Connect with us

Health and Wellness

When the media reports on cancer in celebrities, do we really get the whole truth?

Published

on

Famous supermodel Elle Macpherson revealed in an interview with Australian Women’s Weekly earlier this week she said she was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago.

Media reports around the world report that Macpherson he rejected several “conventional” treatments for the style of breast cancer she uncovered, generally known as HER2-positive, estrogen-receptive intraductal breast cancer.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen how powerful celebrity cancer stories can influence the public health narrative. Sometimes, these celebrity stories change cancer screening and treatment.

For example, after singer Kylie Minogue announced in 2005 that she had breast cancer, there was an unprecedented the growth of mammography reservations.

Actress Angelina Jolie’s column in New York Times in 2013 about her preventive double mastectomy for breast cancer, which can have happened inadvertently fueled by excessive testing amongst women who are usually not at high risk.

And when the actor Ben Stiller announced in 2016 that a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test he underwent in his late 40s saved his life, which was contrary to international screening guidelinesIt is really helpful that men under 55 years of age do not undergo PSA testing as prostate cancer can often be overdiagnosed.

Should we be concerned about the latest news?

Organisations corresponding to Breast Cancer Network Australia have made public statementsfearing that Macpherson’s comments could encourage an approach to the treatment of invasive breast cancer that features the use of unsupported evidence-based “health” products and interventions.

But media coverage of Macpherson’s situation largely omits a key piece of knowledge: her breast cancer is just not invasive.

The type she revealed is often generally known as ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS. This is a cluster of cells from pre-invasive or non-invasive breast cancer. It differs from invasive breast cancer in that the lesions are limited and haven’t spread. This implies that treatment for invasive and non-invasive breast cancer differ.

In fact, Macpherson appears to be following really helpful cancer treatments. She underwent surgery, a lumpectomy, to remove DCIS. Guidelines recommends that patients weigh the possible advantages and risks of additional treatments, which Macpherson said her doctor has offered: mastectomy surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy. Together with their treatment team, each patient can resolve whether any of those additional treatments are right for his or her individual situation.

Although this sort of cancer will be detected by mammography, it is just not invasive and barely causes symptoms.
Tyler Olson/Shutterstock

Research is ongoing to find out who’s most certainly to profit from these additional treatments and who may not need them in any respect. So Macpherson’s decision to say no additional treatments can have been each a wise and standard decision for a lady with noninvasive breast cancer.

The lack of media coverage can also be a missed opportunity to debate less invasive treatments for DCIS.

Rate DCIS has increased significantly since the introduction of breast cancer screening. They will be detected on mammograms but rarely cause symptoms. Many of those changes are unlikely to ever cause an issue in a girl’s life. As a result, some cases of DCIS are considered to be overdiagnosed.

Currently, approaches corresponding to lively surveillance (close monitoring without treatment until disease progresses) are considered reasonable and are being thoroughly evaluated in research studies to assist reduce overtreatment.

We should be wary of simplistic narratives about celebrity cancer journeys that don’t necessarily tell the whole story. This also needs to include skepticism about the “feel good” narrative because it might probably result in non-evidence-based treatments that waste consumers’ money and will harm them.

We all have to turn out to be higher at being suitably skeptical about health information without losing confidence in proven medical interventions.

I’m fearful about my breast cancer. What should I do?

A diagnosis of breast cancer can trigger a flood of emotions and expose a girl to many doubts, including the effectiveness of treatment, its potential unintended effects and long-term effects.

Women can seek the advice of their doctor questions about possible management options, including:

  • What are my options? One of those options could also be to decide on less treatment, including an lively surveillance approach for low-risk DCIS

  • What are the possible advantages and harms of those options?

  • What is the probability that every of those advantages and harms will occur to me?


This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Health and Wellness

NYFW Celebrity Look Of The Day: Day 1, Ciara – Essence

Published

on

By

Getty photos

Ciara’s talent for fashion is difficult to disregard. Her music has all the time been a staple of the band, however it can be unfair to forget that she’s a fashion lover. On the primary day of New York Fashion Week, the singer rocked a method we’ve never seen on her dancer’s body before.

She selected a totally engrossing, oversized Willy Chavarria ensemble in a plaid that blended effortlessly as a substitute of clashing. Her puffy pants moved rhythmically as she entered the show. Her top and trench coat blended together, almost as one, single top in the event you didn’t look closely enough. Her turtleneck shirt had an asymmetrical detail at the underside, a creative silhouette that added to her already detailed look. Layered cross necklaces in gold with encrusted diamonds dangled from the highest, sparkling in the sunshine from every angle.

