BRACKEN VERNON-JELIER Western Morning News (Plymouth, UK) November 22, 2011

Mouth cancer rates have risen by more than 20 per cent in the last 30 years and there are more than 4,000 new cases a year in England. but with a disease that is so prevalent why are so many cases being detected too late? Keith Francis, from Ivybridge in Devon, was 58 when a change to a simple action that he performed every day changed the course of his life. Whilst brushing his teeth one evening he noticed he had begun to spit blood. Assuming it was due to small graze on his tongue; he ignored it and went to bed. Little did he know that he had late stage aggressive mouth cancer and the disease was just weeks away from becoming inoperable.

November is Mouth Cancer Awareness Month and cases like Keith’s are being used to highlight the warning signs of a disease which, without early detection, could claim 30,000 lives over the next decade.

Keith, a retired architectural engineer, said: “I just wasn’t aware that mouth cancer was something you could get. it had never crossed my mind and even when they performed a biopsy I was confident that everything was OK. I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

His dentist, John Gittins, owner and principal dentist of Highland Dental Care in Ivybridge, says there is a worrying lack of public awareness into the often fatal disease. “It is the results of surveys and campaigns like this that really highlight the lack of knowledge on this serious subject. Dental professionals are always on the lookout for signs of anything unusual, but without regular check-ups the six to 12 months inbetween can see a lot of change and we need to make sure that our patients are aware of the symptoms to look out for.”

A study commissioned by the British Dental Health Foundation discovered that more than four in five people failed to know any symptoms of the disease. The survey, which questioned more than 800 people, looked particularly into the behaviours and attitudes of children aged 12-16 and their parents, in a bid to discover their level of understanding in a disease which is rapidly and progressively affecting a greater number of younger people.

It found that more than three in every four parents failed to recognise any early warning signs of the disease which is diagnosed in 6,000 people in the UK every year.

The surgery that followed Keith’s diagnosis was intensive and invasive and confirmed that the cancer was only 3mm away from spreading beyond medical control.

“Getting it checked out saved my life. it was a progressive tumour. The surgeon that treated me at the time told me that it was one of the fastest growing cancers and that amongst the top ten causes were hard drinking, like brandy and whisky – which I didn’t do – and smoking, which I didn’t do either.”

Surgery involved cutting away the tumour, which affected 40 per cent of the left side of his tongue, and replacing the tissue with skin taken from other areas of his body. He underwent five operations with three surgical teams working on him at once. He was off work for six months and for two months he could only breathe through a tube in his throat and be fed through a tube directly into his stomach. He was only able to communicate with his wife and family through writing notes until his mouth was healed enough.

Work with a therapist has meant that Keith’s speech is as clear as it ever was, but he is one of the lucky ones. six years of checkups means that Keith has now been given the all clear. Alec Cross in Modbury is in the early stages of treatment following diagnosis only weeks ago.

“I had a problem on my gum that I put down to rubbing from a clasp that went around my top teeth. but when the problem got worse and I had it checked out, a biopsy confirmed it was cancer. I was very alarmed when they said that they may have to remove all my teeth. Fortunately that has not had to happen, but they have had to remove a large slice of my tongue and my treatment continues.”

His dentist, John, said; “As well over half the population received a dental exam in the last two years dental teams are in the ideal position to share information about the risks and symptoms of mouth cancer with their patients. both Alec and Keith are examples of how a dentist can help to diagnose these problems – we wish Alec all our very best wishes for his continuing treatment and for a very speedy recovery.”

According to BUPA, symptoms of mouth cancer may include an ulcer in the mouth or lip that won’t heal; constant pain or soreness; red or white patches in the mouth; a lump on the lip, tongue or in the neck; bad breath; unexplained bleeding in the mouth, numbness or loose teeth.

Highland Dental Care is based in Ivybridge and will welcome anyone interested for a free mouth check-up during November. to make an appointment please call the reception team: 01752 893152.

