Health
A cancer patient told me she believed in angels when I helped her to keep warm
Alison Rooks leads Macmillan Cancer Support’s Energy Advice Team, who offer help to people with cancer with energy worries. Whenever I tell people I work for a cancer charity, they immediately assume I’m a nurse. Everyone knows the terrific work nurses do, yet less well known is the fact that people with cancer need a wide range of support. You wouldn’t think it was the case but people are much more likely to call our support line about financial worries...
The Anomaly that is Dog Walker’s Calves
I’ve got a friend who, despite being one of the most lethargic people I know, has got calves the size of tree trunks. To the innocent bystander he’s a physical anomaly. This is a man who has spent the best part of his life on a diet of cheese toasties and Walkers crisps, who would struggle to ride a bike without stabilisers and thinks squats are what you do when you can’t get to the toilet, and yet he can...
Migraine related absenteeism costs the UK economy £2.24 billion a year
Migraine is a complex condition with a wide variety of symptoms. About one in seven people suffers from migraine and it is most prevalent among adults of working age. It is ranked globally as the seventh most disabling disease among all diseases, responsible for 2.9% of all years of life lost to disability (YLDs), and the leading cause of disability among all neurological disorders. For many people the main feature is a painful headache. Other symptoms include disturbed vision, sensitivity...
Women (and men) must regularly check their breasts – Breast cancer awareness month
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Here, Jackie Harris, Clinical Nurse Specialist at Breast Cancer Care, talks about the importance of checking your breasts, and what you should be looking for… Signs and symptoms When you think about breast cancer, you’re likely to think of a woman finding a lump in their breast. But in reality, there are many different signs and symptoms to look out for. A Breast Cancer Care survey found that a third of women aren’t regularly...
Teenage girl passes driving test first time after taking lessons after Chemo sessions
A young woman who battled cancer was able to pass her test first time, after taking driving lessons on the way back from chemotherapy treatment sessions. Brave Katie Rickett, 17 passed the tough driving test a mere two weeks after the end of her treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Katie was sadly diagnosed back in May with the cancer, which develops in the lymphatic system, and like all cancers can be fatal. She was givien treatment by the teenage cancer ward...
Emx Squared – the timesaver’s way to get in shape
Like most people, I find it’s a huge effort shoe-horning exercise into my life between a job, social life and a relationship. So when Massimo Stocchi got in touch to tell me about electro muscle stimulation, I was game. He promised that, in one 20-minute workout at the Emx Squared studio, I’d burn a chunky 2,000 calories – the equivalent of eight hours of conventional exercise. The only (terrifying) catch was I’d be hooked up to wires and getting zapped...
Anorexic woman eating 200 calories a day told by doctor she wasn’t thin enough for help
A young woman, only 18, was told she was not thin enough for help to cure her eating disorder. On hearing the news she couldn’t be helped her weight plummeted to a potentially lethal 5st 10lb, before she was able to get help. Lorna Beattie, was studying at St Andrew’s University, and living on only 200 calories a day, not much more than a piece of fruit and exercising for hours a day. She knew she had a problem and...
“Selfie culture” leading young women to have “highest mental health risk”
New research has reported that young women are the section of society at the most risk to mental health issues and the selfie culture is to blame. The NHS Digital statistics found that over a quarter of women aged between 16 to 24 show symptoms of suffering from mental health problems. 26 per cent of women of that age bracket said they suffered from one or more signs of mental health issues, depression and anxiety for example, which is an...
When one mum’s child died of cancer she set-up charity so others can fight disease
"Why we must improve data collection if we are to see cure rates for childhood cancers increase" Sally Hall lost her son, Skye, in 2014 from side effects of his treatment for Medulloblastoma; an aggressive and cancerous brain tumour. She has set up the charity Blue Skye Thinking to raise money for brain tumour research and also lobbies for data collection for Standard Treatment Protocol in the UK. When your child is first diagnosed with cancer, and after the initial...