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Friday, July 22, 2011

Another message from a dying mother....

Doctors laughed at me when I said I feared cancer... now I'm dying

  • Ex-nurse labelled 'hysterical' by surgeons after she asked for lump in her breast to be removed
By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 7:54 AM on 21st July 2011

Ridiculed: Catherine Calland's fears she had a cancerous lump in her breast were dismissed by doctors, but the misdiagnosis has meant she now has terminal cancer
Ridiculed: Catherine Calland's fears she had a cancerous lump in her breast were dismissed by doctors, but the misdiagnosis has meant she now has terminal cancer

A retired nurse with terminal cancer told yesterday how she was originally dismissed by doctors as being ‘hysterical’ for wanting a breast lump to be removed.


Catherine Calland, 65, was wrongly given the all-clear after a series of tests six years ago.


Although she told medics she had a ‘bad feeling’ about the lump on her left breast, she claims she was laughed at. Just one year later, Miss Calland was diagnosed with fatal malignant lymphoma. 


However, she only found out about the original misdiagnosis last year when she received a letter stating her case was being reviewed. 


It was one of 26 cases at the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust to be investigated following a string of alleged misdiagnosis incidents.


Miss Calland said yesterday: ‘I am furious about this. If I had the radiotherapy a year before, I might not have cancer now. But it was missed in the early stages. I might not be living with cancer today if this avoidable error had not occurred.’

Miss Calland, of Hotwells, Bristol, had an initial mammogram at the University Hospitals central health clinic in December 2005 and was called back for a biopsy.


The results were reported as benign in 2006 after doctors told her they had found a harmless enlarged lymph node in her breast. But when she questioned the diagnosis, she claims the female surgeon called her ‘hysterical’.

The mother of two said: ‘She said it was probably an infection through my nipple. I disputed this and said, “I have a bad feeling about this, can you please remove it”.
‘She laughed at me and said I was “being hysterical about it”.

A mammogram in 2007 showed that the lymph node was still enlarged and this time she insisted on having it removed.

Miss Calland opted to be treated at nearby Frenchay Hospital, run by the North Bristol NHS Trust.

It was there that she was diagnosed with malignant lymphoma.
Her doctor also carried out a series of tests on the sample taken from her breast in 2005 – finding it also had the malignant lymphoma. 

But she was not told about the misdiagnosis until last year.

'When I found out I spoke to the North Bristol Trust and asked them why they had not told me. They said they thought it was not in my best interests to do so. I find that really patronising and insulting'

The former ward sister, who has many medics in her family, said: ‘When I found out I spoke to the North Bristol Trust and asked them why they had not told me. 

‘They said they thought it was not in my best interests to do so. I find that patronising and insulting.’

After a bout of radiotherapy treatment, Miss Calland was told the lymphoma had spread around her body and was terminal.

She has been told patients with the disease rarely live longer than ten years. But early treatment could have increased chances of survival.

The review of histopathology – the analysis of tissue samples – at the University Hospitals Bristol was launched by the Royal College of Pathologists in 2009 following concerns by doctors at NBT.

It found the diagnosis was correct in just seven of the 26 cases. Now, as health bosses discuss setting up a single histopathology department in Bristol, Miss Calland is calling for doctors to be more open.

Dr Jane Luker, deputy medical director for University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘We apologise unreservedly for the cases where patients have come to harm.’

Dr Chris Burton, NBT medical director, said: ‘As soon as the RCP confirmed a diagnostic error, we contacted Ms Calland. We failed to raise with her the initial concerns ... and have apologised.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Diesel fumes 'increase the risk of heart attacks'

Diesel fumes 'increase the risk of heart attacks'



Last updated at 8:06 AM on 15th July 2011
Diesel fumes are as bad for your heart as they are for the lungs, new research revealed today.


Scientists in Scotland have found that tiny particles produced when diesel burns are harmful to blood vessels and can increase the chances of blood clots forming in arteries, leading to a heart attack or stroke.  


The research by the University of Edinburgh measured the impact of diesel exhaust fumes on healthy volunteers at levels that would be found in heavily polluted cities. 


