Dear Friends,
Welcome to my January news update with the pick of the most interesting stories in health and wellbeing over the last month. Please explore these new findings and be sure to share them with your friends, families and colleagues.
With warmest good wishes,
Dr Rosy Daniel
Acupuncture & Cancer
Christie research shows acupuncture helps chemo patients
Pioneering research by The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester has found that acupuncture can help more than half of patients who suffer from neuropathy, a debilitating numbness, which can be caused by chemotherapy. Believed to be the largest study of its kind ever undertaken, the aim was to discover if acupuncture, added to standard of care medication for patients experiencing severe chemo-inducted peripheral neuropathy, can significantly improve the condition for many.
Read the full Oldham Evening Chronicle Article:
Acupuncture as a Complementary Therapy During Radiation Treatment Can Reduce Dry Mouth
During radiation therapy, up to 80% of patients with head and neck cancer will experience dry mouth, a side effect of treatment that can affect quality of life. However, acupuncture delivered during treatment can reduce the incidence and severity of dry mouth, according to study findings from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. “The radiation is there for curative intent but it’s also damaging the salivary glands. This is really quite a debilitating side effect of radiation treatment,” principal investigator, Dr. Lorenzo Cohen, professor of palliative, rehabilitation, and integrative medicine and director of the Integrative Medicine Program at MD Anderson, said in a press release. “The symptoms severely impact quality of life and oral health, and current treatments have limited benefits.”
Read the full Cure – Cancer Updates, Research & Education Article:
Tobacco Decline
WHO launches new report on global tobacco use trends
For the first time, the World Health Organization projects that the number of males using tobacco is on the decline, indicating a powerful shift in the global tobacco epidemic. The findings, published today in a new WHO report, demonstrate how government-led action can protect communities from tobacco, save lives and prevent people suffering tobacco-related harm. “Declines in tobacco use amongst males mark a turning point in the fight against tobacco,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “For many years now we had witnessed a steady rise in the number of males using deadly tobacco products. But now, for the first time, we are seeing a decline in male use, driven by governments being tougher on the tobacco industry. WHO will continue working closely with countries to maintain this downward trend.”
Read the full WHO Article:
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/19-12-2019-who-launches-new-report-on-global-tobacco-use-trends
Air Pollution and Climate Change
Pollution Pods at COP25 show climate change and air pollution are two sides of the same coin
Air pollution and climate change are two sides of the same coin: both are largely caused by the same sources and have similar solutions. Ambitious climate action has the potential to both safeguard our health and future, and to reduce the yearly seven million premature deaths from air pollution. This immersive art installation at the COP25 UN climate conference in Madrid encourages negotiators, observers and world leaders attending the summit to walk through the pods, letting visitors experience the daily reality of air pollution lived through by millions. The installation aims to help drive ambitious action for health and climate, and was brought to COP25 by the World Health Organization (WHO), Cape Farewell, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition Spain, the Clean Air Fund and key partners of the BreatheLife Campaign.
Read the full WHO Article:
Weight Loss and Breast Cancer
Weight loss linked to lower chance of getting breast cancer for women over 50
“Women over 50 should lose weight to cut breast cancer risk,” reports The Daily Telegraph. Previous research has shown that the chances of getting breast cancer are higher for women who are overweight or obese. This may be because overweight women produce more oestrogen. Oestrogen can cause breast cells to grow, which could lead to cancer if the cells grow uncontrollably. However, there is not much evidence about whether losing weight, especially in later life, can lower this increased chance of getting breast cancer.
Read the full NHS Article:
https://www.nhs.uk/news/cancer/weight-loss-linked-lower-chance-getting-breast-cancer-women-over-50/
Virtual Reality and Health
How VR is letting palliative patients ‘complete their bucket list’
Last November, Darrell Johnson was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the deadly disease that took the lives of Ottawa Centre NDP MP Paul Dewar and the Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie. The first thing that came to his mind when he was diagnosed was a joke he made in university about having a brain tumour — but this time, it was no laughing matter. Johnson, a 59-year-old father to two teenage boys, went through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation to treat the aggressive cancer. Glioblastoma, brain tumour that took Gord Downie’s life, tough to treat, doctors say. Politician, advocate, husband and father Paul Dewar succumbs to brain cancer. But after being given 14 months to live and suffering a recent stroke, he moved into the Carefor Hospice in Cornwall, Ont., just over three months ago.
Read the full CBC Article:
To see lots more exciting news and evidence go to www.health-e-learning.org.uk and see the health-e-information platform.
Researcher – Sophie Daniel, Health and Wellbeing Trust
Images bought from iStock Getty images – https://www.istockphoto.com