8% for 5-year).
    * For colorectal cancer, the disparities narrowed only for patients aged 65 and over.
The researchers conclude that these "up-to-date survival trends show increases" but also "persistent differences" among countries.

Nasal Congestion Can Mean Severe Asthma

Nasal congestion can be a sign of severe asthma, which means that healthcare professionals should be extra vigilant when it comes to nasal complaints. Furthermore, more severe asthma appears to be more common than previously thought, reveals a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy's Krefting Research Centre.

Published in the online scientific journal Respiratory Research, the population study included 30,000 randomly selected participants from the west of Sweden and asked questions about different aspects of health.

"This is the first time that the prevalence of severe asthma has been estimated in a population study, documenting that approximately 2% of the population in the West Sweden is showing signs of severe asthma," says Jan Lötvall, one of the authors of the study and professor at the Sahlgrenska Academy's Krefting Research Centre. "This argues that more severe forms of asthma are far more common than previously believed, and that healthcare professionals should pay extra attention to patients with such symptoms.

"We also found that more pronounced nasal symptoms, such as chronic rhinosinusitis, in other words nasal congestion and a runny nose for a long period of time, can be linked to more severe asthma."

Jan Lötvall suggests that patients who report nasal complaints, perhaps together with minor symptoms from the lower respiratory tract, such as wheezing, shortness of breath during physical effort, and night-time awakings because of breathing problems should be investigated for asthma.

"These findings suggest that some parts of the immune system that are activated in connection with chronic nasal problems might be linked to severe asthma, and this insight could lead to new forms of treatment in the long run," says Lötvall. "Effective treatment for troublesome nasal and sinus complaints could, in theory, reduce the risk of severe asthma, though this is something that needs further research."

These results increase our understanding of the factors that play a role in severe asthma, and could help clinical researchers to understand which mechanisms lead to more severe asthma. At the same time, Lötvall believes that healthcare professionals should be aware of the possibility of severe asthma in patients showing signs of nasal problems, such as congestion, polyps and a poor sense of smell.

problem of health

Good health is our greatest asset in life. Discovering that we have an illness or health problem can therefore be a shock to the system, especially if the symptoms are unfamiliar to us. Our first reaction is often one of worry and anxiety, so the quicker that we can put our mind at rest about our health problem the better.

There are a number of resources on the Internet designed to help us self-diagnose a health problem, and many more that provide advice, support and practical assistance in dealing with almost every health problem known to man. Having these resources at your fingertips will help alleviate anxiety at the onset of symptoms and help us make an informed decision as to whether a doctor is needed.

Normally, all resources address three critical areas. The first is a description of the illness or health problem that enables us to grasp an understanding of what it is and whether it is life-threatening or not. The second piece of critical information provided helps us to identify what sort of symptoms are experienced with a particular health problem. Finally, information and advice on treatments and solutions are given.

Sex safety

Sex safety overview

Practising sex safety means protecting yourself from sexually transmitted infections (STI/STDs) and unplanned pregnancy.

Part of sex safety is keeping up to date about safety practices. There are many tools and skills you can use to make sex safer, and these safety recommendations are frequently updated with new developments.

Know the risks :
Anyone who has sexual contact is at risk for catching a sexually transmitted infection (STI/STD).
Different kinds of STIs can be spread by:
* skin to skin contact or sharing sex toys—no intercourse required! (herpes, hpv) * oral sex or deep kissing * unprotected vaginal or anal sex (all) * non-sexual activities like sharing equipment for drugs (straws, needles, etc), or using unsterilized needles for tattoos, piercings, or accupuncture
These infections can be passed from woman to man, man to woman, woman to woman, or man to man. Some can even be passed from an infected mother to her newborn baby.
It is not usually possible to tell if someone has an STI because many of them are “silent” infections; many people who have an STI don’t even know themselves that they have it! Your risk of STIs is based not only on your present or past partners, but also on all of the present and past partners of those partners. It’s no wonder they get passed around so much!
Some STIs can be cured with medication (chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis), but others cannot be. Some are caused by viruses that can stay in your body for a long time (going away, then coming back again) and some even stay in your body forever. With these viral types, you can only treat the symptoms when they arise, but you can never totally “cure” the virus.