Copyright 2011 Western Morning News (Plymouth)All Rights Reserved Western Morning News (Plymouth, UK)

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Early autism intervention is critical to a positive outcome for children. Not only must intervention be appropriate for the child’s needs, but it must come as early as possible. many autism interventions do not begin until a child is in his or her toddler years, and the parents and siblings can feel somewhat removed from the treatment process. Not so with the treatment offered at the Hamstead, England-based Parent-Infant Clinic. Treatment there is an Infant-Family program comprised of three phases, all designed to assist parents and babies with symptoms of pre-autism find new ways to relate to each other, resulting in positive outcomes for the child.

The clinic offers different treatments based on the child’s age. For children under 5 years of age, the Infant-Family program is one intensive program lasting 2 to 4 weeks followed by a follow-up program that lasts for 1 to 2 years. The staff works with the entire family and the child 6 hours a day, 6 days a week. One day of the treatment is performed in the family environment.

In the assessment and formulation phase of the treatment program (phase 1), the baby is observed to identify what obstacles there may be to communication. Family relationships, a critical part of the assessment, are explored and observed, and emotional, environmental, or relational obstacles to communication are identified.

Practitioners observe and investigate the entire spectrum of child development in order to identify problems with social, communication, and behavioral and emotional development.

Phase 2 is the therapeutic intervention phase in which practitioners work with all family members. Work with the parents and child together helps to build on sensitive ways of being together and to expand on the parent/child relationship skills. Work with the infant in this phase helps the infant to understand his or her repetitious behaviors and to expand their communication skills. Play objects are use to stimulate sensory development.

Working with parents and siblings together teases out patterns of managing emotions that may be obstacles to helping the infant respond to them.

Finally, in keeping with the whole child / whole family approach, staff works with the couple to explore issues that may interfere with effective co-parenting.

Because having a special-needs sibling can be difficult, the staff works with siblings to help expand their ability to manage their feelings and frustrations.

The final stage (phase 3) is the integration phase in which staff helps the family to anticipate challenges that may be in their future, to support the family during transitions, and to document the progress made during treatment.

The Parent-Infant clinic’s website states that they “can say that 100% of the infants we treated achieved physical and emotional development.” clearly this innovative approach to autism treatment not only starts very early, but the nature of its family-centered intervention helps to achieve phenomenal results for the child.

Hospital backs campaign to beat bowel cancer

1:30pm Friday 28th January 2011

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THE Great Western Hospital is getting behind the Be Loud Be Clear week – Beating Bowel Cancer’s annual campaign to fundraise and raise awareness of being loud and clear about the symptoms of bowel cancer.

Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK; however the earlier bowel cancer is caught the easier it is to treat and the higher the survival rate.

The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme is offered every two years to everyone (registered with a GP) in England aged 60 to 69.

Those eligible will receive a letter and a leaflet explaining the test, along with a home testing kit in the post.

Dr Manish Hegde, consultant gastroenterologist at Great Western Hospital, said: “It is really important that people are aware of the symptoms of bowel cancer for example, a persistent change in bowel habits, rectal bleeding, or severe abdominal pain.

“Those who are experiencing symptoms should see their GP at the earliest.

in its early stages however, bowel cancer does not cause any symptoms, so this is why the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme was developed, to ensure early diagnosis and help treat people more effectively.”

The kit tests for blood hidden in stool samples. it does not diagnose cancer, and if blood is found in the sample it does not always mean cancer.

If your test is positive you will be offered a colonoscopy, a camera examination of the bowel.

Dr Hegde said: “I would encourage those who are invited, to take part in the bowel screening programme.

“The earlier it is picked up, the easier it is to treat successfully, and it could save your life.”

for more information about the symptoms of Bowel Cancer, and Be Loud Be Clear week visit Beating Bowel Cancer at beatingbowelcancer.co.uk.

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Published: Friday, January 7, 2011 at 7:04 p.m. Last Modified: Friday, January 7, 2011 at 7:04 p.m.

