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Found 547 results
  1. Content Article
    With a lot of medical care on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, Paul Landau, founder and CEO of digital cancer care company Careology, looks at the UK’s ‘next big crisis’.
  2. Content Article
    Mesothelioma UK's Head of Nursing, Lorraine, interviews Clinical Nurse Specialists Anne and Chris from the Meso UK nursing team about their experiences of nursing during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
  3. Content Article
    Worldwide, cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of death from cancer in women. Cervical cancer accounts for 2% of all new cancer cases in females in the UK (Cancer Research UK 2016) and is, generally, a preventable disease. The primary cause of cervical abnormalities and cancer is persistent or chronic infection with one or more of the high-risk (oncogenic) types of human papillomavirus (HPV). In most women and men who become infected with HPV, these infections will resolve spontaneously (without treatment). However, for a minority of women, the infection leads to abnormal changes to the cervix, which, if not treated, may progress to cancer 10 to 20 years later. Both understanding and identifying HPV are important public health concerns and form part of the UK National Screening Programme.
  4. Content Article
    Although millions of patients with cancer around the world face delays in diagnosis and treatment because of the diversion of resources during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a growing expectation that telemedicine may play a central role in easing the backlog. This Lancet Digital Health article explores how telemedicine will be key as healthcare systems move forward in tackling the backlog in not only cancer treatment but also diagnosis, and how augmented intelligence (AI) could be used to help to optimise its use.
  5. News Article
    Thousands of patients with cancer have had chemotherapy delivered to their doors so that they can more safely receive treatment during the coronavirus pandemic. Up to 10,000 chemo home deliveries were made over three months at the peak of the outbreak, avoiding the need for patients to venture out and risk infection when their immune system was low. The drops are part of the COVID-friendly treatments introduced in response to the pandemic which have helped to ensure that 85,000 people could start treatment between March and June, with latest data showing referrals beginning to recover to pre-pandemic levels. NHS staff, including community nurses and pharmacists, and volunteers have been dropping off the life-saving medication – they step back two metres when they arrive at a patient’s house, identify them and make sure they have everything they need. Hospitals have also significantly increased the use of chemo at home, with local pharmacy teams and community nurses providing the service to reduce cancer patients’ risk of exposure to the virus. The action joins a series of measures, including the rollout of COVID protected cancer hubs for treatment and introducing ‘COVIDfriendly’ cancer drugs. NHS England is spending £160 million on drugs that mean patients do not have to go to hospitals for regular checks and treatment. Dame Cally Palmer, director of cancer for the NHS in England said: “NHS staff have treated more than 108,000 patients requiring specialist hospital care for COVID-19 while also keeping other vital services such as cancer, maternity and A&E running throughout the pandemic. “The NHS has also fast tracked modern, more convenient services that help to keep patients and staff safe – from video consultations to chemotherapy delivered to patients’ doors – that have allowed 85,000 people to start cancer treatment during the pandemic.” Read full story Source: NHS Improvement, 17 August 2020
  6. News Article
    Screening women for breast cancer from their 40s rather than their 50s could save lives without adding to the diagnosis of harmless cancers, a UK study has found. The research was based on 160,000 women from England, Scotland and Wales, followed up for around 23 years. Lowering the screening age could save one life per 1,000 women checked, the scientists say. But experts caution there are many other considerations, including cost. Cancer Research UK says it is still "not clear if reducing the breast screening age would give any additional benefit compared to the UK's existing screening programme". The charity says the priority should be getting cancer services "back on track" for women aged 50-70, after disruption caused by the pandemic. Read full story Source: BBC News, 13 August 2020
  7. Content Article
    Cancer is the leading cause of death in the UK, and cancer doesn’t just stop because of a pandemic. Before COVID-19 there were around 367,000 new cases of cancer in the UK and, sadly, around 165,000 deaths. Early diagnosis followed by swift access to the most effective treatment remains as important as ever for survival. It is also essential to preserve cancer patients’ quality of life through a personalised, holistic approach to their care. Over 2 million people were estimated to be waiting for cancer screening, testing and treatment. In addition to this, many cancer patients may have been asked to shield, causing immediate disruption to daily life including not being able to see family and friends or do food shopping. In response to this crisis, Cancer Research UK conducted a survey aiming to understand the impact of COVID-19 on cancer patients’ testing, treatment and care, day-to-day lives and wellbeing, and support for government policies. 
