13 March 2018
This week our weekly news looks at risks of robotic surgery, a study on managing MRSA, improving health after treatment, post code care on bowel cancer, and a lovely piece on surviving cancer. #headnecknz #hnc #hnca
FDA sounds an alarm on using robotic devices in cancer surgeries, citing concerns about safety and results
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday warned against the use of robotically assisted devices for mastectomies and other cancer surgeries, asserting the products may pose safety risks and result in poor outcomes for patients.
The agency said it decided to issue its warning after reviewing studies suggesting that robotically assisted devices were being used to perform cancer procedures for which there is limited data on their safety and effectiveness. The FDA has not authorized the devices for mastectomy or for the treatment or prevention of cancer.
Study: Post-hospital MRSA infections cut by getting patients to use antiseptic
The incidence of MRSA infections among patients known to carry the bacteria on their body following hospitalizations was cut by 30% in a collection of California hospitals by getting patients to properly clean their skin and noses after discharge, according to a new study.
Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the trial studied more than 2,000 patients discharged from the hospital. They were given either an educational binder with tips on how to prevent infections via hygiene or the binder along with a combination of over-the-counter antiseptic for bathing and showering, plus prescription antiseptic mouthwash and antibiotic nasal ointment.
The study, known as Project CLEAR (Changing Lives by Eradicating Antibiotic Resistance), was conducted in a collaboration among the University of California Irvine, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA, and Rush University.
Improving Health After Treatment
UPON GARNERING the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature, William Faulkner famously opined, “I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail.” What a wonderful motto for the growing population of cancer survivors.
At long last, cancer survival statistics are beginning to reveal real progress. From 1991 to 2015, the cancer death rate in the U.S. dropped by 26 percent, resulting in an estimated 2.4 million fewer cancer deaths. The number of people living with a cancer diagnosis or its aftermath has grown and is expected to continue growing. In 2016, more than 15.5 million Americans with a history of cancer were alive; that number is projected to exceed 20 million by 2026. As a result, the U.S. health care system faces a looming challenge: how to deal with the wide array of health and wellness aftereffects faced by children and adults who were once cancer patients. Read more…
Coping with the Tidal Wave of Cancer
Recovering from cancer and its aftermath is like grief; always changing, undulating and rippling like a tide.
Like many people, I was very naïve about how much cancer would change my life. I thought that one got cancer, was treated and afterwards was “cured” and moved on. Of course I knew there were others who passed away from this devastating disease, and have lost dear friends and family to this vicious disease. What I never realized was that once we are diagnosed with cancer, our lives are forever changed.
There are more treatments for cancer now than ever before, including immunotherapy, and new chemo medications are being used all the time. Radiation treatments have eradicated some cancers, along with more precise laser surgeries to target tumors. Oral chemo, IV chemo and shots are all on the increase. This is a positive step because many of us are living a lot longer and feel blessed. Read more...
Aucklanders twice as likely to survive bowel cancer surgery than those elsewhere
Bowel cancer patients living in Auckland are more than twice as likely to survive surgery than those living elsewhere in New Zealand.
It's an "unacceptable" finding – one which has prompted Bowel Cancer New Zealand to call for an urgent investigation into the "wide variation" in mortality rates across the country. Read more...
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