pH7 Magazine

The cruellest lottery
The government must set and audit national cancer standards or risk seeing variation in the quality of local services widen, warns Joanne Rule
Joanne Rule

When devolved means controlled
Scotland is challenging its image as the sick man of Europe in terms of cancer care - Professor Alan Rodger explains the value of ring-fenced funding
Professor Alan Rodger

The Gene Genie
David Derbyshire examines the implications of genetic research for the future of cancer care
David Derbyshire

Esprit de corps
Enhanced survival rates are as likely to be achieved from improvements in the organisation of care - 'cancer networks' - as they are from investment in new technology, says Professor Hilary Thomas
Hilary Thomas

Healthy diet, healthy body, healthy economy
Aside from tobacco use, the largest proportion of avoidable cancers can be attributed to our diet. Yet, laments Professor Sue Fairweather-Tait, less than 10 per cent of cancer research funding is focused on prevention
Professor Sue Fairweather

Provisions for cancer
Five portions of fruit and vegetables a day significantly reduces your risk of cancer. It really is as simple as that, reports Jearelle Wolhuter
Jearelle Wolhuter

Radiotherapy: equipped for the future?
Despite some improvement, the continuing mismatch between demand and capacity risks compromising cancer cure, writes Dr Dan Ash
Dr Dan Ash

Targeted treatment
Some newer ways of giving radiotherapy are being assessed to see whether they produce better results than standard radiotherapy, controlling the cancer more effectively while causing fewer side effects. Some of these ground breaking techniques are described below.

Changing the script
There have been many ground-breaking new cancer drugs approved by NICE since its inception in 1999. The following are a selection of some of the most innovative.

03. Sexual Health

Challenging tradition
The frank recognition of sexual practices and drug use needed to tackle the spread of HIV/Aids is not something often associated with the conservative region of North Africa and the Middle-East. Yet, as Munizha Ahmad discovered, some countries in the area appear to be taking a quite refreshing approach to a taboo subject

A cynical refrain
George W Bush's evangelistic call to promote sexual abstinence outside marriage is a third world public health catastrophe, says Dr Jenny Tonge MP
Dr Jenny Tonge

The hidden virus
Although the majority of those carrying the infection are probably unaware they have it, genital herpes is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, reports Sally Dawson
Sally Dawson

04. Research & Development

Taken for granted?
From questions over the value for money provided by the research councils, to the low take-up of science subjects in schools, British scientific competitiveness is at risk, reports Sarah Southerton
Sarah Southerton

05. Ageing & Mobility

Fractured spirits
Dr Thomas Stuttaford examines the painfully common, serious and debilitating condition of osteoporosis
Dr Thomas Stuttaford

Fragile lives
The economic cost to the UK of accidental falls among older people is £1 billion annually. But the social costs can be even more devastating, writes Dr Paul Scuffham
Paul Scuffham

06. Serious Hazards of Transfusion

In the right vein
The removal of white blood cells from donated blood is a good example of balancing sensible measures against hypothetical risk, writes Professor Hugh Pennington
Hugh Pennington

Femme fatale?
Patients expect to receive the safest possible products while they are in hospital, but many are needlessly suffering, even dying, as a result of an allergic reaction to transfusion plasma, writes Ian Gibson MP
Dr Ian Gibson

07. Health in the News

Under the influence
The media can play a vital role in exposing genuine health risks, but it is also guilty of giving minor stories undue prominence - with 'highly questionable' results, writes Anna Coote
Roger Harrabin

08. Allergy in the work place

Every breath you take
Allergic diseases are on the rise - and the work place is now becoming increasingly recognised as a cause of asthma, writes Professor Jonathan Brostoff
Professor Jonathan Brostoff

09. Mental Health

Viewpoint: Tip of the iceberg?
Patients suffering with mental illness pose their own unique set of dilemmas for health improvement inspections. Dr Mike Launer reports
Dr Mike Launer

An intolerable situation
The treatment of adults with Asperger syndrome by mental health services is cruel and unjust, says Angela Browning MP
Angela Browning MP

Fast success, quick exit?
Whilst people with Type A personalities are the most likely to experience stress, new research appears to show that the younger age at which a person achieves greatness, the shorter their eventual life, reports Dr Raj Persaud
Dr Raj Persaud

10. Book Review

Book Review
Jolyon Kimble reviews Nature Via Nurture: Genes, Experience and What Makes Us Human, by Matt Ridley, £18.99, Fourth Estate
Jolyon Kimble