  8. News Article
    As part of a £160m initiative, the NHS will look to roll out and expand ‘Covid-friendly’ cancer treatments which are safer for patients during the pandemic, the health service’s Chief Executive Sir Simon Stevens has announced. The funding will help pay for drugs which treat patients without having as significant of an impact on their immune system, or which could offer other benefits such as a reduced number of hospital visits. Almost 50 treatments have been approved for use as ‘swaps’ for existing drugs, with thousands of patients having already benefitted, and more are expected to be made available this week as part of deals struck between the NHS and pharmaceutical companies. Within these treatments include options which allow patients to take tablets at home or receive medicines with fewer side effects rather than undergoing hospital-based treatment which can leave them more susceptible to coronavirus and other infections. Sir Stevens said: “Since the first case of Covid in England six months ago, NHS staff have fast tracked new, innovative ways of working so that other services, including A&E, cancer and maternity could continue safely for patients and it is thanks to these incredible efforts that 65,000 people could start treatment for cancer during the pandemic. “We are now adopting new, kinder treatment options which are not only effective but safer for use during the Covid-19 pandemic and more convenient for thousands of patients, who can take medication at home or be given medicines with less harmful effects on their immune system.” Read full story Source: National Health Executive, 3 August 2020
  9. News Article
    A sponge-on-a-string pill test could transform the way oesophageal cancer is diagnosed, researchers say. The method can identify 10 times more people with Barrett’s oesophagus than the usual GP route, scientists say. The test, which can be carried out by a nurse in the GP surgery, is also better at picking up abnormal cells and potentially early-stage cancer. Barrett’s oesophagus is a condition that can lead to oesophageal cancer, cancer of the food pipe, in a small number of people. Normally it is diagnosed in hospital by endoscopy, which involves passing a camera down into the stomach, following a GP referral for long-standing heartburn symptoms. The cytosponge test, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, is a small pill with a thread attached that the patient swallows. It expands into a small sponge when it reaches the stomach, and is then quickly pulled back up the throat by a nurse, collecting cells from the oesophagus for analysis. The pill is a quick, simple and well tolerated test that can be performed in a GP surgery and helps tell doctors who needs an endoscopy. In turn, this could prevent many people from having potentially unnecessary endoscopies. Scientists say that as well as better detection, the test means cancer patients can benefit from kinder treatment options if their cancer is caught early enough. Read full story Source: The Independent, 1 August 2020
  10. News Article
    About 3,500 people in England may die within the next five years of one of the four main cancers – breast, lung, oesophageal or bowel – as a result of delays in being diagnosed because of COVID-19, say the researchers in the Lancet Oncology journal. “Our findings demonstrate the impact of the national Covid-19 response, which may cut short the lives of thousands of people with cancer in England over the next five years,” said Dr Ajay Aggarwal from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, who led the research. Routine cancer screening was suspended during the lockdown, the authors said. So was the routine referral to hospital outpatient departments of people with symptoms that could be something else but also might possibly be cancer. Only those deemed to need emergency care by the GP or those who go to A&E are being picked up. Inevitably, those are people with more advanced cancers. If cancer is picked up at an earlier stage, successful treatment and survival are much more likely. “Whilst currently attention is being focused on diagnostic pathways where cancer is suspected, the issue is that a significant number of cancers are diagnosed in patients awaiting investigation for symptoms not considered related to be cancer. Therefore we need a whole system approach to avoid the predicted excess deaths,” said Aggarwal. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 July 2020
  11. Content Article
    Research by the British Medical Association (BMA) concludes that over a million planned operations and treatments as well as over twenty thousand cancer treatments have been cancelled or delayed between April and the end of June this year because of the pandemic. The Association’s research also estimates that more than two and a half million first time outpatient appointments were cancelled during the same time period. This paper coincides with the BMA’s latest survey of 5,905 doctors in England and Wales, asking about the impact of the pandemic on their patients and their working lives. As part of the survey, they were asked if, within the last week, they had treated patients with conditions at a later stage (e.g. cancer, heart disease) than they would normally expect. A little over 40% said that they had. Behind this data are the scores of patients whose routine surgery or procedure has been put aside in the rush to reconfigure the NHS to cope with COVID-19. Even worse, doctors know there are those whose illnesses are far more serious than they were, some now beyond cure. 
