Potential marker for success of immunotherapy in the treatment of lung cancer: Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate of all cancers, and treatment options are extremely limited, especially for patients with oncogenic mutations in the KRAS gene. A great deal of hope was invested in the licensing of immune checkpoint inhibitors, but the reality […]
Lung cancer patients are more likely to worry about receiving bad news if offered a virtual (video or telephone) appointment, says a new report published today1 (26th November 2020) – supported by the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, British Thoracic Oncology Group, Lung Cancer Nursing UK and UK Lung Cancer Coalition. The report, which examines patients and health professionals’ perspectives on […]
Read More… from Face to face appointments preferred over virtual
Consultants at Barts Health have trialled a potentially lifesaving ‘pre-hab’ programme to help patients become physically fit so that they can safely undergo lung cancer surgery, a new study published in the Perioperative Medicine Journal shows. Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK with the North-East London region historically […]
Read More… from Life saving ‘pre-hab’ service for lung cancer patients
I still hope for a cure for my cancer. I know it is unlikely, having had tumours identified in both lungs and my liver. No treatments that are currently available or in the pipeline offer a cure, only the possibility of keeping the tumours at bay for longer. Of course that is highly valuable in […]
Read More… from Paul Cosford – I still hope for a cure for my cancer
Variations in lung cancer care ‘cannot be tolerated’ and many people face ‘unwarranted’ delays in treatment, says a new report published this week by the UK Lung Cancer Coalition (UKLCC). According to the report, just a quarter (27%) of lung cancer patients in England receive an early diagnosis (stage I or II) – and only […]
Removing displays of tobacco products from shops may have reduced the proportion of children buying cigarettes by 17 per cent, according to new research from Imperial College London. The research, the first analysis of the impact of the 2015 tobacco display ban in England, assessed survey responses from 18,000 11-15 year olds from across England […]
I’m happy to be open about the fact that I have incurable lung cancer and I’m also the medical director of Public Health England. I can’t entirely separate the two but this blog is more about my personal take on living and dying and I’m not speaking on behalf of PHE. I’m 54 years old […]
Every five minutes in the UK, one person dies from lung disease, a statistic that underlines the massive impact of conditions such as COPD, chronic asthma and lung cancer. Yet, despite the fact that lung disease is one of the three big killers in the UK, alongside cancer and cardiovascular disease, it comes a very […]
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating disease which occurs when tissue deep inside the lungs becomes thick and scarred. This scarring, known a fibrosis, makes it harder to breathe and get sufficient oxygen into the bloodstream. Although there is a great deal which we don’t know about it, including the reason why it happens, we […]
Cancer of all types is a growing cause of disease in low and middle-income countries and smoking tobacco is a major contributing factor to many cancers. Smoking is also a prime cause of poor health and chronic lung diseases like emphysema. Unlike in countries with higher GDP, there may be poor medical facilities to diagnose […]