In 1998, a British medical researcher and former surgeon named Andrew Wakefield published a story in a medical journal claiming that he and his associates had found a link between a vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella and autism. that allegation purportedly stemmed from their observation of a group of 12 children.

Wakefield also claimed a connection between the vaccine and inflammatory bowel disease, but it was the alleged link to autism — the mysterious and inexplicable developmental disorder that, according to the CDC, affects 9 of every 1,000 children in the United States — that drew the most attention.

Vaccination rates declined by half in some areas of England — as cases of measles, mumps and rubella increased, sometimes with fatal results.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans opted not to have their children vaccinated, either, and several disease outbreaks were reported in areas where there were a large number of refusals.

Anti-vaccination advocates continue to tout a link between childhood immunizations and autism.

There’s one problem. Wakefield’s research on the subject wasn’t just invalid, it was fraudulent.

No other researchers were able to replicate Wakefield’s results. Most of his co-authors eventually renounced the original study, which also was retracted by the magazine that published it. Wakefield’s medical license was revoked.

And this week, another British medical journal published evidence that Wakefield had faked his original data, by making it seem like the 12 children didn’t display symptoms of autism until after they had received their immunizations.

Does this mean there’s no link between autism and vaccinations? It’s not possible to conclusively say that. It’s not possible to conclusively say that about a countless number of potential factors.

However, it can be conclusively said that Wakefield’s discredited research did nothing but incite fear in parents seeking to protect their children from harm, and hope in parents seeking answers to a mystery that so far has defied solution.

Some observers say the “true believers” on the anti-vaccination side won’t be deterred by the revelations of Wakefield’s fraud. that wouldn’t surprise us, either. Zealots tend to defend their beliefs zealously. People who desperately have sought, and believe they’ve found, “the answer” often will cling to it in the face of new evidence.

We look at it this way. Vaccinations absolutely can have side effects. A few can be severe. Most are quite minor.

Weigh them against the complications that can be caused by measles (pneumonia and encephalitis), mumps (meningitis, encephalitis, pancreatitis, sterility and deafness), rubella (arthritis-type symptoms) and other diseases. Consider the ramifications for society as a whole from having a large number of unvaccinated people in circulation.

Which carries more risk — having children vaccinated, or refusing to do so?

Nearly a quarter of cancer diagnoses in England are made when patients arrive at the Accident and Emergency unit in hospitals.

A study by the National Cancer Intelligence Network found over 23 per cent of  cases in England are detected only as patients undergo emergency treatment.

The figures were even starker for sufferers of acute leukaemia and brain cancer, where well over half of cases were discovered at a critical stage.

23 per cent of cases in England are detected when patients undergo emergency treatment

Pensioners and those under 25 were most likely to be diagnosed with cancer during emergency procedures, while poor people were more likely to suffer from late detection than the rich.

The study found that people whose cancer was detected at an emergency stage were significantly more likely to be die within a year than those whose illness was discovered earlier.

Harpal Kumar, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: ‘The figure for diagnoses via emergency presentations is way too high.

‘This statistic helps explain why we have lower survival rates than we would hope to have, lower than the best countries in Europe.’

‘We need screening programmes to be rolled out as early as possible and GPs given rapid access to the tests that will enable patients to be moved quickly through the system.’ he told the Daily Telegraph.

Mr Kumar said better education was needed to help people recognise the symptoms of different types of cancer.

The report was compiled by looking at all patients diagnosed with cancer in England in 2007 and examining at what stage their disease was diagnosed.

The NCIN found a disparity between different cancer types with only 3% of skin cancer going undetected until an emergency stage, compared with 58% of brain cancer.

Breast cancer was the most common cancer type, representing 13% of the 225,965 diagnoses made that year.

Sara Hiom, director of health information, at Cancer Research UK said the number of patients whose cancer was only being discovered at an emergency stage was ‘alarmingly high’.

She said: ‘We hope the Government will seriously consider the best way to tackle this problem in their revised cancer strategy, which is due in the coming months.’