Congested traffic on Princes Street in Edinburgh: New findings suggest lives could be saved by cutting harmful nanoparticles out of exhaust
Congested traffic on Princes Street in Edinburgh: New findings suggest lives could be saved by cutting harmful nanoparticles out of exhaust 


Scientists compared how people reacted to the gases found in diesel fumes - such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide - with those caused by the ultrafine chemical particles from exhausts.  


The research, funded by the British Heart Foundation, showed that the tiny particles, and not the gases, impaired the function of blood vessels that control how blood is channelled to the body's organs.  


The 'invisible' particles - less than a millionth of a metre wide - can be filtered out of exhaust emissions by fitting special particle traps to vehicles.
Particle traps are already being fitted retrospectively to public transport vehicles in the US to minimise the potential effects of pollution. 

 
Dr Mark Miller, of the university's Centre for Cardiovascular Science, said: 'While many people tend to think of the effects of air pollution in terms of damage to the lungs, there is strong evidence that it has an impact on the heart and blood vessels as well. 


'Our research shows that while both gases and particles can affect our blood pressure, it is actually the miniscule chemical particles that are emitted by car exhausts that are really harmful. 


'These particles produce highly reactive molecules called free radicals that can injure our blood vessels and lead to vascular disease.

'We are now investigating which of the chemicals carried by these particles cause these harmful actions, so that in the future we can try and remove these chemicals, and prevent the health effects of vehicle emissions.'

Researchers want environmental health measures that are designed to reduce emissions to be tested to determine whether they reduce the incidence of heart attacks.  


Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: 'We've known for a long time that air pollution is a major heart health issue and that's why we're funding this team in Edinburgh to continue their vital research.

'Their findings suggest that lives could be saved by cutting these harmful nanoparticles out of exhaust - perhaps by taking them out of the fuel, or making manufacturers add gadgets to their vehicles that can trap particles before they escape. The best approach isn't clear yet.  


'For now our advice remains the same - people with heart disease should avoid spending long periods outside in areas where traffic pollution is likely to be high, such as on or near busy roads.'

The results are published in the European Heart Journal. 
 

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Women drivers ARE more dangerous behind the wheel.....

It's official! Women drivers ARE more dangerous behind the wheel, scientists discover

  • Researchers looked at 6.5million car crashes that took place in the U.S. between 1998 and 2007
  • The results are even more surprising as men spend more time driving than women
By Graham Smith

Last updated at 1:45 PM on 7th July 2011
Women drivers are more likely to be involved in an accident, according to scientists.

Researchers looked at 6.5million car crashes and found a higher than expected number of accidents between two female drivers.
They also discovered that women have a tough time negotiating crossroads, T-junctions and slip roads.

Truth to a stereotype? Women drivers are more likely to be involved in an accident, scientists found after analysing data from 6.5million car crashes
Truth to a stereotype? Women drivers are more likely to be involved in an accident, scientists found after analysing data from 6.5million car crashes

The results are even more surprising given that men spend more time behind the wheel than women. On average, men drive 60 per cent of the time, and women 40 per cent.


Michael Sivak, of the University of Michigan, said: 'The results indicate that in certain crash scenarios, male-to-male crashes tend to be under-represented and female-to-female crashes tend to be over-represented.'

Dr Sivak and his colleague Brandon Schoettle studied data from a nationally representative sample of police-reported crashes in the U.S. from 1988 to 2007.

They had expected to find that accidents involving two male drivers would make up 36.2 per cent of all crashes, while female/female accidents would account for 15.8 per cent and male/female 48 per cent.
 
Instead, they discovered that accidents involving two women drivers were 20.5 per cent, while male/male crashes were much lower at 31.9 per cent.

Accidents involving male and female drivers stood at 47.6 per cent, as expected.
The scientists also found that women were more likely than men to crash at a junction - their cars are often hit on the left-hand side when trying to make a right-hand turn, and vice versa.


Dr Sivak said this might be due to height difference between the sexes.


He said: 'There are three dominant driver-related factors, including the probability of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, one's own driving skills and the driving skills of the other driver involved.'

Einstein

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Confucious

 

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