Cancer patients 'relying on charity handouts' for fuel

BBC News

Cancer charity MacMillan says many patients need handouts from them to pay fuel bills

Cancer patients are relying more on charity handouts as they struggle to pay rising fuel bills, figures reveal.

Macmillan Cancer Support said it had paid out £2,548,563 to 12,669 cancer patients during 2011, up from £1.4m to 7,369 patients five years ago.

The charity wants a government-commissioned independent review of fuel poverty to prioritise cancer patients.

Macmillan's campaign manager, Laura Keely, said it was "shocking" cancer sufferers needed such help.

'Unacceptable reality'

She said: "To feel too scared to put the heating on because of soaring energy bills is an unacceptable reality for thousands of vulnerable cancer patients who feel the cold more and spend long periods of time at home.

"When the charity was established 100 years ago, founder Douglas Macmillan helped cancer patients by handing out sacks of coal to keep them warm.

"It is shocking that a century on, people who are diagnosed with this devastating disease are still relying on charity help to heat their freezing homes."

The charity says 70% of cancer patients under 55 have less income after being diagnosed, often because their illness affects their ability to earn.

But their fuel bills often rise because they are spending more time at home and often feel colder because of their illness.

Research into fuel poverty for Macmillan suggests those on housing benefit and council tax benefit or with a low annual household income are most susceptible to fuel poverty.

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Breast cancer patients 'stop drugs' due to side-effects

BBC News

Hot flushes were one of the symptoms experienced

About a third of breast cancer patients stop taking medication because side-effects are more severe than they expect, US researchers suggest.

The Northwestern University team questioned 686 women who were taking aromatase inhibitors as treatment for oestrogen-sensitive breast cancer.

It found 36% stopped their medication because of symptoms such as joint pain, hot flushes, weight gain and nausea.

A UK charity said it was aware some women stopped their treatment early.

Aromatase inhibitors are given to postmenopausal breast cancer patients to reduce the level of oestrogen in those whose tumours were fuelled by the hormone.

About two-thirds of breast cancers are oestrogen-sensitive, and aromatase inhibitors have been shown to reduce the risk of cancer recurring.

Information gap

Patients in the Northwestern University study filled out a 46-question survey rating their quality of life and symptoms associated with breast cancer and treatment.

“We are aware some patients in the UK do stop treatments early and the reasons behind this need further investigation”

End Quote Dr Susie Jennings, Breakthrough Breast Cancer

They were asked about their symptoms before treatment and at three, six, 12 and 24 months after starting treatment.

After three months, a third of women had severe joint pain, 28% had hot flushes and 24% had decreased libido among a range of symptoms.

The longer women were being treated, the more reported side-effects.

Those at highest risk of stopping before the recommended five years were those still experiencing side-effects from chemo or radiotherapy.

As a result of the side effects, 10% of the women had stopped taking the drug within two years. A further 26% had stopped by four years.

The researchers say there is a big gap between what women tell their doctors about side-effects and what they actually experience.

Dr Lynne Wagner led the study, which is being presented to the Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

She said: "Clinicians consistently underestimate the side-effects associated with treatment.

"They give patients a drug they hope will help them, so they have a motivation to underrate the negative effects.

"Patients don't want to be complainers and don't want their doctor to discontinue treatment. So no-one knew how bad it really was for patients."

Dr Wagner added: "This is a wake-up call to physicians that says if your patient is feeling really beaten up by treatment, the risk of her quitting early is high.

"We need to be better at managing the symptoms of our patients to improve their quality of life."

Dr Susie Jennings, senior policy officer at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "It is worrying if breast cancer patients are stopping lifesaving treatment early without consulting their doctor.

"We are aware some patients in the UK do stop treatments early and the reasons behind this need further investigation.

"The patient information leaflets do warn women of all the side effects, but it is important there is a continued discussion throughout treatment between patient and doctor.

"If any women are considering stopping treatment we would urge them to speak with their doctor."

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Jawbones are 'shaped by diet', a study finds

By Jennifer Carpenter
Science reporter, BBC News

Mandibles used to be strengthened to give greater bite force

Diet has shaped human jaw bones; a result that could help explain why many people suffer with overcrowded teeth.

The study has shown that jaws grew shorter and broader as humans took on a more pastoral lifestyle.

Before this, developing mandibles were probably strengthened to give hunter-gatherers greater bite force.

The results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"This is a fascinating study which challenges the common perception that there has been little recent change in the morphology of humans," said anthropologist Jay Stock from the University of Cambridge.

Many scientists have suggested that the range of skull shapes that exist within our species is the result of exposure to different climates, while others have argued that chance played more of a role in creating the diversity we see in people's profiles.

The new data, collected from over 300 skulls, across 11 populations, shows that jaws shortened and widened as humans moved from hunting and gathering to a more sedentary way of life.

The link between jaw morphology and diet held true irrespective of where people came from in the world, explained anthropologist Noreen von Cramon-Taubadel from the University of Kent.

Concurrently crooked

It would be tempting to conclude that this is evidence for concurrent evolutionary change - where jaw bones have evolve to be shorter and broader multiple, independent times, she told BBC News.

Hyraxes, also known as rock rabbits, love to make their homes in the debris from building sites

But the sole author of the paper suggested that the changes in human skulls are more likely driven by the decreasing bite forces required to chew the processed foods eaten once humans switch to growing different types of cereals, milking and herding animals about 10,000 years ago.

"As you are growing up... the amount that you are chewing, and the pressure that your chewing muscles and bone [are] under, will affect the way that the lower jaw is growing," explained Dr von Cramon-Taubadel.

She thinks that the shorter jaws of farmers meant that they have less space for their teeth relative to hunter-gatherers, whose jaws are longer.

Teeth-pulling tale

"I have had four of my pre-molars pulled and that is the only reason that my teeth fit in my mouth," said Dr von Cramon-Taubadel.

Ever since that time, she has wondered why so many people suffer with teeth-crowding.

"I think that's the reason why this result resonates with people," she said.

Dr Stock added: "[The finding] is particularly important in that it demonstrates that variation that we find in the modern human skeletal system is not solely driven by population history and genetics."

These results fit with previous evidence of both a reduction in tooth and body size as humans moved to a more pastoral way of life.

It also helps explain why studies of captive primates have shown that animals tend to have more problems with teeth misalignment than wild individuals.

Further evidence comes from experimental studies that show that hyraxes - rotund, short-tailed rabbit-like creatures - have smaller jaws when fed on soft food compared to those fed on their normal diet.

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