NYFW Celebrity Look Of The Day: Day 1, Ciara
Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images

Her trench coat gracefully touched the ground, as she opted for white boots as a substitute of heels. Nevertheless, the look was elegant.

She added a couple of gold rings that appeared to cover each finger to the max, matching her large necklaces. To complete her look, she added dark aviator sunglasses that accentuated the form of her face and added an effortlessly cool element to her already trendy outfit.

As New York Fashion Week continues to unfold, we won’t wait to see more looks from Ciara and other stars in the approaching days.

NYFW Celebrity Look Of The Day: Day 1, Ciara
Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
Continue Reading

Health and Wellness

Some Doctors Use AI to Write Medical Documents. What You Need to Know

Published

on

By

Imagine this. You finally mustered up the courage to go to your loved ones doctor for an embarrassing problem. You sit down. Your family doctor says:

before we start, I take advantage of a pc to log my visits. This is AI – it is going to write a summary of notes and a letter to the specialist. Is this OK?

Wait – AI writes our medical records? Why would we wish that?

Documentation is important for protected and effective healthcare. Physicians must keep good records to keep your registrationHealth services must provide good record keeping systems for accreditationRecords are also legal documents: they could be essential within the event of an insurance claim or legal motion.

But writing things down (or dictating notes or letters) takes time. During visits, doctors can divide their attention between good recordkeeping and good patient communication. Sometimes doctors have to work on records after hours, at the top of an already long day.

So it’s understandable excitementfrom every kind of healthcare professionals about “ambient artificial intelligence” or “digital scribes.”

Who are digital scribes?

This is not an old-fashioned transcription program: you dictate a letter, and this system transcribes it word by word.

Digital scribes are different. They use AI – large language models with generative capabilities – similar to ChatGPT (or sometimes GPT4 myself).

The app silently records a conversation between a health care provider and a patient (using a phone, tablet, or computer microphone, or a dedicated sensitive microphone). AI converts the recording right into a word-by-word transcription.

The AI ​​system then uses the transcript and directions received to write clinical notes and/or letters for other clinicians, ready for the clinician to review.

Most clinicians know little about these technologies: they’re experts of their specialty, not in AI. Marketing materials promise to “let AI take care of your clinical notes so you can spend more time with your patients.”

Put yourself within the clinician’s shoes. You can say, “Yes, please!”

Some doctors would welcome the chance to reduce their workload.
Stephen Barnes/Shutterstock

How are they regulated?

Lately, Australian Medical Practice Regulatory Agency published a code of practice for the usage of digital scribes. Royal Australian College of General Practitioners an information card was published. Both warn physicians that they continue to be accountable for the content of their medical records.

Some AI applications are regulated as medical devicesbut many digital scribes usually are not. Therefore, it is commonly up to health care providers or physicians to determine whether scribes are protected and effective.

What does the research say to date?

Real-world data and evidence on the effectiveness of digital writers could be very limited.

In a big California hospital system, researchers tracked the work of 9,000 physicians for ten weeks. within the digital scribe pilot test.

Some doctors liked the scribe: their working hours were reduced, they communicated higher with patients. Others didn’t even start using the scribe.

And the person taking the notes made mistakes – for instance, writing down the incorrect diagnosis or writing down that a test was done when it must have been done.

So what should we do with digital writers?

This Recommendations the primary Australian National Citizens’ Jury on AI in Healthcare show what Australians expect from AI in healthcare and supply start line.

Building on these recommendations, listed below are some things to be mindful about digital scribes the following time you go to the clinic or emergency room:

1) You must be informed if a digital scribe is used.

2) Only healthcare-grade typescripts must be used in healthcare. Ordinary, publicly available generative AI tools (comparable to ChatGPT or Google Gemini) shouldn’t be utilized in clinical care.

3) You should have the ability to give or refuse consentto use a digital scribe. You must have all relevant risks explained to you and have the ability to freely agree or decline.

4) Those who create digital records for clinical purposes must meet strict privacy standards. You have the precise to privacy and confidentiality in healthcare. The entire record of a visit can contain way more detail than a clinical note. So ask:

  • Are your meeting transcripts and summaries processed in Australia or one other country?
  • How are they protected and secured (e.g. are they encrypted)?
  • Who has access to them?
  • How are they used (e.g. are they used to train AI systems)?
  • Does the scribe have access to other data out of your record to make the summary? If so, is that data ever shared?
A doctor takes notes on a piece of paper in the hallway of the clinic.
Physicians must comply with privacy standards.
PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock

Is human supervision enough?

Generative AI systems could make mistakes, get confused, or misunderstand the accents of some patients. But they often communicate these errors in a way that sounds very convincing. This signifies that close human review is important.