  12. News Article
    A former senior NHS official plans to sue the organisation after he had to pay a private hospital £20,000 for potentially life-saving cancer surgery because NHS care was suspended due to COVID-19. Rob McMahon, 68, decided to seek private treatment after Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS trust told him that he would have to wait much longer than usual for a biopsy. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer after an MRI scan on 19 March, four days before the lockdown began. McMahon was due to see a consultant urologist on 27 March but that was changed to a telephone consultation and then did not take place for almost two weeks. “At that appointment, the consultant said: ‘Don’t worry, these things are slow-growing. You’ll have a biopsy but not for two or three months.’ I thought, ‘that’s a long time’, so decided to see another consultant privately for a second opinion.” A PET-CT scan confirmed that he had a large tumour on both lobes of the prostate and a biopsy showed the cancer was at risk of breaking out of the prostate capsule and spreading into his body. He then paid to undergo a radical prostatectomy at a private Spire hospital. “This is care that I should have had on the NHS, not something that I should have had to pay for myself. I had an aggressive cancer. I needed urgent treatment – there was no time to waste,”, he said. “With the pandemic, he added, “it was almost like a veil came down over the NHS. He worked for the NHS for 17 years as a manager in hospitals in London, Birmingham and Redditch, Worcestershire, and was the chief executive of an NHS primary care trust in Leicester.” Mary Smith of Novum Law, McMahon’s solicitors, said: “Unfortunately, Rob’s story is one of many we are hearing about from cancer patients who have been seriously affected by the disruption to oncology services as a result of COVID-19." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 11 July 2020
  13. News Article
    Far fewer people are having surgery or cancer treatment because COVID-19 has disrupted NHS services so dramatically, and those who do are facing the longest waits on record. NHS figures reveal huge falls in the number of patients who have been going into hospital for a range of vital care in England since the pandemic began in March, prompting fears that their health will have worsened because diseases and conditions went untreated. Patients have been unable to access a wide range of normal care since non-COVID-19 services were suspended in hospitals in March so the NHS could focus on treating the disease. Many patients were also afraid to go into hospital in case they became infected, which contributed to a fall in treatment volumes. Tim Gardner, a senior policy fellow at the Health Foundation thinktank, said: “The dramatic falls in people visiting A&E, urgent referrals for suspected cancer and routine hospital procedures during lockdown are all growing evidence that more people are going without the care they need for serious health conditions." “Early diagnosis and prompt treatment of cancer is crucial to saving lives, and delays in referrals and treatment during the pandemic are likely to mean more people are diagnosed later when their illness is further advanced and harder to treat.” Read full story Source: Guardian, 9 July 2020
  14. News Article
    Urgent cancer referrals were "inappropriately" rejected by hospitals during the coronavirus lockdown without tests being carried out, GPs have said. Cancer Research UK said the findings from a survey of more than 1,000 GPs were "alarming", warning that patients whose lives may be at risk were being left "in limbo". Family doctors were surveyed in June and asked what had happened to patients they had referred to hospitals for tests in the month to that point because cancer was suspected. A quarter of GPs said urgent referrals had been inappropriately turned down by hospitals more often than had been the case before the pandemic. Four in 10 said that, when tests were refused, patients had been left without proper checks to see whether their case could safely be left without investigation. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 8 July 2020
  15. Content Article
    COVID-19 is an unprecedented crisis which has had a profound impact on health and care services across the UK and will continue to have an impact for the months and years to come. To guide the restoration of services, 25 cancer charities have come together and developed this document to set out a ‘12-point plan’, supported by available data and intelligence, for what they believe the health service in England will need to do to enable cancer services to recover from the pandemic.
  16. News Article
    Almost half a million people are waiting at least six weeks for tests which could diagnose cancer – up from just 30,000 before lockdown, new analysis shows. Ministers have been urged to urgently bring forward plans to tackle the backlog of patients waiting for care, with calls for weekly testing of staff to keep coronavirus infections off the wards. Cancer charities fear there will be an extra 18,000 deaths a year because those with symptoms are not receiving prompt diagnosis and treatment. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 23 June 2020
  17. Content Article
    RADIO Meso (Receiving a diagnosis of mesothelioma) is a research project, funded by Mesothelioma UK and being carried out by researchers at the University of Sheffield. The project aims to identify ways to improve the patient and family carer experience of receiving a diagnosis of mesothelioma. The researchers carried out interviews with people with mesothelioma and their family members. Additional consultation was conducted with health professionals involved in communicating a mesothelioma diagnosis. People attending a group event at the Mesothelioma UK Patient and Carer Day also contributed their experiences and views regarding diagnosis communication. They were asked to recall their own experience and to tell the team ‘what went well?’ and ‘what could have been better?’. Following analysis the researchers identified key themes and developed ‘ten Top Tips’ for communicating a mesothelioma diagnosis.
  18. News Article
    Huge numbers of people with suspected cancer were not referred to hospital for urgent checks or did not have a test during the first month of the lockdown, prompting fears that late diagnosis of the disease will reduce some patients’ chances of survival. Unprecedented numbers of cancer patients missed out on vital treatments, diagnostic tests and outpatient appointments as the pandemic unfolded, NHS England data shows. Macmillan Cancer Support estimates that 210,000 people should have entered the system this month. That means roughly 130,000 people who would ordinarily be referred to a consultant have not been. About 7% of these patients would usually require cancer treatment, meaning approximately 9,000 people might not have had their cancer diagnosed in April. The organisation said that around 2,500 people who should have been referred for their first treatment after a cancer diagnosis will not have received that treatment. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 11 June 2020
  19. News Article
    As the death toll from the virus soars above 40,000, slowly the horrendous toll on non-Covid patients is emerging. These are patients who are not afflicted by coronavirus, but who have had their treatment or diagnosis for other potentially deadly conditions postponed or cancelled, as hospitals scrambled to make way for an overwhelming burden of COVID-19 patients. Sherwin Hall, a 27-year-old from Leeds, had tried 13 times in one month during the lockdown to get a proper diagnosis for the crippling pain in his groin. He was initially told it might be a sexually transmitted disease. Eventually he was given the all clear of any STD after multiple blood tests and begged for an MRI scan. But he claims he was told no scans would be available because of the COVID-19 emergency. Finally he got a scan which confirmed a 14 cm tumour near his pelvis. He clams his consultant confirmed the delay in diagnosis and therefore cancer treatment may have serious consequences on his chances of survival. He told ITV news "I am very angry at the way I have been treated due to COVID-19 and the delay on my cancer treatment and now I am fighting for my life." His lawyer, Mary Smith, who specialises in medical negligence at Novum Law in Bristol, says she is worried there will be a spike in cases involving delayed diagnosis or treatment coming across her desk. She wants an urgent overhaul of the management of this crisis, now its peak appears to have passed. Read full story Source: ITV News, 9 June 2020
  20. News Article
    The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically curtailed the provision of health services for non-communicable diseases, says a survey of 155 countries by the World Health Organization conducted over three weeks in May. In the survey poorer countries were the most likely to report disrupted services, but some 94% of responding countries had reassigned health ministry staff from work on NCDs to dealing with the pandemic. Hypertension treatment has been partially or completely disrupted in 53% of the countries surveyed, diabetes treatment in 49%, cancer treatment in 42%, and cardiovascular emergency responses in 31% of countries, the survey found. In the Netherlands, new cancer diagnoses have fallen by 25% since the pandemic lockdown began. In rural India, 30% fewer cardiac emergencies reached health facilities in March 2020 than the previous year. Rehabilitation services, which are often key to a healthy recovery after severe COVID-19, have been disrupted in 63% of countries surveyed. Screening campaigns have been put on hold in more than half. WHO’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said, “The results of this survey confirm what we’ve been hearing from countries for a number of weeks now. Many people who need treatment for diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes have not been receiving the health services and medicines they need since the COVID-19 pandemic began. It’s vital that countries find innovative ways to ensure that essential services for NCDs continue, even as they fight COVID-19.” Read full story Source: BMJ, 3 June 2020
  21. News Article
    About 2.4 million people in the UK are waiting for cancer screening, treatment or tests, as a result of disruption to the NHS during the past 10 weeks, according to Cancer Research UK. It estimates 2.1 million have missed out on screening, while 290,000 people with suspected symptoms have not been referred for hospital tests. More than 23,000 cancers could have gone undiagnosed during lockdown. Chief executive Michelle Mitchell said COVID-19 has placed an "enormous strain on cancer services". "The NHS has had to make very hard decisions to balance risk," she said. "...there have been some difficult discussions with patients about their safety and ability to continue treatment during this time. Prompt diagnosis and treatment remain crucial to give people with cancer the greatest chances of survival and prevent the pandemic taking even more lives." To ensure no-one is put at risk from the virus now that cancer care is returning, Cancer Research UK said "frequent testing of NHS staff and patients, including those without symptoms" was vital. Read full story Source: BBC News, 1 June 2020
  22. Content Article
    Cancer diagnostics and surgery have been disrupted by the response of healthcare services to the COVID-19 pandemic. Progression of cancers during delay will impact on patient long-term survival. Sud et al., in a paper published in Annals of Oncology, found: Lockdown and re-deployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant disruption to cancer diagnosis and management. 3-month delay to surgery across all Stage 1-3 cancers is estimated to cause >4,700 attributable deaths per year in England. The impact on life years lost of 3-6 month to surgery for Stage 1-3 disease varies widely between tumour types. Strategic prioritisation of patients for diagnostics and surgery has potential to mitigate deaths attributable to delays. The resource-adjusted benefit in avoiding delay in cancer management compares favourably to admission for COVID-19 infection.
  23. Content Article
    The 'My Mesothelioma Care Passport' is a pack designed to help patients keep up-to-date with the planned care that they have discussed and agreed with healthcare professionals.
  24. News Article
    The NHS must ensure cancer-surgery delays do not cost more lives than the number of COVID-19 patients saved, the Institute of Cancer Research says. In some cancers, a three-month delay could make the difference between a tumour being curable or not, Prof Clare Turnbull said. And her modelling suggested delaying surgery risked thousands of additional deaths. NHS England is already urging people to seek help for worrying symptoms, but by the end of April, cancer referrals had dropped by an estimated 70%. Cancer doctors have told BBC News of having to make difficult decisions to postpone some patients' care during the coronavirus crisis. As normal service resumed, the NHS should prioritise "certain cancer types in particular", Prof Turnbull said. Lung and colorectal cancers, for example, were particularly fast moving. But for others, such as prostate and certain breast cancers, treatment could more safely be delayed. Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 May 2020
  25. News Article
    Suspected cancer patients are being refused hospital appointments despite being referred by GPs, it has emerged. Family doctors working for one NHS trust in north east London claimed that hundreds of referrals had been rejected in recent weeks. Many were for ultrasounds and chest X-rays and were sent via the two-week wait system, in which suspected cancer patients referred by GPs are seen within a fortnight. A rejection letter sent from Whipps Cross hospital seen by Pulse magazine, said the referral had been “due to the Covid-19 pandemic”. It added: “Following triage by a consultant radiologist, your imaging request has been assessed as non-urgent and cancelled.” Read full story Source: The Telegraph (18 May 202)
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