Doctors are told by tech and insurance firms that they need to check every summary or letter (and they need to). But that is not It’s that straightforward. Busy clinicians can turn into overly depending on a scribe and easily accept summaries. Tired or inexperienced clinicians might imagine their memory have to be incorrect and the AI ​​have to be right (referred to as automation bias).

Some people have suggested these scribes must also have the ability to create patient summaries. We don’t own our own medical records, but we normally have the precise to access them. Knowing that a digital scribe is in use can increase consumers’ motivation to review what’s of their medical records.

Doctors have all the time written notes about our embarrassing problems and have all the time been accountable for those notes. Privacy, security, confidentiality and quality of those records have all the time been essential.

Perhaps at some point, digital scribes will mean higher records and higher interactions with our clinicians. But without delay, we want good evidence that these tools can work in real-world clinics without compromising quality, safety, or ethics.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
Continue Reading

Health and Wellness

You may have trouble finding a dentist, but self-treatment is a very bad idea

Published

on

By

Many people within the UK are fighting for access proper dental care to assist keep your teeth healthy. NHS Dentistry is in a state of collapse AND poverty in dental hygiene in the expansion phase. Budget cuts contribute to “dental deserts“all around the country, where is minimal or lack of access to NHS dental care and personal healthcare is financially unaffordable for many individuals.

Lockdowns throughout the pandemic as well prevented many from access to healthcare, including NHS dentistry. It is no wonder that the previous couple of years led to reports of individuals fleeing to desperate measures to address dental problems.

March 2023 YouGov survey found that one in ten Britons had “performed dental procedures on themselves”, including “using cement and superglue to attach crowns and dentures, treating urine infections, using “heated polymer beads” to replace missing teeth and applying chemical metal (an adhesive usually used for home or outdoor repairs) as a filling”.

In 2022, academics from the Peninsula Dental School on the University of Plymouth he informed that one patient “removed large amounts of tartar with a dart,” while one other attempted to remove 13 teeth using vodka and forceps.

Most of the tools you see on the dentist are scaled down or improved versions of what you would possibly have in your toolbox at home. These pieces of dental equipment are designed to make it harder for microbes to colonize their surfaces and are sterilized after each use – the pliers used to repair that connection behind the bathroom last month are unlikely to be as hygienic.

Self-removal can result in the formation of an orosinus fistula, which is an abnormal tunnel between the oral cavity and the oral cavity. maxillary sinus (the empty space within the bones across the nose). If it is smaller than two millimeters, it normally heals by itself. However, larger fistulas pose a significant risk of infection.

Oral Microorganisms, Fluids and Foods the contents will be forced through the open hole into the nice and cozy, moist space of the maxillary sinus, where infection can manifest and develop – and require invasive surgery.

In addition, tooth extraction may not help if the infection is positioned on the junction of the tooth and bone. So someone who is brave with forceps may at best not feel higher, and at worst – have terrible pain and an open wound with the chance of secondary infection.

Amateur dentists also run the chance of leaving a part of the tooth within the gum. Root remnants often remain since the roots reach a thin point that usually breaks during extraction.

This is one other risk of infection because there are few or no blood vessels running through the teeth, so Immune cells cannot fight bacteriaThe average person having their very own tooth removed wouldn’t find a way to find out whether there was any root remaining and whether this is able to cause any future problems. requires oral surgery to remove it – which will be expensive and intensely painful.

There is also a risk that self-extractors will change their everlasting biting mechanicscausing pain when eating and damaging other healthy teeth within the jaw or soft tissue mouth

Not every little thing is white

While most individuals resort to DIY dental care to alleviate pain, some social media users will do anything to have a movie star smile.

There were cases people using nail files to smooth out the natural ridges and differences in your teeth. This is extremely dangerous. It removes the hard protective layer of enamel out of your teeth and causes micro-cracks to open within the layers beneath them, increasing the chance of infection, decay and potential tooth death – which can cause pain and suffering in the long run.

Next, we have home teeth whitening with hydrogen peroxideSome people apply hydrogen peroxide solution on to their teeth, risking long-term damage for (possible) short-term gain.

Legal whitening kits are regulated to stop maximum 0.1% hydrogen peroxidebut users are exposing their teeth to repeatedly greater than that – because the TikTokker demonstrated within the (disturbing) video above. Hydrogen peroxide is a bleaching agent that damages the tissue it comes into contact with. This means it may cause serious damage to the gums or digestive tractif swallowed.

All of those risks illustrate why seeing a dentist must be a priority in the event you have a dental emergency or are determined to undergo cosmetic procedures (and why making inexpensive dental care more accessible must be a government priority). Quick fixes and tricks normally cost more in the long term.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending