Cancer in the News

12 April 2021

Teachers have labelled the dangerous vaping craze sweeping Victoria’s schools as “out of control”. The Herald Sun has uncovered dozens of online posts in which students from schools across the state brag about vaping in toilets, classrooms and on sch... more

08 April 2021

International border closures have exacerbated a Statewide GP shortage — blowing out waiting times at some practices to several days and increasing pressure on already busy emergency departments. GPs are also struggling to catch up on examinations de... more

07 April 2021

New therapeutic approaches to fighting liver cancer should be explored, new research suggests. Researchers from the Centenary Institute in Sydney have discovered that the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 gene family is “strongly implicated” in the development ... more

07 April 2021

Illegal tobacco consumption has skyrocketed in the past few years. One in five cigarettes consumed in Australia is now illegal – the highest level ever recorded, according to analysts KPMG. Australia’s illegal tobacco trade is now bigger than ever, i... more

05 April 2021

The state’s inmates are prematurely ageing up to 15 years faster than the rest of the population, according to a new report that warns health services are struggling to keep pace with the ballooning prison population. The report also found some inmat... more

05 April 2021

Thousands of Australians battling advanced and rare cancers would gain access to lifesaving medical trials and avoid unnecessary chemotherapy or radiation if the Federal Government invested $280m in a groundbreaking test, research shows. Over five ye... more

05 April 2021

It is the most used pain medication in the world but a new study published in the Medical Journal of Australia has found paracetamol is little better than a dummy pill for most conditions. In Australia, sales of the over the-counter drug have soared ... more

04 April 2021

Black-market sellers use social media platforms TikTok and Instagram to sell teens e-cigarettes, which are often sold in fruit and confectionery flavours that appeal to young people. Vaping is a problem for teenagers and schools, says Quit Victoria d... more

04 April 2021

A Sydney mother-of-two with terminal breast cancer has amassed more than 22,000 signatures on her petition to get better access to genomic screening and cutting edge oncology drugs. Alison Day shared her story two weeks ago, calling for fully funded ... more

03 April 2021

Australia’s medicines regulator has launched an investigation into a probable link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and a 44-year-old man who was hospitalised with blood clots more than a week after receiving the dose. The Therapeutic Goods Administra... more

03 April 2021

Smoking will be banned at some of Mornington Peninsula’s most popular beaches and public areas in a bid to reduce the tens of thousands of cigarette butts littering the coastline. The beaches and foreshore areas at Rye, Safety Beach and Mount Eliza w... more

02 April 2021

CSL has a new ray of hope in its research pipeline, with an experimental haemophilia drug it acquired last year cleared of any links to cancer following a scare in its clinical trial. UniQure was in phase 3 trials for the product and had released str... more

02 April 2021

Sufferers of chronic pain, cancer patients, people with epilepsy, and people with multiple sclerosis are all crying out for easier, subsidised access to medicinal cannabis products to help manage their conditions. But the existing system in Tasmania ... more

01 April 2021

Women with aggressive breast cancers are unable to access a groundbreaking treatment for chemo-resistant tumours at an affordable price, even though other cancer types are subsidised. Many patients are self-funding courses of the immunotherapy drug K... more

01 April 2021

Drinking alcohol in moderation is linked to a lower rate of cataract surgery, research published in the journal Ophthalmology suggests. Those who drink up to 14 units a week are nearly a quarter less likely to have surgery to remove cloudy patches fr... more

01 April 2021

Australia is poised to give the world a masterclass in eliminating a cancer that causes extreme suffering and death for women across the globe. It is aiming to eliminate cancer of the cervix in seven years, an extraordinary goal given the World Healt... more

31 March 2021

Perth researchers have discovered the cause of one of the deadliest forms of breast cancer in a breakthrough that could save thousands of lives. Researchers sought to identify why a sub-group of hormone sensitive breast cancers were particularly aggr... more

31 March 2021

One in every 11 premature deaths in rich countries is caused by inactivity. Led by experts at the Pennington Biomedical Research Centre in Louisiana, scientists reviewed the medical literature on inactivity and death and disease and found the relativ... more

31 March 2021

The Therapeutic Drugs Administration (TGA) has been criticised for being too slow to approve drugs, while thousands of seriously ill people are unable to afford a test that could save their life. A special investigation by The Courier-Mail has found ... more

30 March 2021

A pesky skin tag on the back of Hayden Price’s head turned into the most shocking diagnosis. At just seven years old, the schoolboy had melanoma that had spread to his lymph nodes. The latest data from Cancer Council Queensland shows that there were ... more

29 March 2021

Breast cancer patients will have access to a lifesaving medicine on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from next month, slashing the cost of treatment from $50,000 to a few hundred dollars. The listing of a generic version of fulvestrant is a win for... more

29 March 2021

At least 17 children aged five and under have been exposed to dangerous levels of nicotine in e-cigarettes or vaping liquids – almost all requiring hospitalisation – over the past three years, new figures reveal. Data obtained by The Advertiser from ... more

25 March 2021

COVID-19 has delivered a devastating blow to breast cancer researchers, setting back the race for a cure by years. The pandemic closed science labs, delayed clinical trials, resulted in breast screen numbers plummeting and significantly reduced chari... more

25 March 2021

The head of a community group that helps people with asbestos-related diseases says he has been blindsided after funding was slashed by tens of thousands of dollars. Asbestos Diseases Society of South Australia (ADSSA) president Peter Photakis said o... more

24 March 2021

Strong walls are not just vital in building – it seems they may play a role in stopping the spread of cancer. Breakthrough research by the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) has found stiff lipids can help stop cancer spr... more

23 March 2021

Doctors are being told not to use medicinal cannabis to treat patients with chronic pain and that there is no solid evidence it is effective as Australia’s medical regulator approves its 100,000th cannabinoid script. The recommendation from the peak ... more

23 March 2021

A cancer breakthrough developed in Brisbane is expected to give new hope to patients suffering a rare and deadly form of blood cancer that affects the brain and nervous system. The dual precision treatment designed at Brisbane’s Mater Hospital by hae... more

22 March 2021

Melbourne researchers have discovered how melanomas change genetically as they morph from early to late-stage disease, paving the way for new therapies to treat the most deadly stage of cancer. Cancer research is typically done on tissue of early-sta... more

19 March 2021

A do-it-yourself test for human papillomavirus that an expert says resembles a ‘‘really long earbud’’ could reduce deaths from cervical cancer among those who do not have access to screening, particularly Indigenous women. Experts from the Cancer Cou... more

19 March 2021

The controversial former ABC headquarters in Brisbane’s inner west has been sold with the waterfront site earmarked for a “premium residential community”. Consolidated Properties Group paid $43.5m for the 1.5ha site at 600 Coronation Drive, Toowong, ... more

18 March 2021

The treatment and diagnosis of brain cancer is being revolutionised by Australian researchers using artificial intelligence to take more accurate images of the brain, in the hopes it will speed up diagnosis and eliminate unnecessary surgery. Royal Au... more

18 March 2021

The Australian National University plans to shut its research in neuroscience, the field in which it won its first Nobel prize, as it reels from a 2020 deficit of $200m and heads towards its debt ceiling. The university’s vice-chancellor, Brian Schmi... more

17 March 2021

Rose Morton is urging South Australian politicians to immediately pass a Bill that would make voluntary assisted dying legal, saying it would help people suffering from terminal illnesses and their grieving families. Ms Morton, of Banksia Park, said ... more

17 March 2021

Rates of prostate cancer in Mandurah are among the fastest growing in the country, a damning new online calculator has revealed. And men face an “unacceptable” 24 per cent higher risk of dying from prostate cancer in some regions across Australia. Th... more

17 March 2021

Men face an “unacceptable” 24 per cent higher than average risk of dying from prostate cancer in some parts of Australia, a damning new online calculator has revealed. The STARGATE tool developed by the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia shows m... more

15 March 2021

Employees with cancer want access to flexible work arrangements – such as part-time or remote work – when they are able to return to their duties, but many are unaware they have the right to request this. A Macquarie Business School lecturer who stud... more

15 March 2021

Thousands of prostate cancer patients are undergoing radical surgery without having consultations to give them the option of radiotherapy with less severe side effects. A new analysis of the way prostate cancer is treated in Australia has prompted do... more

15 March 2021

Specialised Therapeutics Australia (STA), has signed a new deal with IPO hopeful Latitude Financial Group, which will provide interest-free payment plans for up to two years for a genomic test for breast cancer that costs $5000. The multi-gene test, ... more

15 March 2021

More than 30,000 people with advanced cancer are being denied access to cutting-edge genomic screening that can match their cancer to targeted drugs that will extend or even save their lives. While a funded trial is under way at the Garvan Institute,... more

15 March 2021

A former employee is suing the University of South Australia for unfair dismissal, claiming he was fired after complaining about high levels of chemicals leaching from preserved bodies in the anatomy department. Mr Parry’s lawsuit is for compensation... more

12 March 2021

A pill containing a tiny camera that can detect tumours is set to revolutionise the diagnosis and treatment of bowel cancer. The cancer cam — known as a colon capsule endoscopy — is swallowed by patients and takes pictures of the lining of the bowel ... more

11 March 2021

Insurer TAL Life breached its duty to act with “utmost good faith” when handling a claim under an income protection policy by a consumer who had been diagnosed with cancer. In a referral to ASIC of a case study in the financial services royal commiss... more

11 March 2021

Vaccinating people over the age of 26 against a sexually transmitted virus that causes cancers might not be worth it, researchers say. Researchers used two mathematical models that simulated HPV infection and cervical cancer, as well as six non-cervi... more

10 March 2021

Cancer patients are among those next in line to receive scarce COVID-19 vaccines, but are being warned to consult their doctor first. Cancer Australia on Wednesday issued vaccination guidelines for cancer patients, including a detailed question and-a... more

09 March 2021

A Queensland doctor has launched a world-first trial of a promising drug treatment in patients with a neglected, rare and extremely deadly skin cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma. Princess Alexandra Hospital cancer specialist and researcher Wen Xu... more

08 March 2021

The National Retail Association has shrugged off claims it misled the Senate inquiry into e-cigarettes, saying it is not legally required to disclose who funded its campaign that supported Philip Morris’ position on vaping. National Retail was the ta... more

08 March 2021

Marlboro cigarettes maker Altria Group wants to enlist an unlikely partner in convincing consumers that nicotine isn’t as bad as they think – its regulator. The company asked the US Food and Drug Administration to tackle misperceptions about nicotine... more

08 March 2021

Australians continue to overdo their salt intake by eating almost double the recommended one teaspoon per day, sparking a call from scientists for mandatory regulations. The disturbing findings come from research by The George Institute for Global He... more

08 March 2021

A growing demand from cancer sufferers seeking out treatment ‘on par’ with Melbourne has forced an Albury-Wodonga facility to fast-track upgrades to patient accommodation. A unit connected to the Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre – which services... more

08 March 2021

Authorities have made one of the biggest tobacco busts on record, uncovering more than $84 million in illegal crops on farms near the NSW-Victorian border. The enormous find puts a big dent in a growing area of influence for organised crime groups ar... more

02 March 2021

Victorian teens are becoming sunburnt rather than sun smart due to a lack of awareness of the sun’s dangers, new data shows. Teenagers made up a third of the 177 people sent to hospital for sunburn treatment this summer, and Heather Walker, of Cancer... more

02 March 2021

There could be a surge in cancer diagnoses in the next year, after researchers in Victoria estimated that thousands of cases went undiagnosed during the state’s COVID-19 restrictions. An estimated 2530 cancers were delayed or missed during the six-an... more

01 March 2021

The state government will ban firefighting foams containing PFAS chemicals, bringing NSW into line with Queensland and South Australia where foams containing the dangerous toxins are already outlawed. The ban will be announced today by NSW Environmen... more

01 March 2021

More than 2500 cancer diagnoses were missed in Victoria during the state’s coronavirus restrictions last year, with a steep fall in the detection of prostate, skin and breast cancers, along with head and neck tumours. Modelling by the Victorian Cance... more

01 March 2021

A team of “mythbusters” is taking on anti-vaxxer celebrities and influencers over spreading fake facts about COVID-19 on social media. The 30-strong team was quietly set up within the Department of Home Affairs last year to tackle fake facts peddled ... more

01 March 2021

A southside high school has taken tough action and suspended a group of students for using sneaky vaping devices that look like highlighter pens. Beenleigh State High School principal Matt O’Hanlon, who was crowned last year’s Queensland Principal of... more

26 February 2021

A tripling in child nicotine poisonings that left one having a seizure and 200 hospitalised has been fuelled by sales of illegal e-cigarettes. The Daily Telegraph has obtained exclusive footage of some of the 26,000 “vapes” seized by NSW Health inspe... more

26 February 2021

Breast cancer patients given a common beta-blocker at the time of diagnosis are almost twice as likely to be alive five years later. The findings from a retrospective study of 4000 women add to growing evidence a medication typically given to reduce ... more

24 February 2021

Popular fast-food slushies contain up to 41 teaspoons of sugar and in some cases more than double the amount claimed on health labels, a new study has revealed. The shocking results come from samples of sugary frozen drinks sold at McDonald’s, KFC, 7... more

24 February 2021

Perth haematologist Professor Chan Cheah is a leader in the Blood Cancer Research Western Australia 2016 collaboration, which continues to run multiple clinical trials for WA blood cancer patients at three sites in Nedlands. For many people, experime... more

24 February 2021

Breast cancer sufferer and Labor MP Peta Murphy has become one of the first immunocompromised Australians to receive the coronavirus vaccine, telling others the jab is “safe”. Ms Murphy has had radiation treatment and is now on hormone therapy and ot... more

24 February 2021

Labor MP Peta Murphy, who is undergoing treatment for metastatic breast cancer, volunteered to get her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in front of dozens of journalists and television cameras to show other people with underlying health conditions it... more

22 February 2021

Tasmania’s system of allowing patients access to medicinal cannabis is probably the worst in the world. If you examine and compare it to other nations or states, our system is draconian and hampered by red tape. Despite recommendations from a senate ... more

18 February 2021

Banana Shire residents could have previously ingested PFAS chemicals in drinking water, claims a former employee of a power station touted as “nil discharge” when it was constructed. Last week, CS Energy revealed toxic PFAS chemicals had been detecte... more

18 February 2021

Researchers at UniSA have found a way to detect and target pancreatic cancer before it is too late. UniSA PhD candidate Ashleigh Hull is investigating whether a receptor commonly found on the surface of pancreatic cancer cells may serve as a “biologi... more

16 February 2021

The federal government has announced it would invest $45.5 million over five years in the expansion of cancer treatment capacity throughout regional Australia by enhancing existing and building new health infrastructure, with radiation therapy servic... more

15 February 2021

A new combination treatment for the most aggressive and deadly childhood cancer will soon be tested on children after it eradicated cancer in animals with the brain tumour. And it has been the donations of tissue from Australian children who have die... more

15 February 2021

The WA Government has been urged to cap hospital parking at $5 a day for cancer patients and their carers. Cancer Council WA says the move would reduce the financial burden faced by the 33 West Australians diagnosed with cancer every day. CCWA chief ... more

15 February 2021

One hundred cancer sufferers are involved in a world first $2m Adelaide-based trial of next-generation drugs to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). Researchers are conducting the first frontline clinical study that is set to revolutionise the trea... more

12 February 2021

One of the world’s groundbreaking cancer medicines will be produced in Melbourne, after the remarkable success of genetic-engineering technology in saving Australian patients. The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is now the key Asia-Pacific site to manu... more

12 February 2021

Melbourne scientists are being backed to find the next generation of cancer breakthroughs. A project to gene-engineer a patient’s own immune cells so they turn against breast, lung and ovarian tumours is among 21 medical programs to share in a $10m c... more

12 February 2021

A simple scan could save your life. This is the key message of a new national day urging Australians to take care of their skin and get regular skin scans. National Skin Check Day will take place on February 25. Cancer Council Tasmania chief executiv... more

11 February 2021

Melbourne scientists are being backed to find the next generation of cancer breakthroughs. A project to gene-engineer a patient’s own immune cells so they turn against breast, lung and ovarian tumours is among 21 medical programs to share in a $10m c... more

11 February 2021

ABC broadcaster and celebrity doctor Norman Swan, who was once the resident health expert on reality TV show The Biggest Loser, is the new face of a bowel cancer screening campaign funded by the state government. The Health Report host was paid “a no... more

10 February 2021

Cancer, chronic kidney disease, diabetes and hypertension are the four main comorbidities leading to death from COVID-19, a study by scientists at Griffith University has found. The researchers analysed four global databases from 14 countries that he... more

09 February 2021

The head of the Greater Sydney Commission wants to see the city transformed into three leading global precincts with at least three universities in each area and the ability to attract global brands. Speaking at the Sydney Summit, a conference on the... more

09 February 2021

A new study published today in the peer-reviewed medical journal Nature Medicine has shown that a short course of immunotherapy drug treatment before surgery is effective in preventing the deadly spread of the disease in melanoma patients who are at ... more

08 February 2021

Artificial intelligence could soon help doctors spot bowel cancers more easily. Currently, doctors looking for cancers survey the bowel using colonoscopy but in a tenth of cases growths are so small that they fail to spot them. However, a new system ... more

08 February 2021

A breast cancer drug is being investigated for its potential to treat prostate cancer, in one of four new research projects funded by The Hospital Research Foundation Group. University of Adelaide research fellow Maggie Centenera will help guide trea... more

08 February 2021

Teenagers and young men are the targets of a new in-your-face advertising campaign designed to shock them about the realities of sugary drinks and expose how hooked they can become. The national Full of Crap campaign being launched on social media by... more

05 February 2021

Deputy Premier John Barilaro has described allegations in the Herald about the state of regional hospitals in NSW as ‘‘horrific’’. Mr Barilaro said some of the reports, which included allegations that public health officials were covering up and fail... more

05 February 2021

Every day in South Australia’s courts there is injustice occurring. Drivers using cannabis, approved by their doctor for medicinal purposes, are finding themselves convicted of drug-driving offences and losing their licence for three months and longe... more

05 February 2021

Yesterday was World Cancer Day. But in fact, every day is world cancer day for us at COSA and Cancer Council, because every day we are reminded of the importance of taking action to eliminate cancer from our lives. But it is important to understand t... more

04 February 2021

Dangerous cancer myths have taken root in Australia, with Cancer Council data showing too many people believing misinformation spread on social media. Almost two-thirds of people believed animals could sniff out cancer and two in five thought cancer ... more

04 February 2021

The latest frontier in cancer treatment is seeing Melbourne doctors scanning the genetics of their patients’ tumours to shed new light on their individual disease, saving lives. Although the use of genomics in cancer care is still rare in Australia, ... more

04 February 2021

Human clinical trials for a world-first drug candidate to treat the most aggressive form of brain cancer are set to get under way this year. Researchers from the University of South Australia developed the new drug, called Auceliciclib, to treat glio... more

04 February 2021

A two-story warehouse will be transformed into a 12- storey residential tower with a ground floor “men’s shed’’ for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. The City of Melbourne has approved a $26m plan to demolish the warehouse at 69-75 Racecourse Road, ... more

03 February 2021

People with bladder cancer who receive a shorter, more intense course of radiotherapy have a lower risk of the disease returning, research has found. The shorter course should be adopted as the new standard of care, experts said, particularly because... more

03 February 2021

Patients and medical staff across NSW have sounded the alarm about a crisis in the state of country hospitals, telling of wards that look like they’ve been hit by tornadoes, hospitals requesting people bring their own bandages and doctors trying to m... more

03 February 2021

Former Mackay rail worker Byron May, 75, is suing his former employer for $865,000 in an effort to ensure some comfort in his final days as he battles deadly asbestosis. Maurice Blackburn Lawyers has filed a statement of claim in the Supreme Court of... more

03 February 2021

Scientists have revealed that working outside can cut the risk of women developing breast cancer. The key is the body’s increased production of vitamin D when in sunlight. Danish Cancer Society research, published in the journal Occupational & En... more

02 February 2021

Blood cancer has become the second-most diagnosed cancer in Australia and the second-most common cause of cancer-related deaths, according to new figures released by the Leukaemia Foundation. The number of blood cancer diagnoses soared by 30 per cent... more

01 February 2021

The most positive changes in drug use trends are emerging among Australian youths and young adults, Rural Health Tasmania chief Robert Waterman has said. The National Drug Strategy Household Survey Report 2019 found youth smoking rates dropped from 1... more

01 February 2021

Altria Group, the company that owns Marlboro, says that decades of annual declines in cigarette sales came to an abrupt halt last year. Sales that were expected to fall by 4 to 6 per cent instead levelled off in 2020, the company’s figures show this ... more

01 February 2021

Parents at a Gold Coast school subject to a cancer cluster investigation say they are concerned about a chemical leak of a now banned substance less than 2km away. A probe was launched in September after per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were... more

01 February 2021

Improvements to the screening and treatment of cancer have reduced cancer deaths in Australia by more than 20 per cent between 1996 and 2015, saving 107,000 lives, a Cancer Council NSW study reveals. The study found there were 20.6 per cent fewer can... more

01 February 2021

Rural and regional communities face a critical shortage of doctors despite billions of dollars in taxpayer funds having been spent on the problem over more than a decade, as medical graduates shun general practice and seek to become specialists. The ... more

01 February 2021

An expert is calling for parents to be vigilant after primary school teachers have found children as young as 11 vaping at school. Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia director Paul Dillon said while e-cigarette users are generally older,... more

28 January 2021

Tasmanian public hospital patients face longer waits for both emergency and elective treatment and suffer more adverse outcomes than patients interstate. The Productivity Commission’s Annual Report on Government Services compared state health systems... more

28 January 2021

Rising childcare and cigarette costs have pushed the inflation rate a little higher than economists had expected in the final quarter of 2020, leaving the overall increase in prices last year at just under 1 per cent. A 12 per cent rise in tobacco ex... more

27 January 2021

The University of Queensland’s first major fundraising campaign has collected $600m in donations for research, teaching facilities and student scholarships, beating its target by $100m. The campaign, chaired by eminent UQ researcher and former Austra... more

27 January 2021

Thousands of Australians have benefited from Professor Emily Banks' work in public health but they may never know who they are. The head of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health has saved countless lives through her research on s... more

27 January 2021

Despite just 25 minutes travel time between Bidwill and Cherrybrook, there’s a yawning gap between those two Sydney neighbourhoods on the most basic of indicators: lifespan. In Bidwill’s local public health area the median age of death was 69 years b... more

27 January 2021

Paula Benson first volunteered her professional skills to Ovarian Cancer Australia in 2006, three years after her own cancer diagnosis. This led to more than a decade of leadership within the organisation, which she chaired between 2011 and 2018 and ... more

25 January 2021

Immediately reinstating 100 closed public hospital beds — and committing to adding a further 600 across WA — tops the pre-election wish list of the State’s peak medical body. The Australian Medical Association (WA) is also calling on both major parti... more

25 January 2021

Labor says the Tasmanian government is ignoring its own Upper House when it comes to medicinal cannabis legislation and it is causing unnecessary suffering. Huon MP Bastian Seidel said the Legislative Council passed a motion in November last year tha... more

21 January 2021

Men are being urged to swallow their pride and slap on some sunscreen after it was revealed less than a third regularly did so to protect themselves from the sun. They also spend more time outdoors and exposed to UV light, despite knowing the risks. ... more

21 January 2021

A dying man is begging for medicinal cannabis to be made readily available. Peter Fielding, who is dying of oesophageal and lung cancer says cannabis is the only thing that eases his pain. While medicinal cannabis is legal, patients must obtain permi... more

21 January 2021

A 75-year-old man with cancer as a result of asbestos exposure has begun an $800,000 legal action against various government entities. Daniel Connolly, from Emu Park, filed the workplace injury lawsuit to the Rockhampton Supreme Court last month agai... more

19 January 2021

A drug developed for cancer treatment is being repurposed in the hope it could help stop diabetes patients from suffering a heart attack or stroke. The drug, which is being designed to treat solid and blood cancers, is being trialled in the fight aga... more

19 January 2021

Breakthrough Adelaide research is tipped to revolutionise the treatment of the most common breast cancers. Adelaide University researchers have discovered that male sex hormones have the potential to combat oestrogen receptor-driven breast cancers, w... more

19 January 2021

The lack of clear and accurate labelling on children’s food products has stymied parents’ choices for decades. In choosing what they take to be the “healthy choice”, parents have unwittingly fed their children highly processed foods rich in added sug... more

18 January 2021

Experts have hailed a “quantum leap” for women with ovarian cancer as a breakthrough treatment was given the go-ahead yesterday. The drug niraparib was approved for use by British regulators in the biggest improvement in 30 years for ovarian cancer t... more

18 January 2021

While it is well established that a virus transmitted through oral sex can cause oral cancer, a new study published in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, has detailed how the nuances of this intimate practice can affect r... more

18 January 2021

An innovative new screening program is helping men monitor their health by ‘predicting’ their risk of developing prostate cancer. Australian medical technology company Maxwell Plus is using artificial intelligence (AI) to determine the likelihood of ... more

18 January 2021

Researchers are “exhilarated” that the new and unconventional use of the tiniest diamonds to measure heat in living cells could lead to better diagnostic tools and thermal therapies for cancer. Australian scientists have been involved in the medical ... more

18 January 2021

New training opportunities are regularly being introduced for nurses, amid severe worker shortages in every area of speciality. Australian College of Nursing chief executive Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward says the shortage of specialist nurses comes de... more

18 January 2021

The health of many Tasmanians is in dire straits, a new report shows, with the state recording poor grades on smoking rates, stress levels, body mass index and blood pressure. Australia’s Health Report: When Health Care Meets Self Care branded Tasman... more

18 January 2021

Taking aspirin three times a week increases the chances of surviving breast and bladder cancer by up to a third, a study has found. The over-the-counter pill is taken by millions daily to protect against heart disease and strokes because it thins the... more

18 January 2021

Queensland is sitting on a skin cancer time bomb with more than half of adults and nearly as many children being sunburnt in figures that show the state has forgotten the Slip, Slop, Slap message. In a shocking report card, Queensland Health data sho... more

15 January 2021

Early-stage biotech BCAL Diagnostics has closed a $4 million pre-IPO capital raise led by Citadel Group’s Mark McConnell, which will fund clinical trials for a breakthrough low-cost breast cancer detection blood test. The funding round for BCAL comes... more

14 January 2021

The Fraser Coast’s only authorised prescriber of medicinal marijuana sees more than 270 patients after just one year in the field, proof of the rising demand for the drug in the region. Hervey Bay’s My Cannabis Clinic founder Dr Shahnur Rahman treate... more

13 January 2021

Drinking more coffee could lower men’s risk of developing prostate cancer. Research has found every extra daily cup is associated with a 1 per cent lower risk of the disease. The study compared the risk of prostate cancer associated with coffee consu... more

13 January 2021

Breast cancer nurses have received a $3m boost after the federal government made a major contribution to the Jane McGrath Foundation. The government donation comes in addition to $38m in funding to lift the number of breast care nurse positions from ... more

12 January 2021

Breast cancer nurses have received a $3m boost after the federal government made a major contribution to the Jane McGrath foundation. The money will be used to fund a survey among patients on breast care nurse support, with feedback informing the dev... more

12 January 2021

Youngsters who vape are three times more likely to become regular cigarette smokers. Researchers studied children and young adults and found vaping was a gateway to smoking as it causes a nicotine addiction. E-cigarettes deliver nicotine in vaporised... more

11 January 2021

Parents at a Gold Coast private school say they will continue to push for a building biology test to be completed immediately, after a probe into an alleged ‘cancer cluster’ was launched. The Gold Coast Public Health Unit (PHU) is investigating links... more

11 January 2021

Palliative care advocates say terminally ill patients in western Sydney are missing out on acute and holistic end-of-life care, as Westmead Hospital marks more than a decade without a dedicated palliative care unit. The hospital faces urgent calls to... more

11 January 2021

Doctors in Japan have discovered that mothers can pass cancer to their babies during labour through fluid inhaled as they give their first cries. A team led by doctors at the National Cancer Centre in Tokyo found two cases in which cervical cancer in... more

11 January 2021

Almost 50 high-cost medicines have been approved for government subsidy but never made it on to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, an investigation by The West Australian has found. And the problem is about to get worse under new reference pricing r... more

17 December 2020

Nine popular sun-protection products are exposing Australians to sunburn because they take too long to apply to get the right UV protection. The alarming discovery was made by Queensland University of Technology researchers, who examined nine commerc... more

17 December 2020

A nasal spray is being rolled out in Melbourne in an attempt to stop coronavirus in cancer patients and other highly vulnerable people who may not be protected by COVID-19 vaccines. The landmark Melbourne trial may also have benefits for the wider po... more

17 December 2020

Emergency rooms emptied, cancer screening fell, elective surgeries were delayed, prescriptions for mental health drugs grew and calls to crisis support lines soared as COVID-19 upended the lives of millions of Australians. These are just some of the ... more

17 December 2020

Patients presenting at hospital fell by 38 per cent at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the health effect from physical distancing service restrictions likely to be felt for years. New data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare ... more

14 December 2020

Chris Bowen, the Shadow Minister for Health, has flagged a major overhaul of Labor’s approach to health policy ahead of the election, including bringing more young people into the private system and reforming Medicare without large spending increases... more

14 December 2020

Doctors have welcomed a $311m boost to research into dementia, cancer and aged care to be announced in Melbourne today. Health Minister Greg Hunt will unveil funding for 12 grants into medical research to be paid from the commonwealth’s $20bn Medical... more

14 December 2020

An independent probe into a Redland Hospital surgeon who potentially failed to detect patient cancers is not expected to be completed until mid-next year – 18 months after problems were first made public. The Courier-Mail revealed in January that 100... more

14 December 2020

A British surgeon has developed a revolutionary device that could prevent thousands of bowel cancer deaths by eliminating the need for an intimate test. About 16,000 people die of the disease in the UK each year, partly because many are reluctant to ... more

14 December 2020

WA has the highest rate of mesothelioma in the world, with 4.4 cases per 100,000. About one in three houses in WA has asbestos but there is no way to find out if a house contains it unless samples are sent for testing. There are concerns of a new wav... more

14 December 2020

South Australians have good intentions when it comes to protecting themselves from skin cancer but fall short when it comes to putting that into practice. A survey by life insurer TAL found 54 per cent of South Australians would take every measure to... more

11 December 2020

Victorians ate more, felt stressed and changed their exercise habits during the pandemic, research has revealed. They also struggled to connect with loved ones and ceased hobbies. But families reportedly ate more veggies and spent time cooking at hom... more

10 December 2020

The new President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Dr Karen Price says Australians need to catch up on cancer screening and chronic health condition checks in 2021 or risk hiding health problems, after many people delayed see... more

09 December 2020

COVID-19 has already put a dampener on Christmas, and now Australians are being told they have to drink four fewer alcoholic drinks a week to meet health guidelines. The National Health and Medical Research Council delivered the sobering news just tw... more

09 December 2020

Adults should not drink more than 10 standard drinks a week and keep it at four on any given day in order to reduce the risk of alcohol-related health issues, according to new national guidelines. That's a reduction from the previous weekly limit of ... more

09 December 2020

Australians are being advised not to have more than 10 standard drinks in any given week — and no more than four on any day — under new national alcohol guidelines. Pregnant women and people under the age of 18 should not drink at all, according to t... more

09 December 2020

Medical experts are calling for alcohol to come with similar warning labels as cigarettes, saying there is currently “no punishment for killing people”, but the alcohol industry says Australians already understand the risks. After the National Health... more

09 December 2020

Australia’s chief scientific body says adults should drop their alcohol consumption from 14 to 10 standard drinks a week, a cut of almost 30 per cent. ‘‘We’re not telling Australians how much to drink. We’re providing advice for people who want to en... more

09 December 2020

A maximum 10 standard drinks a week is recommended for those who want to reduce their risk of alcohol-related harm under new national guidelines adopted by the federal government yesterday. Professor Anne Kelso, the chief executive of the National He... more

09 December 2020

Nasdaq-listed genomics giant Illumina is hoping to help spawn a new generation of cutting-edge Australian biotech startups as it cements its place as a long-term research partner for local businesses. The $US50 billion ($67 billion) genetic sequencin... more

07 December 2020

The alcohol industry is going to war with Australia’s peak health advisory group, saying its latest push to reduce the recommended consumption of standard drinks from 12 to 10 per week has no basis in science and is a “nanny state crusade” to treat d... more

07 December 2020

Patients could soon be offered a groundbreaking urine test that can spot bladder cancer after it proved 100 per cent accurate in trials. The pioneering liquid biopsy could replace the dipstick test used by GPs as a first check for the life-threatenin... more

07 December 2020

People who survive multiple separate instances of cancer are believed to hold the key to a future cancer vaccine that could be just a few years away. Researchers at the scientific institute WEHI, RMIT University and the University of NSW, together wi... more

07 December 2020

Jack de Belin’s three-year fight to clear his name has been overshadowed by the shock revelation he has undergone surgery for testicular cancer. The 29-year-old is believed to have found a lump in his testicle earlier this year. Testicular cancer is ... more

07 December 2020

Men having radiotherapy for prostate cancer could be spared one of the treatment’s most distressing side effects. More than 16,500 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in Australia and while surgery to remove the gland is one option, whi... more

07 December 2020

Routine checks and testosterone patches are the new normal for men who are diagnosed with testicular cancer — an issue that has suddenly found the spotlight after NRL player Jack de Belin’s recent diagnosis. De Belin is understood to have found a lum... more

07 December 2020

With the mercury on the rise, it’s a great time to hit the beaches and soak up some vitamin D. But new data shows that despite almost 30 years of SunSmart messages, a third of South Australians end up with sunburn at least once. Cancer Council SA’s 2... more

04 December 2020

Almost one in two Australians ended up with a tan last summer, prompting renewed warnings about the dangers of sunburn. Cancer Council Australia’s 2019 Summer Sun Protection Survey found 46 per cent of Australians got a tan last summer. Males were mo... more

04 December 2020

More than two million Australians couldn’t afford to see a doctor or get their scripts filled this year as rising medical out-of-pocket costs undermine Australia’s “free” health system. The unaffordability of health care just got worse after the Aust... more

03 December 2020

More than one in five electronic cigarette liquid mixtures contain nicotine, despite it being illegal in Australia, and people who vape are being exposed to an array of harmful chemicals that could be acutely toxic. They are they findings from a Curt... more

03 December 2020

WA children and young people are being targeted to buy e-cigarettes by manufacturers using cartoon characters, child friendly flavours, discounts and free shipping, alarming research reveals. Cancer Council WA audited 30 Australian websites selling e... more

03 December 2020

Tanning beds are known to increase the risk of skin cancer, but new research published in Human Reproduction Journal shows they could also cause another debilitating disease. Academics in Arizona found using a solarium six times or more a year could ... more

03 December 2020

For many cancer survivors, life is just as good as it is for those who have not had cancer. Research published in BMC Medicine on Tuesday found that posttreatment, the majority of cancer survivors rated their quality of life almost as highly as those... more

03 December 2020

The $740 million plans for an ambitious Western Sydney hospital redevelopment, which will eventually include a state-of-the-art health and academic precinct, have received the state government green light. Approved by NSW Planning on Monday, The Live... more

03 December 2020

The first weekend of summer after a challenging 2020 has prompted the Cancer Council to launch its latest campaign to warn West Australians about the risks of skin cancer. Cancer Council WA chief executive Ashley Reid said incidental exposure to the ... more

02 December 2020

Cancer survivors are at greater risk of needing hospital treatment for the flu, or even dying from the virus, even several years after their diagnosis, according to a study published in The Lancet. The largest study of its kind looked at the medical ... more

30 November 2020

Sunkissed Victorians say they would do anything to protect their skin from cancer but few follow through, new research has revealed. Almost 60 per cent of Victorians say they would take “any measures” to protect themselves from developing skin cancer... more

30 November 2020

Mix 102.3 newsreader Maria Gaban was 38 and breastfeeding her third child when she received a diagnosis of breast cancer. The prognosis was positive and and almost two years on from treatment Gaban is relishing life as mum. Her message is a simple on... more

30 November 2020

Cancer clinical trials must be accelerated in the same way the COVID-19 vaccine was fast-tracked to fight the country’s biggest killer, says one of Queensland’s leading oncologists. While hitting the pause button and putting all focus on ending the p... more

30 November 2020

Quick thinking by George Maddern’s parents, who suspected sunlight as the cause of their son’s pain, mean the family has been given the best chance of keeping their 18-month-old boy safe, their specialist says. Dr Anna Le Fevre of the Victorian Clini... more

30 November 2020

Higher rates of cancer and foetal deaths found in Aboriginal communities living near the Ranger uranium mine cannot be linked to ionising radiation, a six-year investigation has found. The NT Health-led investigation started in 2014 to look at a clus... more

30 November 2020

The way cancer cells feed on glucose and amino acids has Adelaide at the centre of international research to develop individual, precision treatment through metabolic drugs. A study involving the SA Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), the... more

30 November 2020

A blood test to check how well you are ageing has been invented by SAHMRI researchers with research published in the journal Autophagy – and now they are working on ways to wind back the clock. The test examines how well the cells are keeping house, ... more

30 November 2020

Shocking statistics show higher-than-average numbers of adults and children are seeking treatment for sunburn at regional hospitals. In another damning statistic for the region, a quarter of children got sunburnt two or more times in the past year. T... more

27 November 2020

Smoking and vaping are set to be banned in public spaces across central Melbourne — and the plan has already lit up outrage in some quarters. The City of Melbourne wants to outlaw smoking “throughout the majority of public spaces” over the next five ... more

25 November 2020

Researchers are hopeful new insight into how Tasmanian devil facial tumours evolved over the past two decades will help save the iconic marsupials. The research may explain why the carnivores have become endangered so quickly and shed light on the ev... more

24 November 2020

New technology, to be unveiled today at the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse in Camperdown, will allow implants for reconstructive surgery to be created more quickly, with the process occurring entirely in Australia. The implants will initially be created usi... more

24 November 2020

Breast cancer screening can halve older women’s risk of dying from the disease, research published in the British Journal of Cancer suggests. Women who attend at least one mammogram are 37 per cent less likely to die from breast cancer. And for over-... more

24 November 2020

Mackay mothers are more likely to be overweight and smokers while pregnant, leading to riskier pregnancies and endangering the health of their newborns. An investigation into 2247 births found a number of health risks facing women and their children ... more

23 November 2020

Health star ratings on food packaging don’t just help consumers make better choices; they’ve also now been proven to encourage manufacturers to switch to healthier ingredients to bump up their score, prompting calls for the system to be mandatory. A ... more

23 November 2020

A breakthrough Australian nasal spray that not only stops COVID-19 but also prevents the common cold and influenza has been given government funding to start human trials. Developed by Australian biotech company Ena Respiratory, the blockbuster preve... more

23 November 2020

Taking vitamin D supplements could reduce the risk of cancer by up to 38 per cent, a study carried out at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and published in the journal JAMA Network Open suggests. Researchers found that the chance of advanced or... more

23 November 2020

Thousands of leukaemia sufferers could be spared chemotherapy thanks to a new two-in-one treatment that’s been found to keep twice as many patients free of the disease. The drugs also cause fewer side effects, meaning patients can carry on with life ... more

23 November 2020

Doctors believe proton therapy radiation, a treatment that attacks cancerous tumours with beams of magnet-controlled protons, could help save the lives of about 700 Australians each year. However, the life-saving treatment won’t be available in Austr... more

20 November 2020

A new topical medication could help organ transplant recipients who are 100 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinomas due to immune system suppressors. The new drug, which has been developed at the University of Queensland could help prev... more

20 November 2020

New research undertaken by Dr Paulette Chandler at Harvard University has revealed that people taking daily vitamin D supplements were 17% less likely to be diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. The study of 25,000 people over five years inclu... more

19 November 2020

New rules aimed at reducing vaping should include a time limit for doctors prescribing nicotine-containing vaping products, according to the nation’s peak medical body. The Australian Medical Association also wants the scripts, which become prescript... more

19 November 2020

Personal data from children as young as five is used to bombard them with gambling, alcohol and fast food advertisements, a new report has found. Aggressive marketing tactics from companies are exploiting children’s regular use of video games, viewin... more

18 November 2020

New research has found each full-term pregnancy reduces the risk of endometrial cancer by about 15 per cent. It’s well known having a full-term pregnancy reduces a woman’s risk of developing endometrial cancer, but research from Brisbane’s QIMR Bergh... more

18 November 2020

It’s one of the major illnesses killing Australian men — and new international research has found just a handful of nuts each day could be the secret to preventing prostate cancer. Eating an extra gram of nuts a day can decrease the incidence of pros... more

16 November 2020

ACT volunteer firefighters who develop cancer after years on the job will be more likely to get workers' compensation after an inquiry. The federal government on Friday announced it had accepted all six recommendations from a legislative review into ... more

16 November 2020

There are calls for “predatory” junk food advertisements to be banned on government-owned property as WA battles rising levels of obesity. A report released yesterday by health agencies including the Cancer Council and Telethon Kids Institute said th... more

16 November 2020

Alarming levels of contamination have been discovered in an Illawarra waterway by a member of the public, sparking an investigation by authorities into the lethal cocktail of pollutants. Extremely high levels of poisonous heavy metals and carcinogeni... more

16 November 2020

The NSW government paid three times as much as the valuer general’s estimate for a parcel of highly contaminated land near Parramatta that earned a Sydney property developer a $15 million windfall in a matter of months. In a series of transactions th... more

16 November 2020

Aussie millennials are slacking off on sun safety and experts fear their lax attitudes could be putting their kids at risk. Despite the fact they grew up with Sid the Seagull’s Slip, Slop, Slap message, one in four young parents admit they get sunbur... more

13 November 2020

An Australian convenience store and petrol station retailer says it would be happy to train staff to suggest e-cigarettes as an alternative to normal cigarettes in a bid to help reduce the smoking rate. Ampol, owner of Caltex and Foodary outlets, urg... more

13 November 2020

A new report has shown Australia learnt a short sharp lesson about the management of cancer during the first wave of COVID-19. For a month, at the height of the panic, cancer services were dramatically reduced as the health system pivoted to prepare ... more

13 November 2020

Testing rates for prostate cancer fell by almost one-third in the ACT at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, new research has revealed. A report released by Cancer Australia on the impact the pandemic had on lung cancer and prostate cancer found rat... more

12 November 2020

New research on the cost of living shows shows prices on everyday necessities growing far more quickly than those of life’s little luxuries. Across the seven years, the prices for all goods increased by 14 per cent. But for essentials, prices rose by... more

11 November 2020

Cancer patients in Australia are missing out on life saving new medicines available overseas because it takes four times longer for them to be subsidised here. An extra 800 cancer patients a year could be treated with breakthrough immunotherapies if ... more

11 November 2020

Flinders University is leading a study to find alternative treatments and improve early detection of malignant mesothelioma, with 650 Australians struck down by the deadly disease last year. The lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure can develop mor... more

11 November 2020

Super funds that don’t support big tobacco will now be easier to identify thanks to a new stamp alerting customers to those that are smoke-free. VicHealth on Wednesday launches the “tobacco-free finance pledge stamp” as a way for firms to let the pub... more

23 October 2020

Tens of thousands of illegal e-cigarette devices and liquids containing nicotine have been seized by state authorities – and many contain the substance at fatal levels. Poisons information lines are receiving dozens of calls about nicotine poisoning ... more

22 October 2020

Cancer and palliative care support groups say it is deeply troubling that many Victorian hospitals are enforcing tougher visiting rules than required by the government. ‘‘We are hearing multiple cases from distressed carers who are calling us to say ... more

21 October 2020

Above Hervey Bay Hospital’s emergency department is an entire floor which is not yet in use. One Nation candidate for Hervey Bay, Damian Huxham, says if elected, he will fight for the area to be turned into an oncology unit. He said “After seeing fir... more

21 October 2020

Men with inflammatory bowel disease may need extra checks for prostate cancer. Research published in the journal Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases analysed international data and found that those with conditions including Crohn’s disease and ulc... more

21 October 2020

Terminally ill breast cancer patients will have to pay $1600 a month for a lifesaving treatment, after the drug company rejected a government subsidy. Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca was granted a subsidy for its drug Faslodex in July through the ... more

21 October 2020

Office heavyweight Dexus has flagged a significant push into healthcare property and has teamed with its specialist fund to snap up the Australian Bragg Centre in Adelaide from private developer Commercial & General for $446.2m. Dexus joined with... more

20 October 2020

Authorities say it’s unclear how a child in the Melbourne Royal Children’s Hospital’s oncology ward contracted COVID-19. Victoria’s Health Minister Martin Foley said on Monday it appeared the child had low levels of infection and tests were being und... more

20 October 2020

Up to one in four Queenslanders significantly underestimate their risk of developing potentially deadly melanoma, a study has found. Those at highest risk – people aged over 65, of European ancestry, with high numbers of moles and fair skin – are wor... more

20 October 2020

Primary school students will slip, slop and slap their way through spring thanks to an online learning program. Generation SunSmart teaches Victorian educators about sun protection and saw enrolments soar during lockdown with registrations more than ... more

19 October 2020

A baby born in Australia today is expected to live six years longer than its parents — but poor health would reduce the quality of the time gained, research has revealed. The latest findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study, published in the B... more

17 October 2020

A group of more than 500 Victorian doctors has urged Premier Daniel Andrews to end current lockdown restrictions and abandon mandatory wearing of face masks and a 5km limit on movement when he announces the next step of easing on Sunday. The group, c... more

15 October 2020

Juggling family stresses, bills and COVID pressure – Australians are ignoring their midlife health checks which experts warn can save them from the nation’s leading illnesses. Doctors and health experts warn that people in their 40s and 50s are faili... more

14 October 2020

Scientists have invented a drug they hope could be a “gamechanger” for the treatment of pancreatic cancer by breaking down a fibrous “shield” around cancer cells that makes them resistant to treatment. The drug, known as AMP945, is set to be trialled... more

13 October 2020

Drinking one alcoholic beverage per day has been found to increase the risk of liver cancer by 48 per cent in people over 45, according to new research. A recent study conducted by Cancer Council NSW and published in the British Journal of Cancer has... more

13 October 2020

Northern Territory women are being urged to learn about prevention, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, a condition one in seven will get by age 85. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and doctors and health experts are urging people to g... more

13 October 2020

Get your kids to wear sunglasses. That’s the message from eye experts who say that Australian children could fall prey to a host of vision impairments if they neglect sun protection. Growths on the eye tissue such as pterygium and pingecula, cancers ... more

13 October 2020

Smokers could be forced to buy cigarettes from pharmacies or even need a prescription to get their hands on them as part of a bold new aim to stub out the unhealthy habit for good. The restriction of cigarette sales will be among the strategies explo... more

12 October 2020

Sydney’s “beautiful people” are risking skin cancer by using secret solariums — despite them being illegal since 2014. They were banned due to their shockingly high levels of radiation, but solarium “speakeasies” still flourish, with one offering eig... more

12 October 2020

Melbourne researchers have discovered three genes linked to aggressive forms of prostate cancer. The breakthrough has raised hopes of a test to identify men who are most at risk and shed some light on the behaviour of a disease that kills about 60 Au... more

12 October 2020

Just seven standard drinks a week can increase the chance of getting cancer by 10 per cent for those aged over 45, a major study has found. The Cancer Council NSW study of more than 226,000 Australians found alcohol was directly linked to the risk of... more

12 October 2020

A terminal cancer patient has had her request to quarantine with her Queensland family rejected for a third time, even after producing evidence from her doctors that her terminal skin cancer made her a high health risk for hotel quarantine. The state... more

12 October 2020

Scientists are growing real human mini-brains to test possible cures for childhood brain cancer. The Children’s Cancer Research Unit at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, is turning stem cells into human brain cells, which are then given br... more

12 October 2020

Perth medi-tech company Proteomics is about to begin developing an improved diagnostic method for the most common form of oesophageal cancer. Proteomics has partnered with Brisbane-based QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute to deliver the detect... more

12 October 2020

Men seeking treatment for prostate cancer in Australia’s private health system are much more likely to have radical treatment than their peers in the public system, according to a study in Victoria. The results, published in the Medical Journal of Au... more

12 October 2020

The NSW government has defended its decision to exempt Crown’s forthcoming Sydney casino from certain smoking regulations, as anti-smoking campaigners accused the casino operator of putting profits ahead of the health and safety of workers and patron... more

09 October 2020

Breast cancer patients could face long wait times for reconstructions due to restrictions on elective surgeries, a support organisation says. Following the COVID outbreak, Breast Cancer Network Australia surveyed more than 2300 Australians diagnosed ... more

09 October 2020

COVID-19 restrictions resulted in a significant downturn of Australians going for breast and cervical cancer screening tests in the first half of 2020, a new report has found. While more than 70,000 mammograms were performed in Australia in March 202... more

09 October 2020

More than half a million Australians have been pushed back on elective surgery waiting lists due to the COVID pandemic. In Victoria, waiting lists have blown out by a massive 40 per cent, with 56,039 people waiting for surgery. As a result of the ear... more

09 October 2020

Sick and vulnerable Victorians have become “collateral impacts” of COVID19, according to an expert. Associate Professor Kate Burbury, a haematologist and chief medical officer at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, says many Victorians have been left ... more

09 October 2020

Moderate exercise can be just as effective as high-intensity training to keep older adults healthy, new research in the British Medical Journal shows. Research led by Norwegian University of science and Technology researcher Dorthe Stensvold, and pub... more

09 October 2020

Peak health charities are for the first time publicly calling for designated smoking areas in pubs and clubs to be phased out by the State Government. The Heart Foundation Queensland and Cancer Council Queensland are urging the incoming Queensland go... more

08 October 2020

The pandemic may claim more lives as collateral damage as people put off having potentially life-saving cancer screening tests, experts warn. Data released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showed between January and June there ... more

08 October 2020

Tens of thousands of Queensland women missed out on lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screenings in the early half of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The worrying data, released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, has spar... more

08 October 2020

Lifesaving cancer screening tests have plummeted in Australia during the coronavirus pandemic, fuelling fears of a surge in delayed diagnoses and avoidable deaths. A stark new report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare on the impact of ... more

08 October 2020

The coronavirus epidemic led to a collapse in the number of women having life-saving tests for cancer, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data. "While more than 70,000 mammograms were performed in March 2020, this fell to around ... more

08 October 2020

The intense focus on the coronavirus throughout 2020 has distracted from other medical issues — some of them extremely serious. Additionally, lockdowns and concerns over contracting or spreading the coronavirus have led many to postpone or cancel imp... more

08 October 2020

Testing numbers for some of Australia’s most common cancers rapidly declined during the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic, suggesting Australia could have a cancer storm on its hands. Experts are concerned without early detection and regul... more

08 October 2020

Tests for common cancers plummeted during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic, raising fears that Australia could have a cancer storm brewing. There were more than 70,000 mammograms for breast cancer screening in March but the number fell to... more

07 October 2020

The world’s largest maker of healthcare products will have to pay out more than $140m to settle lawsuits over claims that its baby powder caused cancer. Johnson & Johnson has agreed to the payout to resolve more than 1000 lawsuits after four year... more

07 October 2020

A lab-grown tumour could hold the key to testing and improving treatments for women with ovarian cancer. An international team of researchers has created a 3D model of the deadly cancer outside the body which can re-create how tumour cells grow. It’s... more

07 October 2020

The world’s largest maker of healthcare products will have to pay out more than $140m to settle lawsuits over claims that its baby powder caused cancer. Johnson & Johnson has agreed to the payout to resolve more than 1000 lawsuits after four year... more

07 October 2020

Bristol-Myers Squibb says it will buy biotech MyoKardia in a $US13.1bn ($18.2bn) deal aimed at expanding the cancer-drug powerhouse’s line-up of heart drugs. The all-cash deal would snag MyoKardia’s promising experimental heart drug, which if approve... more

07 October 2020

Victoria will receive $50m for a new state-of-the-art melanoma centre at The Alfred hospital, to give cancer patients world-first access to new treatments. The Victorian Melanoma and Clinical Trials Centre is expected to be treating patients by 2022.... more

07 October 2020

Women with advanced ovarian cancer will be able to obtain a subsidised drug treatment for only $41 a script as part of $375.5m allocated in the budget towards listing medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Lynparza, also known as olaparib, ... more

07 October 2020

Young Australians will be able to stay on their parents’ private health insurance until they turn 31 under a measure designed to prop up ailing health funds. And the number of Medicare-funded mental health consultations accessible to Australians will... more

07 October 2020

Hundreds of patients with ovarian cancer are being given affordable access to a groundbreaking drug that was previously restricted to those who had failed conventional treatments, such as surgery and chemotherapy. Lynparza, which costs more than $140... more

06 October 2020

People suffering from liver cancer, a range of eye conditions and Parkinson’s disease will save thousands on medication bills under changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. More than $230 million will be dedicated to expanding the scheme as par... more

06 October 2020

Research on cures for heart disease, stroke, cancer, brain injury and motor neurone disease are being paused or cancelled and key researchers are losing their jobs, as the university revenue crunch starts to bite into science. Scientists say the dama... more

06 October 2020

The ability to use a person’s breath analysis for rapid and accurate early-stage testing for cancer has taken a leap forward. Flinders University researchers have progressed a method to test exhaled breath, which accurately identified head and neck c... more

06 October 2020

A life-saving program has used genetic testing to find treatments that shrink or stabilise aggressive tumours in children with rare cancers. Research on the ZERO Childhood Cancer program, published in Nature Medicine today, found the testing of the g... more

06 October 2020

Australia will become the first country in the world to publicly fund a new combination treatment for a deadly form of liver cancer in a $230 million promise in Tuesday’s federal budget. The commitment will expand the listing, Tecentriq and Avastin, ... more

02 October 2020

E-cigarette users are three times more likely to take up conventional smoking than those who don’t vape, a new report suggests. The study led by Australian National University, in collaboration with University of Melbourne researchers, also found ex-... more

01 October 2020

Breast cancer treatments and antibiotics are among more than 25 containers of vital medicines stuck on ships off Australia’s coast that can’t be unloaded due to industrial action on the wharves. Dennis Bastas, the chief of Australia’s biggest medicin... more

01 October 2020

Cancer physicians and pharmaceutical companies have raised concerns the crisis on the waterfront could result in drug shortages as talks between the parties over a peace deal drag on. Patrick Stevedores and the Maritime Union of Australia were locked... more

01 October 2020

Breast cancer will overtake prostate cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia this year. And without more money for research, 30,000 women will die of the cancer in the next decade, new calculations from the National Breast Cancer Fo... more

01 October 2020

Vaping is a “gateway” to conventional smoking with those using e-cigarettes three times as likely to take up tobacco, a new study reveals. Lead researcher and epidemiologist Emily Banks said there was “insufficient evidence” that vaping could help sm... more

30 September 2020

Using e-cigarettes triples the chance of a non-smoker taking up cigarettes, research shows. An Australian National University report released today found there was “insufficient” evidence that e-cigarettes help smokers quit, bolstering concerns that ... more

30 September 2020

Anthony Albanese has refused to condemn a wharfies go-slow delaying medical supplies bound for Sydney as cancer specialists warn the stoush will have a “shocking” impact on patients. It has been argued the Maritime Union of Australia’s industrial act... more

30 September 2020

Melbourne twins are taking part in a new Australian study which aims to draw on the closeness of twins to identify factors in early life that may predict the wider risk of breast cancer. By using twins’ matching DNA and their shared upbringings as a ... more

30 September 2020

Thousands of men could be spared the ordeal of having radiotherapy after surgery for prostate cancer, scientists said last night. The treatment is used to eradicate cancer cells and to try to ensure tumours do not return. But research published in Th... more

30 September 2020

Former employees of the Australian tobacco industry have revealed how it uses a loophole in the law to give incentives to retailers and drive sales. They told researchers how the loophole enables tobacco companies to engage in relationship marketing ... more

29 September 2020

The Australian Natural Therapeutic Group facility, near Armidale, is about to start producing medicinal cannabis oil on a commercial scale – the first such manufacturing licence granted in the state. The company’s chief executive, Matthew Cantelo, sa... more

29 September 2020

There has been an alarming rise in the number of young people, particularly women, being diagnosed with tongue cancer, a disease predominantly found in older men with a history of smoking or heavy drinking. Researchers from the cancer hospital Chris ... more

28 September 2020

A Silicon Valley software company is developing a blood test that uses machine algorithms to detect more than 50 types of cancers. The American biotech giant Illumina has announced an $8bn deal to purchase the Grail liquid biopsy, due to hit the mark... more

28 September 2020

Blood cancer patients will have better access to lifelong treatments and more tailored support as part of a multimillion dollar boost in next month’s Federal Budget. Health Minister Greg Hunt will today commit more than $600,000 to the Leukaemia Foun... more

28 September 2020

Researchers have detected an alarming rise in tongue cancers among young Australian women who have none of the known risk factors for the potentially deadly condition. Tongue cancers have increased 385 per cent over 32 years in women aged from their ... more

28 September 2020

As the US prepares to return humans to the Moon this decade, one of the biggest dangers future astronauts will face is space radiation, which can cause lasting health effects from cataracts to cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Though the Apollo ... more

28 September 2020

New training opportunities are regularly being introduced for nurses, amid severe worker shortages in every area of speciality. McGrath Foundation chief executive Holly Masters says there is a dire shortage of breast cancer nurses. Before COVID-19, t... more

28 September 2020

A new partnership combining research, clinical care and a drive for innovation aims to address some of the greatest health challenges of our time. The Adelaide Health Innovation Partnership brings together the Central Adelaide Local Health Network (C... more

28 September 2020

Laziness is killing tens of thousands of Australians a year and costing the health system $4.5 billion annually. But the good news is one in every six deaths is preventable, and tens of thousands of Australians could avoid dying from our biggest kill... more

28 September 2020

A massive drop in patients presenting at hospital emergency departments has raised fears people may be neglecting serious health checks because of the pandemic. But researchers believe the fall also is a sign that isolation may have led to fewer inju... more

25 September 2020

One in five young people have tried or used e-cigarettes in the past 12 months, prompting renewed calls for stricter laws on illegal nicotine sales. Quit Victoria is leading a push for tighter laws to protect youths from buying e-liquids and cigarett... more

24 September 2020

Retailers, convenience store owners and “smoke-free” advocates have blasted the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s interim decision to allow Australians to buy nicotine-based e-cigarettes from pharmacies if they have a script from their doctor. The T... more

24 September 2020

Baby foods are hiding nasty sugars and misleading parents who think they’re healthy, according to a study. Research by the Cancer Council Victoria has found baby foods are using packaging and health-focused names to spruik products that are full of p... more

23 September 2020

Retailers have urged the Morrison government to scrap its plan to sell vaping products in pharmacies with a prescription, warning the “deliberate exclusion” of small businesses from selling the “less harmful” products was “unconscionable, illogical a... more

23 September 2020

Australians will be able to buy nicotine-based e-cigarettes at chemists with a script from their doctor, under an interim decision made by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. The proposal, which will be open to public consultation before a final de... more

23 September 2020

Plain packaging has moved smokers to buy cheaper cigarettes – and to consume more of them. As a result, James Cook University researchers are calling for cigarette price increases. Head of Economics and Marketing Riccardo Welters said plain packaging... more

23 September 2020

Despite bladder cancer being equal to malignant melanoma as a cause of death for West Australians and prostate being the most common cancer in men, Fiona Stanley Hospital urological surgeon Dickon Hayne says “below the belt” cancers continued to be o... more

23 September 2020

Students as young as 13 are suffering from severe vomiting and others report chronic bouts of diarrhoea caused by an alarming spike of vaping in high schools. Medical experts have revealed some teens are ingesting as much nicotine contained in a pack... more

22 September 2020

A new treatment for patients with a common type of breast cancer has cut the risk of recurrence by a quarter, a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology has shown. The treatment involves patients taking the drug abemaciclib along with horm... more

22 September 2020

Cancer has become one of the first diseases to show how medicine will benefit from COVID-19. The pandemic has significantly disrupted cancer care, but as the model has been shaken up good ideas have fallen out. Cancer Australia yesterday published a ... more

22 September 2020

New research suggests that plain packaging — banning colours, logos, and trademarks from product packaging, and replacing them with health warnings — might actually lead smokers to buy more cigarettes. In a study published today in the journal Nature... more

21 September 2020

People with lung cancer have been given hope following a major breakthrough involving Australian researchers. A promising wonder drug, Lorlatinib, has just been tested in an international trial for patients newly diagnosed with ALKpositive Non-Small ... more

21 September 2020

Banning the sale of tobacco to anyone under 21 in Tasmania would cost the small to medium business sector up to $1.5m a year, an economist has found. However, the report — commissioned by anti-smoking advocate Andrew “ Twiggy” Forrest — suggests the ... more

18 September 2020

Cancer patients are more likely to die of their disease if they use common antacids at the same time as immunotherapies, a groundbreaking Australian study, published in the Journal of Clinical Cancer Research has found. Flinders University researcher... more

16 September 2020

Pathology testing rates for conditions such as cancer has fallen by more than 10 per cent in the ACT due to the coronavirus pandemic. Medical experts have said they're alarmed by figures that reveal testing rates remain down in 2020 compared to the s... more

15 September 2020

COVID-19 is thought to be the first disease in the modern era to disrupt cancer services in Australia as fears over coronavirus turned people away from check-ups and surgery. At its height the pandemic drastically reduced cancer services with the eff... more

15 September 2020

The diagnosis and treatment of three of the most common cancers plummeted with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a review of Medicare data by Cancer Australia has found. Concerned that people were delaying medical screening and treatment, Cancer Au... more

15 September 2020

The sun’s out and so is the skin cancer message for NSW schoolkids. Children will be taught how their choices at a young age could help them avoid skin cancer as part of an updated program being rolled out in the state’s schools from Tuesday. The “no... more

15 September 2020

Inner Melbourne’s newest park is set to be smoke-free when it opens later this year. A City of Melbourne survey has found overwhelming support for a smoking ban at Market Street Park in the CBD. Nearing completion, the park runs between Collins Stree... more

14 September 2020

Burglaries, low profit margins and hefty licence and insurance costs are key reasons Tasmanian retailers give up selling cigarettes, a study has found. The Department of Health study found that financial rather than ethical concerns were the most com... more

14 September 2020

Victorian men are skipping potentially lifesaving cancer tests because they fear catching COVID in doctors’ clinics and hospitals. Royal Melbourne Hospital gastroenterologist Andrew Metz said fewer men were doing bowel screen tests at home and going ... more

14 September 2020

Jaxon Hach was given just months to live after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Genetic testing showed Jaxon, who was diagnosed with cancer aged 18 months, had a mutation where a piece of the chromosome containing a gene called NTRK breaks off a... more

14 September 2020

The nation’s leading doctor and pathology groups have raised the alarm that healthcare services face being overwhelmed in coming years as people who have delayed vital screening checks due to the coronavirus pandemic present for treatment. Over 30 ma... more

14 September 2020

Victorian men are being urged to screen themselves for bowel cancer, with two thirds of eligible men passing up the chance for lifesaving detection. Cancer Council Victoria screening program manager Kate Broun said people spending more time at home p... more

14 September 2020

With 560 Tasmanians needlessly dying as a result of smoking each year, advocates for increasing the age for buying cigarettes say the state has “nothing to lose and everything to gain”. Despite Tasmania leading the way in smoking restrictions, tobacc... more

11 September 2020

Pinprick ink dots for breast cancer radiotherapy are now a thing of the past, thanks to new technology. At present in South Australia, virtually all breast cancer patients get several small tattoos to help the radiation therapist deliver treatment to... more

10 September 2020

Spending on anti-smoking public health campaigns has plummeted over the past decade as health experts say Australia risks losing its momentum on tobacco control. The article in the journal Public Health Research & Practice calculates that spendin... more

10 September 2020

An ambitious bid to hunt and destroy cancer tumours – using their own decay as a scent to land a lethal blow – has started on patients at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. The APOMAB technology uses antibodies which home in on a specific protein given off... more

09 September 2020

Shares in Perth-based Suda Pharmaceuticals have soared after the company announced it had received an Australian patent for its cancer treatment. Suda has repurposed the drug Anagrelide, a blood disorder medication, to treat certain solid tumour canc... more

07 September 2020

A Rockhampton doctor has been recognised for his work contributing to cancer research. The Australasian GastroIntestinal Trials Group’s fundraiser of the year award was given to medical oncologist Matthew Burge for his raising money for gastrointesti... more

07 September 2020

An action plan to help Australia reach zero blood-cancer deaths by 2035 is set to be backed by government, in the hope it will accelerate help for the silent pandemic. It comes as new figures show blood cancer is diagnosed in Australia every 31 minut... more

07 September 2020

Cross-border community members living just inside Victoria say they are being shut out of breast cancer screening services, despite SA Health claiming they are still welcome. Two women were told the closest breast screening service available was in H... more

07 September 2020

WA cancer patients who previously had to travel across Perth for care will be able to access the State’s first private “one-stop shop” early next year. Hollywood Private Hospital will open a radiation oncology centre alongside established services, i... more

07 September 2020

Groundbreaking cancer research technology acquired by the University of Tasmania will position the state as a medical leader, scientists say. The Cytek Aurora flow cytometer will allow Tasmanian scientists to more than triple their capacity to unders... more

07 September 2020

Illicit drug users who turn to trafficking will likely go to jail, warns one of South Australia’s most experienced judges, who has denounced the ubiquitous and serious societal problem. A Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia spokeswoman said was... more

07 September 2020

Half of Victoria has been left mentally scarred by the strict lockdown, with higher levels of depression and anxiety among the young, exclusive new polling reveals. Polling of over 1000 Victorians by research firm Dynata for the Institute of Public A... more

07 September 2020

As the ACT government rolled out its comprehensive outlook for improving the health and welfare of prisoners, one persistent problem within the Canberra prison system was unaddressed: smoking. The ACT and Western Australia are the only jurisdictions ... more

04 September 2020

Tasmania is the only jurisdiction that has not agreed to participate in the Special Access Scheme through the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Instead, Tasmania administers a Controlled Access Scheme. Under the Controlled Access Scheme, any pa... more

03 September 2020

Bee venom is effective in killing aggressive breast cancer cells, a new Australian study, published in Nature Precision Oncology journal has found. Results revealed the venom — from honeybees sourced in Western Australia, England and Ireland — rapidl... more

03 September 2020

September marks Blood Cancer Awareness Month and the Leukaemia Foundation is warning Australians that diagnoses are on the rise. According to the Foundation, diagnoses for one of Australia’s most common and deadly types of cancer have risen 38 per ce... more

01 September 2020

A state Coalition MP has called for his own government to legalise vaping by allowing the sale of nicotine e-cigarette liquid in NSW. Michael Johnsen has launched an online petition calling for the state government to legislate in favour of vaping to... more

01 September 2020

Pancreatic cancer has long been an orphan disease, orphaned because it is so deadly there is no army of survivors to advocate for it. It’s estimated that this year 3933 Australians will be diagnosed with this cancer and 3300 will die of it. ‘‘We reco... more

28 August 2020

An innovative technique to improve cancer treatments using tumour biopsies less than 30 minutes after they’re taken has been developed by the University of Queensland. The cutting-edge technique was developed after researchers found fresh biopsies re... more

28 August 2020

A Perth woman has been awarded more than $1 million in damages from James Hardie Industries’ compensation fund in the first West Australian mesothelioma case to run to judgment since 2011. The case marks a major victory for WA mesothelioma sufferers,... more

27 August 2020

Doctors who fear a spike of cancer deaths could be a legacy of the pandemic are urging West Australians not to stay away from their GP or hospital. A drop in the number of people attending health appointments has prompted warnings that deaths from ca... more

27 August 2020

SA Health has been ordered to hand over medical documents to the wife of a man who died following a cancer misdiagnosis – 14 months after his family started its battle to access the records. Lynda Burg, of Brahma Lodge, sought information relating to... more

26 August 2020

While many Aussies have turned to unhealthy habits to get them through COVID, smokers are using it as an opportunity to finally boot tobacco. Quit smoking resources have recorded big spikes since March, with either coronavirus itself or its many impl... more

26 August 2020

An early detection test for ovarian cancer would save the lives of more than 8000 Australian women in the next decade, however research funding has fallen fatally behind other diseases. A landmark report into the state of ovarian cancer in Australia ... more

25 August 2020

A fat attack may be the way to beat prostate cancer. Landmark research at the SA Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), University of Adelaide and the Freemasons Centre for Male Health and Wellbeing found prostate cancer cells can be stopped... more

25 August 2020

An early detection test for ovarian cancer would save the lives of more than 8000 Australian women in the next decade, however research funding has fallen fatally behind other diseases. A landmark report into the state of ovarian cancer in Australia ... more

25 August 2020

Having cancer as a child or young adult can accelerate the ageing process by about 25 years, a study published in the journal Cancer has found. Researchers looked at 60 cancer survivors who got the disease when they were young, at an average age of 2... more

25 August 2020

Australia’s health regulator has formalised a ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, rejecting suggestions they present a safer alternative for smokers and people trying to quit. In a final decision published yesterday, the Therapeutic Good... more

24 August 2020

Australian men at risk of dying from prostate cancer can now get a breakthrough lifesaving drug for free. The $55,000-a-year treatment, called Nubeqa (darolutamide), has extended the life of men in a clinical trial by five years, but was knocked back... more

24 August 2020

Young women who have surgery to cut their risk of ovarian cancer could now avoid an early menopause, thanks to a new technique that saves the ovaries. Surgeons first carry out an operation to remove the fallopian tubes, where many ovarian cancers are... more

21 August 2020

The blood of the elderly helps cancer spread, while the blood of the young keeps it contained, scientists say. Research suggests that along with other reasons ageing makes us susceptible to tumours, blood can play a role in propagating cancerous cell... more

21 August 2020

A new campaign is urging Victorians not to delay seeing a doctor after a scary drop in cancer notifications. The Cancer Council Victoria will next week roll out the Don’t Delay campaign after new data revealed the number of people diagnosed with mela... more

21 August 2020

Teenage girls who identify as transgender boys are being warned of a potential cancer risk from gender clinic medical treatment and told that they may later wish to have their uterus and ovaries removed to eliminate this possibility. Patient informat... more

20 August 2020

Students will be transported into lungs to try to kill cancer cells with various treatments as part of a new virtual-reality game that aims to teach youth that it is easier to prevent skin cancer than cure it. Excite Science this week launched its Ma... more

19 August 2020

The reality dawning on doctors, that hundreds more cancer and chronic disease sufferers will probably die because Melbourne’s stage four lockdown is scaring people away from taking medical tests, could prove a tipping point in scrutinising the trade-... more

19 August 2020

The Heart Foundation and other leading health bodies are calling for the next NT government to ban smoking on school grounds amid a rise in the number of Territory schools allowing staff to light up on campus. NT Tobacco Control Action Committee stat... more

19 August 2020

It is the deadliest of childhood cancers but a discovery by Australian researchers has found it could be destroyed by an already available drug. Tests by researchers from the Children’s Cancer Institute at the University of NSW has found a treatment ... more

18 August 2020

Vaping should be legalised to help Tasmania cut smoking rates while helping the health system and economy, a retail group says. The Australian Retail Vaping Industry Association (ARVIA) said research had shown vaping was up to 95 per cent less harmfu... more

17 August 2020

Scientists at Monash University have offered a glimmer of hope to brain cancer sufferers after discovering a drug that could lead to a potential treatment for the deadly disease — including one of its most aggressive forms. Researchers claim the drug... more

17 August 2020

Locally-listed small cap biotech company Prescient Therapeutics hopes to shift the conversation around cancer from treatments to cures, as it invests in a new-age technology showing early success in helping terminal patients called CAR-T. On Friday t... more

17 August 2020

A much-needed radiation cancer treatment facility will be established at Nambucca Heads under a $45.5 million commitment from the Federal Government to expand cancer services. This means the hundreds of cancer patients living in Nambucca Heads will n... more

14 August 2020

The average Territorian is likely to die 14 years earlier than other Australians and is almost twice as likely to die a potentially preventable death, recently released data has shown. Mortality statistics released by the Australian Institute of Heal... more

14 August 2020

A new treatment for an aggressive breast cancer that often kills young women is on the horizon after a breakthrough. The often fatal cancer affects 3000 mostly younger women every year and unlike other types of breast cancer, there is no new age trea... more

13 August 2020

A Queensland clinical trial is showing great success in the treatment of a very deadly brain cancer. The results of the phase I clinical trial have been published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Researchers have found that patients wh... more

13 August 2020

There are tentative signs Australia could be on the cusp of beginning to reverse very high levels of childhood obesity, with the proportion of young people overweight or obese declining in the past three years. The Australian Institute of Health and ... more

12 August 2020

Hundreds more Victorians are likely to die from cancer and serious illnesses because of fears about COVID-19 and Melbourne’s lockdown causing people to skip health appointments and miss early disease diagnoses, medical professionals warn. New Cancer ... more

12 August 2020

The singular focus on coronavirus will lead to many more deaths from cancer, heart disease, suicide and infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, according to a growing number of medical experts. In the UK it is estimated three million people have mi... more

10 August 2020

A revolutionary treatment in Brisbane is giving terminal brain cancer sufferers – who with traditional treatment would struggle to survive more than a few months – hope of spending years with their families. Icon Radiation oncologist Associate Profes... more

10 August 2020

Disposable e-cigarettes packed with high concentrations of nicotine have become the latest dangerous craze among school students. One principal has spoken out about the use in schools of the highly addictive pods, which are brightly coloured, come in... more

10 August 2020

Based on statistics from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and Australian Bureau of Statistics, the cost to the NT for healthcare attributable to smoking is $103 million per year and is $13 million per year for rheumatic heart disease. H... more

10 August 2020

The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute is leading a study to identify children and adults who are likely to develop heart disease posttreatment. The trial will use genetic biomarkers, or clues, and medical imaging to pinpoint which children are at... more

10 August 2020

Prescription medicine prices are being bumped up almost fourfold because of additional charges by pharmacies. A Herald Sun investigation shows that under a deal reached between the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the federal government, chemists are ... more

07 August 2020

British American Tobacco has used the COVID-19 pandemic to push for a freeze on excise duty increases from next month, claiming international border restrictions are fuelling an emerging illegal tobacco black market. The multinational giant said high... more

06 August 2020

A popular drug used to treat high blood pressure has been linked to an increase in serious skin cancer in older Australians, according to a new study published in the journal Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology. It has been linked to 2... more

05 August 2020

A popular high-blood pressure drug has been linked to increased skin-cancer risk in older Australians. Hydrochlorothiazide – one of the most prescribed high-blood pressure drugs – contained photosynthesising properties that could make skin more sensi... more

04 August 2020

BreastScreen NT will open for breast screening for the women of Central Australia from August 10 until October 2. All women aged 50 to 74 years are encouraged to access this free service every two years. “A screening only takes a few minutes and it c... more

04 August 2020

Residents are protesting against a proposed Telstra 4G mobile tower flagged for Ilparpa, Alice Springs, with the potential construction of a 31.4m mobile tower being planned for their boundary. Telstra regional general manager Nic Danks said a propos... more

03 August 2020

Smuggled tobacco products are being sold illegally on the streets of Adelaide, with organised crime gangs believed to be raking in profits generated from the “low risk, high reward” industry. The black market is undercutting lawful cigarette retailer... more

03 August 2020

Patients presenting to Victorian medical clinics have plummeted by up to 40 per cent as fear of rising coronavirus cases stop people from seeking potentially lifesaving help and referrals to cancer clinics have plunged. Australian Medical Association... more

03 August 2020

Genetic testing for all women over 30 would prevent millions of deaths from breast and ovarian cancer globally and be cost effective in medium and higher income countries. That is the conclusion of international research published in the journal Canc... more

31 July 2020

Cancer patients will soon have access to a new specialist nurse following the expansion of the Federal Government’s Prostate Cancer Nurses Program. The nurse will work across four GenesisCare radiation oncology centres in Adelaide to provide care and... more

31 July 2020

This year marks the 70th anniversary of two major studies that confirmed smoking causes lung cancer, and next year will be the 40th anniversary of a landmark report that confirmed exposure to second-hand smoke also causes lung cancer in non-smokers. ... more

29 July 2020

Experts agree the most common health issues Australian men face can be curbed or managed better if patients get regular health checks to pick up problems in people not yet experiencing symptoms of disease. With many conditions developing slowly over ... more

29 July 2020

A large fall in cancer referrals during the pandemic has prompted a specialist to urge people to see their GP soon. Oncology specialist Professor Alhossain Khalafallah, who directs the Specialist Care Clinic at Ulverstone, said he estimated a fall in... more

29 July 2020

With restrictions easing and life returning to relative normality in Western Australia, it is now time to stop postponing vital health checks, and for women aged over 40 that means it’s time to reconnect with your breast health. Having regular mammog... more

29 July 2020

A QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute study has revealed that being a pessimist can cut an average of two years from life span, though being an optimist did not extend life expectancy. Lead researcher, Dr John Whitfield from QIMR Berghofer’s Ge... more

29 July 2020

Western Australians are encouraged to stay on top of their health with a visit to their general practitioner now COVID-19-related measures have relaxed in the state. Australian Clinical Labs National Clinical Director Associate Professor Chris Barnes... more

28 July 2020

Plastic surgeons want Medicare to pay for cutting edge fat implant operations. The Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons says a procedure known as autologous fat grafting should be subsidised by taxpayers so it can be used on breast cancer survivors... more

28 July 2020

Cancer tracer maker Ferronova have won $828,000 in Federal Government Funding in the third round of grants from the $45m BioMedTech Horizons program. Ferronova’s specialist polymer-coated iron oxide nanoparticles, made to global standards at a lab in... more

28 July 2020

Queensland scientists say the discovery of new cellular immunotherapy targets for a deadly head and neck cancer caused by human papillomavirus could lead to better survival rates. The type of head and neck cancer – oropharyngeal cancer – can affect t... more

28 July 2020

Vaping is likely to be banned in 11 areas of Melbourne’s CBD and surrounds. The move would extend the definition of smoking, under local laws, to include e-cigarettes. The City of Melbourne has been working for months to extend its localised smoking ... more

27 July 2020

A bid to ban vaping in inner city smoke-free areas has been slammed by a business lobby group as unscientific. Melbourne City Council wants to amend its laws in line with state legislation controlling the use of e-cigarettes. A meeting on Tuesday wil... more

23 July 2020

Tasmanian cancer patients will benefit from new, state-of-the-art equipment that will deliver highly accurate radiation treatment in Launceston. The equipment was delivered through the state and federal government’s Commonwealth Radiation Oncology He... more

20 July 2020

High-protein diets and supplements are very much on trend. People of all ages are obsessed with proteins and believe that eating plenty of them will be instrumental to losing weight and gaining muscle mass and staying healthy. Not only are people eat... more

20 July 2020

Australia’s most promising research into treatments for cancer and other diseases will get a major cash boost to fast-track their development. The Morrison Government yesterday announced it was spending $18.8 million to accelerate the discovery of be... more

20 July 2020

Hormone replacement therapy could protect against common illnesses, a study suggests. Women taking HRT to cope with the menopause had a greater variety of beneficial bacteria in their urine, potentially cutting their risk of urinary tract infections.... more

20 July 2020

Cancer scientist from Newcastle University and the Hunter Medical Research Institute, Dr Matt Dun, has been researching medicinal cannabis to kill cancer cells, including leukaemia and DIPG cells, without harming normal cells. After three years of re... more

20 July 2020

More than 131 tonnes of illicit tobacco has been seized in Australia in the past financial year, with crooks trying to dodge $171 million in tax. The Australian Taxation Office took and destroyed the illicit tobacco in the 2019-20 financial year. Wit... more

17 July 2020

Perth researchers have identified a specific pool of donors whose cells can be successfully used to treat children with leukaemia. The research by Telethon Kids Institute, University of WA and Curtin University published today analysed “natural kille... more

17 July 2020

The RMIT University building investigated over fears of a cancer cluster among staff in 2006 has been listed for sale. RMIT Building 108, also known as The Tivoli, made headlines in 2006 after a series of brain cancer cases emerged at the building, w... more

17 July 2020

Queenslanders and Northern Territorians continue to smoke tobacco at a higher rate than those in any other Australian state or territory, but daily smoking numbers are down nationwide. The findings are included in the latest National Drug Strategy Ho... more

16 July 2020

Multimillion-dollar subsidies for compression tights will help people deal with incurable lymphoedema, including around 20 per cent of women with breast cancer. The Federal Government has committed an ongoing $2m a year nationally while the State Gov... more

16 July 2020

The number of cannabis users in Tasmania has increased by 50 per cent in a decade, although the number of people smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol has fallen, new figures show. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s National Drug Strateg... more

16 July 2020

People aged 14 to 29 are less likely to smoke, drink alcohol or consume illicit drugs than previous generations, a health report shows. A study of 22,000 people also revealed a drop in the non-medical use of painkillers and opioids, but found a rise ... more

16 July 2020

Young Australians are turning away from alcohol, drugs and cigarettes, consuming them less than their parents’ generation in a trend that has public health experts baffled. The Australian Health and Welfare Institute’s National Drug and Alcohol Surve... more

16 July 2020

A government-backed remote retailer established to promote healthy eating has been earning hundreds of thousands of dollars annually through incentives for selling tobacco products. The company, Outback Stores, has collected at least $20m in rebates ... more

16 July 2020

Almost two-thirds of Victorians have never smoked a cigarette, with females least likely to take a puff. More people are also choosing not to light up, with an extra 200,000 smokers giving up the habit in 2019 compared with more than a decade ago. Th... more

15 July 2020

Some prostate cancers are “highly likely” to be caused by human papillomavirus, according to a review on the topic. For the new paper, published in the journal Infectious Agents and Cancer, researchers from the University of NSW reviewed 26 studies o... more

13 July 2020

There are ways to prevent bowel cancer, though many are not taking that opportunity. Part of preventing bowel cancer may be as simple as taking aspirin. Recently, a 10-year follow-up of people who had inherited a high risk of developing bowel cancer ... more

13 July 2020

The Alfred hospital has moved to restrict access to its COVID-19 ward after eight healthcare workers tested positive, sending hundreds of staff into 14-day isolation in the hospital’s second outbreak since the pandemic began. A healthcare worker at t... more

13 July 2020

A Medical Journal of Australia study published in early 2020 explored lifetime risks for five types of cancer – prostate, breast, renal and thyroid cancers and melanoma. By comparing the difference between 1982 figures (where there were no screening ... more

13 July 2020

Sydney tobacconists are selling illegal miniature throwaway e-cigarettes with kid-friendly flavours, which are giving their young users 300 nicotine hits for just $15. The under-the-counter e-cigarettes called Cuvies are being sold throughout Sydney ... more

10 July 2020

Australians are surviving to a healthy old age despite having genes that cause cancer or heart disease, a breakthrough study has found. It means women who have genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer, may be having breasts and reproductive organs r... more

06 July 2020

Principals have written to parents warning them of a significant increase in vaping among teenagers, with teachers catching students in year 7 using vapes in Sydney. NSW Secondary Principals’ Council president Craig Petersen said vaping was now a maj... more

06 July 2020

In a Queensland first, a new technology is available at GenesisCare cancer treatment centre at Chermside, Brisbane. AlignRT is a unique radiation therapy system which tracks a patient’s positioning before and during their therapy, to assist with set-... more

06 July 2020

Hundreds of thousands of Australians who import liquid nicotine from overseas have won a six-month reprieve from new rules that would have put them at risk of hefty fines, but the battle over vaping is far from over. Now public health experts and vap... more

02 July 2020

A major international seller of e-cigarettes will push ahead with plans to open 20 stores across Australia, despite the Federal Government announcing tougher restrictions on the importation and sale of nicotine products. Spokesman Nibhik Gupta of New... more

02 July 2020

Adelaide’s Centre for Cancer Biology is leading research into a new therapy for brain cancer, training the body’s own defence cells to detect and kill the diseased ones. The approach has worked for leukaemia and other blood cancer treatment. In allia... more

02 July 2020

Scientists have discovered that high levels of a protein found in human melanoma cells could be the reasons patients do not respond well to treatment. Research by Australia’s QIMR Berghofer found high levels of the protein CD155 in melanoma cells mad... more

01 July 2020

Queensland scientists have discovered that high levels of a protein found in human melanoma cells could be the reason patients do not respond well to treatment. New research by QIMR Berghofer found high levels of the protein CD155 in melanoma cells m... more

30 June 2020

Canberra vaping stores have welcomed moves by the federal government to delay a ban on importing liquid nicotine. The ban was set to come into effect on 1 July but has since been pushed back by health minister Greg Hunt until 1 January following oppo... more

29 June 2020

Health Minister Greg Hunt has delayed plans to impose a $200,000 fine on Australians who import liquid nicotine and will review the government’s policy on smokers who use vaping to give up cigarettes after a backbench revolt. The ban, which the Thera... more

29 June 2020

Social smokers who light up only occasionally over a drink with friends may be doubling their chances of an early death. Startling new research shows smoking as few as six to 10 cigarettes a month can still cause serious harm. Strokes, heart attacks ... more

29 June 2020

The federal government has thrown a lifeline to people using e-cigarettes with nicotine as a means to ending their smoking addiction. Nicotine vaping products are currently banned under state and territory regulations. Earlier this month, Health Mini... more

26 June 2020

The Morrison government is facing an open backbench revolt over the decision to ban personal imports of the liquid nicotine used for vaping, with 28 Coalition MPs signing a letter condemning the restrictions announced last week. The restriction has b... more

26 June 2020

Cancer patients may have been subject to doses of radiation at a Bendigo clinic that were too strong or too weak to safely fight their disease, health authorities fear. As investigations stepped up into the Quality Cancer Care clinic yesterday, it em... more

26 June 2020

A decision by the German maker of the controversial weedkiller Roundup to pay out almost $16 billion to settle thousands of US lawsuits has given hope to litigants in Australia. Maurice Blackburn is leading one of several Australian class actions aga... more

26 June 2020

Bayer will keep selling its weed killer Roundup in Australia and fight local litigation against the product, despite agreeing to pay up to $US10.9 billion ($15.8 billion) to settle tens of thousands of claims in the US alleging it causes cancer. Exec... more

26 June 2020

Melbourne researchers are behind a new international trial using an anti-cancer drug in the hope it could save the lives of seriously ill COVID-19 patients. Researchers from the Hudson Institute of Medical Research in Clayton have been probing whethe... more

26 June 2020

Former minister Matt Canavan is leading a charge to overturn the government’s ban on e-cigarettes and nicotine vaping refills. Senator Canavan and fellow Queensland MP George Christensen have created a petition to encourage people to protest the ban ... more

25 June 2020

Senator Matt Canavan is calling for Australia to legalise e-cigarettes after the Morrison government moved to ban the importation of vapes and nicotine refills unless prescribed by a doctor. The Nationals senator from Queensland has started a petitio... more

25 June 2020

Australia has closed the door on e-cigarettes, banning the personal importation of the devices and nicotine refills for vaping devices from July 1. The 12-month import prohibition closes the last remaining legal avenue for buying nicotine refills, af... more

25 June 2020

Researcher Marian Burr uses the power of the human body’s immune system to find new treatments for cancer. Her life-saving work into how our own bodies can hunt down and eradicate cancer has now been given an $8 million boost. The fellowship funding ... more

25 June 2020

A drastic diet may make chemotherapy more effective for breast cancer patients, evidence has found. Participants of a study who ate very little for the four days leading up to the treatment were more likely to see their tumours shrink by more than 90... more

25 June 2020

Thousands of cancer patients face a distressing wait after revelations they may have been mistreated or misdiagnosed at a regional treatment clinic. An investigation has begun into whether radiotherapy was conducted by suitably qualified staff at Qua... more

24 June 2020

Scientists experimenting with a new way of identifying the source of mystery cancers are among researchers to share in $35.9 million to tackle rare diseases. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt will announce the funding boost for 17 research projects t... more

23 June 2020

Australia will join an international clinical trial to test a new daily pill which uses targeted therapies that bypass healthy cells in children with brain tumours, the biggest cancer killer of young Australians. Leading the clinical trial is Profess... more

23 June 2020

Personalised vaccines, when given in combination with a drug that boosts the body’s natural defences to fight cancer, have shown “promising signs” in early clinical trials of patients with advanced cancers. Researchers have found the experimental tre... more

23 June 2020

Vaping nicotine in Australia is set to end as the Federal Government moves to ban the importation of e-cigarettes. From 1 July, it will be illegal to important e-cigarettes and refills containing nicotine liquids or salts. Retailers and users of e-ci... more

22 June 2020

Cancer has overtaken circulatory disease as the leading cause of Indigenous deaths in NSW and Victoria, prompting a new campaign aimed at improving screening, treatment and lifestyle factors. The latest data from the NSW Cancer Institute shows the nu... more

22 June 2020

According to the doctors of Adelaide’s Forward Medical GP Clinic, it’s time to assess the fallout of social distancing. Dr Uri Scelwyn said, “One of the frightening statistics was that, during the COVID lockdown, GP consultations across Australia wer... more

22 June 2020

Men who eat yoghurt twice a week are 19 per cent less likely to develop abnormal bowel growths, a precursor to bowel cancer, a study in the Gut journal has found. This is likely due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Sunday Herald Sun, 21/06/2020,... more

22 June 2020

The Federal Government is extending a ban on the importation of e-cigarettes containing vaporiser nicotine unless prescribed by a doctor. The ban will remain in place for 12 months to allow for public consultation on the regulation of nicotine produc... more

22 June 2020

Importing nicotine liquid for electronic cigarettes will be banned by 1 July in a move vaping advocates say will cost lives. The new regulation will ban all personal importation of nicotine liquids. Pharmacies or medical suppliers would be able to im... more

18 June 2020

Men who have survived prostate cancer don’t feel supported after their treatment, with more than a third saying they want more comprehensive after-care. A landmark 15-year study of male patients and survivors also revealed most men continued to repor... more

16 June 2020

A breakthrough by Queensland researchers offers new hope for sufferers of a highly deadly blood cancer. The research findings will be published today in the international journal Nature Communications. QIMR Berghofer has identified how an early genet... more

15 June 2020

More than a dozen kids have had lifesaving cancer treatment at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, after it was made freely available for the first-time last year. The revolutionary treatment, called chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy – or C... more

15 June 2020

Victorian hospitals are set to benefit from increased staffing after the federal government announced a $23 million investment into its prostate cancer nurse program. The funding will employ additional specialist nurses at 24 health services and canc... more

15 June 2020

Breast cancer surgeons are reporting a 40 per cent drop in breast cancer diagnoses over the pandemic months, sparking a warning that thousands are unaware they are living with the disease and the delayed detection will lead to more deaths than COVID-... more

15 June 2020

Cancer testing plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic and is yet to recover to normal levels, prompting fears that thousands of Australians could be missing the window for early diagnosis. Nationally representative figures from major private patho... more

15 June 2020

Most people aged 50 to 70 should be taking aspirin daily to help ward off bowel cancer. A long-running global study involving the Royal Melbourne Hospital, published in the Lancet this week, has indicated that taking aspirin for just a few years can ... more

15 June 2020

The Morrison Government is providing more than $3.5 million to Cancer Council NSW to research what demand will look like for cancer treatment over the next five years. It is one of the six projects researching five-year patterns in cancer that will s... more

11 June 2020

Smoking giant Philip Morris has had a setback in its bid to sell a new tobacco product in Australia: “heated sticks”, it says are an alternative to vaping and smoking that produce fewer and lower levels of toxic chemicals than cigarettes. The heated ... more

11 June 2020

A breakthrough treatment for prostate cancer by Melbourne specialists has delivered “stunning” results. Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre has been running trials for the state-of-the-art method using radioactive molecules to detect and treat prostate can... more

11 June 2020

The treatment of cancers next to the brain, eye and spinal cord, as well as deadly tumours in children, will become much more precise and effective with the creation of Australia’s first proton therapy centre in Adelaide. In a major boost to people f... more

09 June 2020

An increase in women turning to the bottle during COVID-19 and a more than 300 per cent spike in online alcohol advertising clicks are being investigated by a Flinders University researcher, Jessica Thomas. A recent ABS survey showed 17 per cent of w... more

09 June 2020

The search for a cure for childhood brain cancer has received a multimillion-dollar boost from the Federal Government. Research trials into treatments for melanoma, as well as reproductive and gynecological cancers, will also benefit from the $13.6 m... more

09 June 2020

People who eat fatty foods over a prolonged period are at risk of a fast-killing cancer that is growing in prevalence. New QIMR Berghofer research indicates that the high-fat diet could induce early Barrett’s oesophagus, a precursor condition to oeso... more

05 June 2020

Australian researchers have found a way to stop cancer cells becoming resistant to treatment in a major breakthrough that could extend the lives of patients. When researchers blocked the resistance process in an experimental model of pancreatic cance... more

05 June 2020

A glimmer of hope has been given to metastatic breast cancer sufferers with a drug that can slow the progression of cancer being made available to more people in Australia. The Breast Cancer Network will today announce a new access program for the dr... more

02 June 2020

Genetic screening could spot thousands of cases of prostate cancer that would otherwise go unnoticed until it is too late, research suggests. A pilot study led by doctors at the Institute of Cancer Research in London found that DNA testing in GP surg... more

02 June 2020

South Hedland has been revealed as the worst town in WA for smoking, closely followed by four in the Goldfields. According to the latest Australia’s Health Tracker by Area: Smoking Rates Report, Boulder, Kambalda, Coolgardie and Norseman tied behind ... more

01 June 2020

Doctors say they are seeing a surge of terminally ill people asking to end their lives at home amid fears the coronavirus crisis could thwart their hopes for a swift, painless death surrounded by loved ones. Figures show more than 300 applications ha... more

01 June 2020

Tasmania has signed a record $2.4 billion deal with the Federal Government to lock in extra hospital funding for five years. It will boost the state’s current hospital funding by $400 million, ensuring more cash for doctors, nurses and services. The ... more

01 June 2020

Victorian hospitals will receive an extra $7.3 billion in federal support over the next five years after a new funding deal was finally locked in. The commonwealth’s share of funding for Victorian hospitals will swell to $32.4 billion by 2025 in a na... more

01 June 2020

Vehicle emissions along the $16 billion North East Link will exceed the state’s new air pollution standards, with the Eastern Freeway also predicted to fail pollution checks as an extra 100,000 vehicles come onto the road each day. Air pollution mode... more

01 June 2020

A rugby ball-shaped nanoparticle supercharged with cancer-killing drugs could revolutionise the treatment of one of the most common brain tumours in children. The microscopic nanoparticle will directly attack medulloblastoma tumours, which is in cont... more

01 June 2020

Women who do not attend regular breast screenings are more likely to face out-of-pocket costs if diagnosed with cancer than those who do, research has found. A Monash University study found women who had regular screenings were more likely to detect ... more

01 June 2020

Health Minister Roger Cook wants smokers to know exactly what’s in cigarettes, saying he did not want “a new generation of smokers” as he flags pushing for regulative reform. Mr Cook said this week there needed to be “full disclosure” of individual c... more

01 June 2020

The ACT government will award nearly $900,000 to three community anti-smoking programs, as part of efforts to curb smoking rates in vulnerable communities. The funding, announced on World No Tobacco Day, will support programs designed to reach groups... more

01 June 2020

Social media influencers are helping Big Tobacco get the next generation of Australians smoking. A Sunday Mail investigation has found the companies are using devious tactics to get around laws banning advertising – with Facebook, Twitter and TikTok ... more

01 June 2020

There has been a surge of smokers trying to quit amid concerns they are more likely to suffer severe complications from coronavirus. Health Minister Greg Hunt said more than 24,000 people downloaded the Department of Health’s Quitbuddy app between Ja... more

29 May 2020

The national response to COVID-19 should prioritise the reduction of smoking among disadvantaged communities, researchers say, as some Hobart suburbs continue to house the most smokers nationwide. Research released from the University of Victoria’s M... more

29 May 2020

Just a few months vaping may raise the risk of gum disease. E-cigarette smokers have communities of bacteria in their mouths that closely match those of people with gum disease, a study has found. The findings from the study suggest chemicals from th... more

28 May 2020

Shoppers are being misled about the healthiness of many junk foods, researchers fear. A Deakin University food labelling study, published in the journal Nutrients, found three-quarters of heavily processed food and half of discretionary foods with he... more

28 May 2020

Undiagnosed people with cancer are losing precious time by putting off GP visits during the coronavirus pandemic. The Leukaemia Foundation is predicting a dramatic spike in the number of people diagnosed with blood cancer in coming months as people w... more

27 May 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken over our lives and our attention. However, there is another older pandemic also recognised by the World Health Organisation – and that is tobacco smoking. The tobacco smoking pandemic claims six million lives worldwide... more

27 May 2020

Some experts believe in counting excess death in measuring the impact of coronavirus on people’s health helps everybody glean a fairer and more accurate picture of the country’s ultimate mortality rate. It captures not only the COVID-19 deaths but al... more

27 May 2020

Decisions about whether new chemicals entering the Australian marketplace pose a danger to consumers or workers will be left in the hands of private industry from next week, as a major overhaul of chemical regulation takes effect. Changes to the rule... more

27 May 2020

The life-threatening six-month wait for a colonoscopy to diagnose bowel cancer has become even longer thanks to COVID-19 and lives could now be at risk. Before the pandemic, Australians with a positive bowel screen test were waiting six months or lon... more

26 May 2020

A new cancer treatment being trialled on dogs has raised hopes for human patients, with initial results showing 30 per cent of the canines went into complete remission. Curtin University has developed the treatment and is conducting the trial with ca... more

26 May 2020

Queensland scientists are trying to find ways to diagnose ovarian cancer earlier and more accurately in the hope of boosting the survival rate. Last year, 1046 Australian women died from ovarian cancer, while 1510 were diagnosed with the disease. Glo... more

26 May 2020

Forronova, the Australian company developing a technology to speed up the early detection of the spread of cancer, has received $3.5 million funding as it plans human trials for oral, breast and colorectal cancers. The technology – a hybrid smart mag... more

25 May 2020

A therapy that has revolutionised the fight against blood cancer is being adapted to help fight solid tumours such as lung and breast cancers. Researchers at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre are trialling a new take on CAR T-cell therapy – a type of... more

25 May 2020

Illicit tobacco seizures have soared and under-the-counter sales at suburban shops are rampant with concerns that rising taxes will continue to fuel the black market. It comes as the federal government considers whether to form a new task force that ... more

25 May 2020

Hospitals are set to be swamped by a wave of patients suffering serious conditions left to fester during the coronavirus pandemic. An audit of doctor appointments across Victoria and NSW shows a looming crisis for patients and specialists dealing wit... more

25 May 2020

The National Breast Cancer Foundation of Australia has awarded $10 million to research into treatment and early detection in a push to meet a target of zero breast cancer deaths by 2030. The not-for-profit has picked 16 research projects to fund. Eig... more

25 May 2020

An alarming new look at the impacts of type 2 diabetes has found Australian sufferers are at a higher risk of developing other chronic diseases than previously thought. In a report released by the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute today, research sh... more

25 May 2020

Australian researchers hope a soon-to-be-trialled breast cancer vaccine will stop recurrences of the disease and eventually be used to fight other common cancers. The jab will not prevent cancer in the first place but will be given to people who have... more

22 May 2020

Patient advocates and doctors are urging governments to devise a plan to catch up on elective surgery after the coronavirus shutdown added an estimated 400,000 people to hospital waiting lists. State governments have given hospitals in NSW and Victor... more

21 May 2020

If you have struggled to give up smoking, the reason you’ve failed could lie in your genes. Professor Sulev Koks, from Murdoch University and the Perron Institute, said variants in the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene was strongly associated with high... more

21 May 2020

Walking, cycling and taking the train to work rather than driving may help reduce the risk of early death from heart disease and cancer, new research suggests. The findings are base on a study of more than 300,000 commuters in England and Wales over ... more

21 May 2020

Johnson & Johnson, besieged by lawsuits, will stop selling baby powder made with talc in the US and Canada, citing a decline in customer demand amid safety concerns about one of its most famous products. J&J has been facing lawsuits alleging ... more

20 May 2020

Queensland researchers have unlocked some of the mysteries surrounding a rare form of melanoma in the eye, hopefully paving the way for the development of more effective treatments. Scientists from the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and th... more

20 May 2020

Victorian medical experts will receive almost half of a $400 million federal funding boost for research tackling everything from binge eating and online depression treatments to dementia screening and genetic cancer risks. It is expected 267 research... more

20 May 2020

Locals pushing for a respite facility for younger people with terminal illness in Queanbeyan are calling for the state and federal governments to come to the table with ongoing funding for running costs, to ensure their efforts don’t fall at the last... more

19 May 2020

Greens-dominated Byron Shire council has bowed to conspiracy theorists who are fighting against implementation of high-speed internet. Protesters have been fighting to prevent Telstra workers from accessing the company’s 5G tower in Mullumbimby for t... more

18 May 2020

The State Government is looking to ban junk-food advertising on State-owned assets and premises in a bid to curb WA’s obesity epidemic. It has been urged to take immediate action to address the crisis after a report this week revealed one in 10 hospi... more

18 May 2020

Postponing elective surgery during the pandemic in Australia has created a backlog of almost 400,000 cases, according to an international study published in The British Journal of Surgery. After six weeks of complete restrictions, limited elective su... more

18 May 2020

Medicinal cannabis could be available from chemists without a prescription from early next year – with the controversial move pitting doctors against patient groups. The nation’s medicines watchdog has opened public consultation after pressure from a... more

15 May 2020

Scientists have developed a “game changing” new test that can detect prostate cancer without the need for the uncomfortable alternative. The 15-minute scan means people can avoid having to undergo rectal examinations, according to researchers. The “p... more

14 May 2020

In a potential world-first discovery, Queensland researchers have developed a saliva test that can detect hidden throat cancer in patients who show no symptoms. The discovery was made during a HPV-prevalence study which included 665 health individual... more

13 May 2020

Researchers have developed a brain cancer drug that can cut through the brain’s protective coating in a major breakthrough that could save thousands of lives. Brain cancer has among the lowest survival rates of cancer, with just 4 per cent of people ... more

13 May 2020

Doctors are concerned more people are turning to alcohol, sedatives and illegal drugs as they deal with stress caused by the isolation and upheaval of the coronavirus pandemic. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners is warning that sub... more

12 May 2020

Early breast cancer screening can slash the risk of dying from the disease by more than 40 per cent, a new study has revealled. The study stresses the importance of women having regular mammograms. Screening allows doctors to use an X-ray to spot tum... more

12 May 2020

Melanoma experts are worried skin checks have been put into a holding pattern during the coronavirus pandemic, with many people avoiding trips to their doctors. The delays are concerning Melanoma Patients Australia chief executive Victoria Beedle, wh... more

11 May 2020

The fast food industry has been accused of using marketing strategies to cash in on the pandemic lockdown. Domino’s Australia is promoting “5 reasons to eat pizza in isolation”, Red Rooster is featuring “social distancing” in its promotions and McDon... more

11 May 2020

The number of blood tests recorded across Australia has halved during the pandemic. Pathologists and cancer experts say people should still be getting tested when needed. Full blood tests from private pathologists plunged 60 per cent in April compare... more

11 May 2020

The introduction of the HPV vaccine in 2007 is likely to have prevented 2000 Australian babies from being born prematurely over eight years, findings of a research study have found. In 2007, Australia was one of the first countries to provide a vacci... more

08 May 2020

More than $16 million will be invested into medical research projects to better understand ovarian cancer, which is predicted to kill 1000 women by the end of this year. The devastating disease has the lowest survival rate of all female cancers. The ... more

07 May 2020

Opponents and proponents of vaping will have a chance to lobby Melbourne City Council before it decides whether to ban e-cigarettes from smoke-free areas. The public will have about a month to make submissions to the council on a local law to make va... more

07 May 2020

The Northern Territory could become the first jurisdiction in Australia to legalise vaping should fledging political party Territory Alliance seize power at the upcoming election. Under the party’s policy, laws would be introduced to regulate e-cigar... more

07 May 2020

A cancer drug that can “kill” sleeping cancerous cells and increase the effectiveness of current treatments offers hope to breast cancer patients. Venetoclax is being tested on patients after lab research found it could attack and kill cancerous cell... more

06 May 2020

More than 60,000 patients a day are missing out on vital medical tests – and doctors fear a tsunami of illnesses could overwhelm the heath system after COVID-19. The dramatic decline in medical testing and health presentations has led to GPs, pharmac... more

05 May 2020

Taking aspirin just once a week could slash cancer risk by over a third, experts claim. Scientists looked at 113 studies into digestive cancers including stomach, oesophageal, bowel and mouth. Results showed regular aspirin use – one or two pills a w... more

04 May 2020

Seriously ill Victorians are risking their lives by refusing to go to the hospital or call an ambulance over fears of COVID-19. Melbourne hospitals have also reported a fall in patients. These concerns have promoted a plea from medics for unwell Vict... more

04 May 2020

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is launching two separate inquiries into the exorbitant food prices charged in remote indigenous communities. The States and Territories will also explore how they can address the shocking cost inequality that is leading... more

04 May 2020

Up to 20 people may have developed cancer after being exposed to contaminated soil at a school on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula, a federal inquiry has heard. But a senate committee investigating whether there was a cancer cluster in Barwon Heads and... more

04 May 2020

Cases of cancer and other serious illnesses could rise because of a fall in testing at the height of the coronavirus crisis, experts say. The biggest private pathology laboratory in Canberra is doing 450 fewer tests for cancer a week than it did last... more

01 May 2020

Tens of thousands of patients with rare cancer will get a faster diagnosis from today with new Medicare rebates making sophisticated molecular tests affordable. Each year more than 52,000 people are diagnosed with rare cancers, and 25,000 die from th... more

01 May 2020

Public health spending across Sydney’s western epicentre is a startling $800 per person less than in other regions despite the area’s growing population, leading to huge disparities in cancer treatment across Sydney. Figures tendered at a parliamenta... more

01 May 2020

Vaping may damage blood vessels in a similar way to smoking, raising the risk of a heart attack or stroke. A study in the Journal of the American Heart Association has found concerning signs of stiffened arteries in young people who use e-cigarettes.... more

30 April 2020

Two dozen staff at Sunshine Hospital in Melbourne’s west have been sent home to isolate after a patient who underwent emergency surgery later tested positive to COVID-19. The incident has renewed calls by the Australian Medical Association for mandat... more

29 April 2020

Demand for chemotherapy at home is rocketing amid the COVID crisis as vulnerable patients try to minimise public contact. Health fund Bupa, which covers the home treatment in all policies where chemotherapy is included, has seen demand surge in the p... more

29 April 2020

Doctors’ groups say it is unacceptable that they are being forced to ration flu vaccination as they battle a severe nationwide shortage caused by distribution failures and record demand. While a record 16.5 million flu vaccines have been secured this... more

28 April 2020

Australian researchers have played a lead role in an international study that has more than doubled the number of genetic regions linked to melanoma, a skin cancer that kills more than 1700 Australians a year. The study identified 33 new genetic regi... more

27 April 2020

A mercy mission is being planned to collect desperately needed nuclear medicine used to threat children with high-risk cancers across Australia. Organised by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), the $100,000 emergency o... more

27 April 2020

Cancer referrals at Australia’s leading oncology centres have plummeted by up to 30 per cent, fuelling concerns seriously ill people may be going undiagnosed. The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre said referrals for patients were down by a third this mon... more

27 April 2020

Smoking when you are stressed causes a vicious cycle, because smoking actually increases your stress hormones. So the more you smoke, the more stressed you’ll feel and the more you’ll feel like a cigarette. Worse still, smokers are at greater risk wh... more

27 April 2020

Almost 600 medicines, vaccines and vital cancer treatments are in short supply, with stocks of 75 of them critically low, thanks to COVID-19 panic-buying. The shortages, which existed before the coronavirus emerged, have grown by 33 per cent in the p... more

23 April 2020

With the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the influenza season on the horizon, there really has never been a better time to quit smoking. We know that smoking can put you at greater risk of getting chest infections and influenza, and emerging... more

23 April 2020

Melbourne-based biotech oNKo-Innate has scored a major three year research partnership with global biotech giant Gilead and its subsidiary Kite to further develop its immunotherapy research. The business, founded by PhD scientists Jai Rautela and Nic... more

23 April 2020

Cancer and other chronic diseases are going undiagnosed as Australians fearful of COVID-19 avoid their doctor – and those most at risk are not using new telehealth solutions. Since new telehealth rebates were introduced on March 13, there have been m... more

23 April 2020

Cancers and heart disease are going undiagnosed as people avoid visiting a doctor during the COVID-19 outbreak, doctors say. Doctors around the country are reporting a significant drop in cancer diagnoses in April. They have also raised concerns abou... more

22 April 2020

The Prime Minister declared “we are already on the road back” to reopening society, as he unveiled a “gradual restart” to elective surgery, with category two and some category three procedures able to go ahead after the Anzac Day weekend. Post-cancer... more

22 April 2020

Elective surgeries suspended during the coronavirus pandemic will resume on Monday as hospitals reopen about a quarter of waiting lists. Post-cancer reconstructive procedures will be one of the surgeries in focus, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison sai... more

22 April 2020

Elective surgeries suspended during the coronavirus crisis will start again on Monday, with hospitals expected to re-open about a quarter of operating waiting lists, including post-cancer reconstructive procedures. Category two and three elective pro... more

22 April 2020

Elective surgery will resume next week after Scott Morrison announced the National Cabinet had decided to ease virus restrictions. The reopening is largely thanks to extra personal protective equipment secured by the Federal Government and the slowin... more

21 April 2020

Screening for bowel cancer at a younger age based on family history could improve early detection and in some, help prevent the disease, scientists say. An analysis by researchers in the US suggests almost all patients between 40 and 49 years of age ... more

21 April 2020

Sienna Cancer Diagnostics and the University of Adelaide have announced a licencing partnership around a process which has the potential to detect a sugar molecule only present in cancer cells. University of Adelaide and Griffith University researche... more

20 April 2020

With COVID-19 infections remaining low in WA, 544 as of yesterday, the Australian Medical Association has called on the Health Minister to restart some elective surgeries — something Roger Cook says he is supportive of, confirming he backs a phased a... more

20 April 2020

Taking vitamin supplements does not guarantee a healthier, longer life and in some cases can increase the risk of serious illness. A 20-year US Institute of Health study found those who take supplements to have the same likelihood of early death as p... more

20 April 2020

US regulators have approved a new drug, Tukysa, for an aggressive type of breast cancer that can spread to the brain. The Food and Drug Administration said the twice-daily pill is for people with what is known as HER2-positive breast cancer that has ... more

17 April 2020

Clinpath Pathology’s at home collection services have been extended to include anyone that needs to undertake regular testing, including cancer patients. Clinpath Marketing’s engagement lead Charlie Robinson said, “It is imperative that regular medic... more

17 April 2020

Taking aspirin just once or twice a week could lower the risk of getting several deadly cancers, scientists have claimed. The over-the-counter painkiller is believed to block an enzyme which helps tumours to form. Italian researchers looked at a rang... more

16 April 2020

A high-level taskforce has been set up to advise the Palaszczuk Government about when some cancer screening services can restart, though it will depend on whether the state’s protective equipment is considered adequate amid the continuing coronavirus... more

16 April 2020

Some states are preparing to resume elective surgeries and health screenings after services were suspended to make hospital beds and equipment available for an expected influx of coronavirus patients. Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles said, “We... more

16 April 2020

Getting more sleep, eating healthier food, and exercising more is getting tougher in the lockdown period for many, a YouGov survey of 2085 Australians has found. More than one in three respondents (35 per cent) said they were doing less exercise now ... more

14 April 2020

Nearly half a million people needing surgery could be waiting 18 months or longer as all non-urgent elective surgery has been cancelled, with some men currently being unable to get surgery for prostate cancer. Waiting times for elective surgery were ... more

14 April 2020

A fatal coronavirus cluster at The Alfred hospital should be the subject of an inquiry to help avoid any other mass hospital infections, as sources claim cancer patients at The Alfred may have been infected by COVID-19 for days without being tested a... more

14 April 2020

IVF clinics around Australia have stopped most egg collection and embryo transfers due to national guidelines around non-urgent elective procedures. Hobart-based fertility doctor Bill Watkins, said exceptions would be made at his clinic for cancer pa... more

14 April 2020

Almost 160 Victorian healthcare workers have been infected with coronavirus, a figure which has doubled in a week, prompting the state’s peak medical body to demand an explanation from authorities. The Australian Medical Association’s state president... more

14 April 2020

COVID-19 clusters are blooming within several Australian hospitals, as the virus spreads between staff, patients and their visitors from untraceable sources. Undetected coronavirus cases have infiltrated wards and units at Westmead Hospital, The Alfr... more

14 April 2020

The World Health Organisation has warned governments about engaging with the tobacco industry over the development of coronavirus vaccines. British American Tobacco said this month, that it had made a breakthrough in developing a potential plant-base... more

09 April 2020

Drinking alcohol and smoking are common ways to cope with stress, uncertainty or boredom and reaching for a drink or cigarette can feel like an escape. Alison Lai, chief executive of the Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs Council of Tasmania, says all ... more

08 April 2020

Dozens of medical staff at The Alfred have been cleared to return to work following a cluster of COVID-19 cases in the oncology ward. A spokeswoman for The Alfred said it could take weeks or even months before the source of the infection was determin... more

06 April 2020

Women who breastfeed have a lower risk of developing ovarian cancer, a study has found. The international study involving QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute researchers discovered ovarian cancer risk may be cut by almost 25 per cent in women w... more

06 April 2020

A decade ago, a diagnosis of advanced or stage four melanoma was effectively a death sentence within six to nine months. Leading medical oncologist, Associate Professor Alex Menzies from Melanoma Institute Australia, believes immunotherapy – using th... more

06 April 2020

The Alfred Hospital is at the centre of a coronavirus cluster, having so far claimed three lives, while the origin of the outbreak remains unknown. The hospital has since ordered 100 staff members to go into isolation while investigation continues in... more

06 April 2020

Smokers are at greater danger of COVID-19, according to new research. Early data from China and Italy suggests smokers may face twice the risk of having a severe case of coronavirus. Quit director, Dr Sarah White, said the combination of a reduced im... more

03 April 2020

The death of a woman in her 60s on Wednesday night was the sixth coronavirus fatality in Victoria. The woman was admitted to The Alfred about five weeks ago for treatment and tested positive to COVID-19 on Friday. Her death has intensified concerns a... more

03 April 2020

The sixth Victorian to die from COVID-19 was part of a cluster of 15 cases linked to The Alfred hospital’s cancer ward. On Thursday, The Alfred revealed a woman in her 60s had become the third inpatient in the haematology and oncology ward to succumb... more

03 April 2020

Two radiation therapists at Westmead Hospital’s Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre have been diagnosed with COVID-19, sending two cancer patients and roughly 20 radiation oncology staff into quarantine. In a statement Western Sydney Local Health Distr... more

02 April 2020

Smokers have an opportunity to kick their habit during this time of spatial distancing as a combination of influenza and COVID-19 are likely to have a greater impact, including higher hospitalisation and death rates, on them over the coming months. E... more

02 April 2020

Three-quarters of all deaths in Australia resulting from the coronavirus pandemic are linked to just three sources of infection — the Ruby Princess and three other returning cruise ships, an aged care facility and the cancer treatment ward of a major... more

01 April 2020

Tasmanian respiratory researcher Dr Sukhwinder Sohal has warned smokers of the serious risk posed to them from coronavirus, urgently warning Tasmanians to give up the habit. Dr Sohal’s team at the University of Tasmania has just published research fi... more

30 March 2020

Two cancer patients at The Alfred Hospital Melbourne, died on Wednesday 25th March after having been infected with COVID-19. The two men, aged in their 70s were being treated for blood cancers in the Alfred’s oncology department. The hospital confirm... more

26 March 2020

Inequality in obesity levels between the rich and poor is resulting in more than 3500 extra deaths and adding $1 billion to Australia’s public health expenditure each year. The study is the first to estimate the human and economic costs of Australia’... more

24 March 2020

An improved prostate cancer scan, called a PSMA-PET/CT scan, could save lives by detecting those at risk of recurrence. The study found using a radioactive molecule, which sticks to prostate cancer cells and lights them up during a scan, to be 27 per... more

23 March 2020

South Australia’s health industry is reaching for the next frontier of cancer treatment and the impact will be far-reaching, saving lives, accelerating science and technology businesses, and enhancing the new world of radiation and clinical research.... more

16 March 2020

Cancer Council WA is calling for a ban on all e-cigarette liquids amid concerns of some Perth retailers displaying fruit and flavoured e-liquids next to kids toys and sweets. Make Smoking History manager, Libby Jardine said these products were eviden... more

16 March 2020

Perth researchers have been awarded a $200,000 grant to develop a less toxic treatment for childhood brain cancer. Dr Nicholas Gottardo and the team at the Telethon Kids Institute are developing a therapy that uses the patient’s own immune system to ... more

13 March 2020

Melbourne City Council is set to ban e-cigarettes in existing smoke-free zones in parts of the CBD. Eleven no-smoking areas will be set up if the council passes an amendment next Tuesday night. Lord mayor Sally Capp said, ‘‘E-cigarettes are relativel... more

11 March 2020

Every Australian would need to eat an extra 9kg of nuts each year to help lower their risk of cardiovascular diseases, some types of cancer and type 2 diabetes, new research shows. The University of Wollongong study, published in Public Health Nutrit... more

11 March 2020

Sydney students view up to 2800 advertisements for junk food while travelling to and from school each year, prompting Cancer Council NSW to call for a ban on such ads being displayed on government property. Research published by the Sax Institute yes... more

11 March 2020

Australia needs to ban the importation of liquid nicotine for use in e-cigarettes to protect young people’s health, South Australian Senator Stirling Griff says. But the nation’s leading retail lobby says such a move would drive people back to tradit... more

11 March 2020

Illegal liquid nicotine is being sold throughout Melbourne despite a host of laws banning the poisonous e-cigarette products. In frustration at inaction by government authorities, Quit Victoria last week visited several CBD stores to purchase alleged... more

09 March 2020

A new artificial intelligence assisted technology means one prostate cancer expert can provide a tailor-made treatment. Dr Amy Teh said the new radiotherapy treatment meant fewer side effects and a better experience for her patients. “You can actuall... more

09 March 2020

Audits of 31 licensed e-cigarette and vaping retailers in Adelaide have registered no serious breaches of new packaging and advertising laws. In March 2019, the e-cigarette industry in South Australia became more regulated. Advertising and point-of-s... more

04 March 2020

A landmark finding that there is ‘‘good evidence’’ toxic firefighting chemicals potentially cause harmful health effects including cancer has undercut the federal government’s claim that the risks are ‘‘minimal’’ and left it exposed to the threat of ... more

02 March 2020

Melanoma patients forking out more than $100,000 for advanced cancer treatment will now be able to access cheaper medicines. From today, the Morrison Government has added a host of Opdivo (nivolumab) treatments to the medicines that are on the Pharma... more

02 March 2020

Public health advocates have denounced the move by food delivery companies Uber Eats and Deliveroo to partner with convenience stores to deliver junk food. Two weeks ago, BP service stations expanded their ‘‘Couch Food’’ range in a partnership with D... more

02 March 2020

A study has found people order more wine at a restaurant when a 370ml glass is placed in front of them, rather than a 300ml one. Study author Mark Pilling, from the University of Cambridge’s Behaviour and Health Research Unit, said: “Pouring wine fro... more

02 March 2020

A crackdown on Australians who illegally import nicotine vaping products online is imminent, in a move set to reignite debate over whether e-cigarettes are helpful for smokers who need help to quit. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt is seeking to tig... more

28 February 2020

Australian researchers have played a key role in the world’s biggest genetic analysis of breast cancer risk, laying the foundations for the development of new preventive drugs and earlier treatments. Geneticist Georgia Chenevix-Trench, of the QIMR Be... more

27 February 2020

Tobacco companies are offering cash and gift incentives to retailers to boost sales of cigarettes, with one shop owner admitting to getting a $1000 bar tab to throw a party for staff, new research out today reveals. A national Cancer Council probe in... more

27 February 2020

An electronic nose has been found to accurately detect a condition which precedes oesophageal cancer. The device can pick up Barrett’s oesophagus, a condition where healthy cells in the food pipe are replaced by abnormal ones, and often a precursor t... more

26 February 2020

Women aged 75 and older do not benefit from regular breast screening mammograms, researchers have reported. Although studies clearly show mammograms starting at age 50 prevent breast cancer deaths, until now, doctors have had little evidence about wh... more

26 February 2020

New blood cancer forecasts recommend the country change its approach to the disease to avoid dire outcomes. Leukaemia Foundation chief executive Bill Petch flew to Tasmania this week to discuss the “big year” ahead in the fight against blood cancer. ... more

26 February 2020

Australia's world-leading minerals industry has taken the next step in its successful industry positioning campaign with new ads showing how Australian gold is helping in the fight against cancer. The next stage of the Minerals Council of Australia’s... more

26 February 2020

Women are gaining more than 20 kilograms after a breast cancer diagnosis and it’s increasing the chance their cancer will return. Researchers from NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University and ICON Cancer Centre, Sydney Adventist Hosp... more

25 February 2020

Nine Adelaide researchers have been awarded a total of $1 million in grants by the Hospital Research Foundation to fight deadly diseases and improve the health and wellbeing of the community. The foundation is the largest non-government funder of med... more

24 February 2020

A $5000 test that can indicate whether a breast cancer patient needs chemotherapy has been rejected for a government subsidy even though it would mean thousands of women could avoid cancer treatment. The Government’s Medical Services Advisory Committ... more

24 February 2020

The nation’s police forces and Border Force have warned that a string of tax increases on tobacco, aimed at cutting Australia’s smoking rate, has encouraged organised criminals into the market just as the excise on a single cigarette is poised to hit... more

24 February 2020

New Zealand will introduce laws banning all advertisements of e-cigarettes and the sale of such products to people under 18 in a move to regulate a market that has been under pressure globally. The Bill, posted on the health ministry’s website, also ... more

24 February 2020

Women with ovarian cancer wait an average of 32 weeks for a diagnosis, national figures have found. And 1500 women in Australia will be diagnosed with the disease this year. It comes as calls are renewed for more research and funding into the disease... more

24 February 2020

A simple urine test could spot bladder cancer 10 years before symptoms appear, according to a major study led by the World Health Organisation. Detection of bladder cancer is usually very poor. If it is spotted at the earliest stage, there is a 90 pe... more

20 February 2020

Three out of four Australian parents are scared their children might try e-cigarettes, with many calling for a ban on flavoured vaping products that may appeal to teens. A Royal Children’s Hospital poll of parents found 87 per cent supported a ban on... more

17 February 2020

Biotech Noxopharm says a clinical trial suggests its experimental drug was able to extend the average lifespan of 32 men with terminal prostate cancer. The men were treated with Noxopharm’s Veyonda in combination with Novartis’ $6 billion experimenta... more

17 February 2020

Sex does not cause cancer, but a sex-centric lifestyle might. According to a new study, those who had 10 or more sexual partners during their lifetime were 91 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than women with one or zero partners. “Pre... more

17 February 2020

Australian research may have uncovered a clue — and a drug — to treat a cancer deadly to children under five. Professor Maria Kavalaris, from the ARC Centre of Excellence in Bio Nano Science and her team found tumours contained an increased number of... more

17 February 2020

Australia's childhood cancer rate is projected to jump another 7 per cent by 2035 after rising 1.2 per cent a year in the decade to 2015. The slow, but steady rise, follows a 10-year period when childhood cancer incidence rates in Australia were stab... more

17 February 2020

You need to apply sunscreen for your morning commute, school run or trip to the shops — or greatly increase your risk of getting skin cancer, new research has found. While fewer people are sunbaking on the beach, new research shows two in three still... more

17 February 2020

Doctors are fighting an application by global tobacco giant Philip Morris International to sell its ‘‘heat not burn’’ products in Australia, warning there is ‘‘no evidence’’ the product is any safer than smoking cigarettes. The Royal Australian Colle... more

13 February 2020

Research, new equipment and improved screening will be the centrepieces of an audacious plan to abolish breast cancer within a decade. The National Breast Cancer Foundation aims to raise $10 million a year for the next 10 years to achieve zero deaths... more

12 February 2020

Cancer patients suffering from rare or aggressive forms of the disease could soon be able to specifically tailor treatment to their genes, making it easier to attack the disease. A new genomic sequencing test, led by researchers at Melbourne Universi... more

12 February 2020

A 13 per cent improvement in blood cancer survival rates in Australia could save more than 22,000 lives over the next 15 years. The issue is most critical in regional Australia, where more than half of those diagnosed with a blood cancer aren’t seen ... more

12 February 2020

An upswing in cases of deadly silica dust disease in NSW has prompted the government to launch a public education blitz about the dangers of working with manufactured stone. State government figures revealed in Parliament yesterday show there were 70... more

11 February 2020

Two Australian robotics engineers and a medical doctor have won backing from the CSIRO’s innovation fund for a plan to use predictive analytics and machine learning to speed up treatments for prostate cancer and hepatitis C. In contrast to traditiona... more

07 February 2020

A decade-long study sequencing the genomes of dozens of cancers has revealed the secrets of how tumours form and may pave the way for better and more targeted treatment. The Pan-Cancer Project brought together more than 1300 researchers globally to t... more

05 February 2020

The UN health agency yesterday warned cancer cases would rise by 81 per cent in low and middle-income countries by 2040 because of a lack of investment in prevention and care. “This is a wake-up call to all of us to tackle the unacceptable inequaliti... more

05 February 2020

Eating red meat just twice a week raises the risk of early death, according to a major 30-year study. Processed food such as bacon and sausages and unprocessed steaks and chops were all found to raise mortality rates. The US researchers  tracked near... more

05 February 2020

Men with a family history of breast and ovarian cancers are at higher risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer, experts warn. The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia said that while having a family history of prostate cancer significantly inc... more

04 February 2020

Text message alerts are being trialled as the latest weapon against one of Australia’s biggest killer cancers and to convince people to save their own lives. With six out of 10 Australians turning their back on the free bowel screening kits that coul... more

04 February 2020

Better access to treatments, clinical trials and early diagnostics will be critical to preventing a spike in blood cancers across Australia over the next 15 years. A major health taskforce has been established to advise the Federal Government on how ... more

04 February 2020

Cancer deaths in WA are expected to soar by 33 per cent over the next five years, prompting authorities to draw up plans to cope with increased demands on the State’s public health system. More than 5500 West Australians will die from cancer in 2025,... more

03 February 2020

Scientists have discovered a new form of cigarette danger and it comes from long-time dead butts. In what they have labelled “after smoke”, researchers for the first time have found that there is a shock level of airborne nicotine emissions coming fr... more

03 February 2020

Some 62 million deaths could be prevented if the world’s poorest nations urgently increase cervical cancer services, new research suggests. Two studies published yesterday found 62 million lives could be saved over the next 100 years if 78 countries ... more

03 February 2020

Experts have suggested that a serve of yoghurt a day could help prevent breast cancer. Academics at Lancaster University in the UK found natural-based yoghurt contains milk with similar healthy lactose fermenting bacteria to the cultures found in the... more

31 January 2020

Smokers can effectively turn back time in their lungs by kicking the habit, with healthy cells emerging to replace some of their tobacco-damaged and cancer-prone ones, a new study shows. The study published in the journal Nature found that the body a... more

31 January 2020

Two deaths in England that may be linked to vaping are being investigated by the medicines watchdog. The Medicines and Healthcare regulatory agency has also had 20 reports of bad reactions to vaping. Public Health England advises using e-cigarettes a... more

31 January 2020

Major deficiencies in the management of people with chronic disease have been exposed by the Productivity Commission in a new report that also reveals that only about half of older people are regularly screened for breast and bowel cancer. It showed ... more

31 January 2020

Life expectancy in the United States is up for the first time in four years. The increase is just a month but it marks at least a temporary halt to a downward trend. The rise is due to lower death rates for cancer and drug overdoses, says the report ... more

30 January 2020

A trial will individually test lung cancer patients to create a personalised treatment plan and avoid unnecessary side effects and procedures. The new treatment will be offered to 1000 patients newly diagnosed with non-squamous, non-small cell lung c... more

29 January 2020

Doctors are calling for the Government to widen the net of subsidies for nicotine replacement medicines as daily smoking is three times higher in poorer areas of the country where smokers struggle to afford quitting aids. The Royal Australian College... more

29 January 2020

Johnson & Johnson chief executive Alex Gorsky testified in court on Monday for the first time in litigation over the safety of his company’s signature baby powder, saying the company has taken steps to ensure it is safe to use. “I was told by exp... more

28 January 2020

Australians battling highly aggressive blood cancers could start a ground-breaking treatment within weeks after the federal government signed a new funding deal for the therapy that uses the body’s own immune system to fight the disease. Adult patien... more

28 January 2020

The use of nicotine-based e-cigarettes has been cautiously recommended as a potential second-line aid for people who want to quit smoking. In an updated guide on supporting smokers to stop, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP... more

28 January 2020

There was not enough evidence to conclude that e-cigarettes helped smokers quit tobacco, a US government report said, as the vaping industry faced increased regulatory pressures. The advice was contrary to that provided by the British government, whi... more

28 January 2020

School lunch box sweet treats have been exposed as containing record levels of salt. They contain so much salt that a child would exceed their entire sodium intake for the day by eating a single choc chip muffin. Obesity campaigners LiveLighter check... more

28 January 2020

Marketing campaigns are fuelling childhood obesity and influencing what children choose to eat, an international report has found. The report, from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), found junk food marketing affects what kids “want, buy and eat”... more

28 January 2020

About 11,000 cancers in women and 18,000 in men are being over-diagnosed in Australia each year, subjecting people to unnecessary surgery and chemotherapy that can make them sterile and very ill. These people would never have experienced symptoms or ... more

24 January 2020

Kids with severe sunburn are presenting to emergency departments at alarming rates. One in every five cases of sunburn that presented to an emergency department in the 2018-2019 financial period were children under the age of nine. A further 32 per c... more

24 January 2020

Australian researchers have uncovered the genes that will make you healthy and able to live a long life, in a major scientific breakthrough. The Garvan Institute of Medical Research has mapped the genomic data of 4000 Australians aged over 70 who hav... more

24 January 2020

Queensland Health will offer renewed cancer screening to 760 patients who had “scopes” at Redland Hospital between 2008 and 2012 after concerns emerged about the “thoroughness” of a doctor who retired more than five years ago. Courier Mail Brisbane,... more

23 January 2020

The founder of Border Force’s illegal tobacco squad says increased cigarette prices have generated a corresponding increase in criminals stealing cigarettes – which have become ‘‘as expensive as silver’’ – to sell on the booming black market. A serie... more

23 January 2020

E-cigarettes are “not safe” and are harmful to wellbeing, global health chiefs warn. In a series of strongly worded tweets, they said there was not enough evidence the devices should be used by people who were trying to quit smoking. Vaping was parti... more

22 January 2020

A newly discovered type of killer immune cell has raised the prospect of a “universal” cancer therapy, scientists say. Researchers at Cardiff University suggest a new T-cell receptor offers hope of a “onesize-fits-all” cancer therapy. T-cell therapie... more

22 January 2020

A common pill used to treat anxiety and high blood pressure could become a breast cancer wonder drug. In a breakthrough discovery, a Melbourne study has found that beta blockers slow the spread of the disease that killed an estimated 3000 Australian ... more

20 January 2020

Survivors of childhood cancer are five times more likely to develop a “second primary cancer” than members of the general population, according to new research published today. While survivors are most at risk of relapsing during the five years after... more

20 January 2020

Pregnant women could help protect their babies from future heart disease and cancer by avoiding a fatty diet, Australian research reveals. The study, led by University of Sydney researcher and Heart Foundation future leader fellow, associate professo... more

20 January 2020

A gynaecologist is calling on women in the west to get their cervix screened after Maribyrnong ranked as a cervical cancer hot spot. Kingsville and Seddon have the highest rate of cervical cancer in Victoria at 29 per cent above the Australian averag... more

13 January 2020

South Australian women are facing the highest out-of-pocket costs for breast cancer scans in the country. New figures show South Australian women are paying $126.42 on average for a scan if they go through the private sector. A federal Health Departm... more

13 January 2020

Almost $3 million in funding has been awarded to South Australian researchers from Cancer Council’s Beat Cancer Project. A total of 13 new projects have been funded in the latest round of grants across a range of cancers, focusing on better ways to d... more

13 January 2020

Shocking skin cancer data reveals that Melbourne’s bayside suburbs of Sandringham and Black Rock are Victoria’s melanoma capitals. The adjoining suburbs recorded 36 per cent more cases than the national average between 2010 and 2014. Herald Sun Melb... more

13 January 2020

Mornington is the Victorian epicentre for a cancer that kills about 3500 Australian men every year. The peninsula village had 73 per cent more cases of prostate cancer than the national average — the highest rate in Victoria. The latest figures from ... more

13 January 2020

New ‘spray on’ chemotherapy being tested in Melbourne is giving fresh hope to cancer patients. The therapy administers cancer-fighting drugs directly to the tumour site using an aerosol spray instead of being injected into the bloodstream. Epworth He... more

10 January 2020

While the fall in cancer death rates in the US is making headlines across the world, Australia has quietly been doing just as well and, in some cancers, doing even better because of its universal healthcare system. Professor Sanchia Aranda, chief exe... more

10 January 2020

American Cancer Society reported yesterday that the cancer death rate in the United States fell 2.2 per cent from 2016 to 2017 — the largest single-year decline in cancer mortality ever reported. Since 1991 the rate has dropped 29 per cent, which tra... more

09 January 2020

Fears that using talcum powder can increase women’s risk of ovarian cancer are groundless, says a study. The verdict comes despite 22 victims winning damages after a jury found using talc had caused their cancer. But a study of 252,745 women says the... more

08 January 2020

Fifteen South Australians, including 10 children, have been exposed to dangerous levels of nicotine after ingesting liquid from e-cigarettes or vapes, and authorities warn the number could be much higher. Figures obtained by The Advertiser from the P... more

07 January 2020

A world-first clinical trial will be conducted in Adelaide to help long-term smokers who live in low socio-economic areas to kick their addiction. Flinders University will host the Cancer Australia funded trial, which will focus on the city’s poorer ... more

06 January 2020

A life-changing new medicine will now be cheaper for Australian women battling advanced breast cancer. The important new treatment, Verzenio, has been listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from January 1 this year to significantly reduce the c... more

06 January 2020

Men with testicular cancer could be spared some of the side effects of chemotherapy with new research suggesting their treatment could be halved. A new clinical trial concluded the cancer can be prevented from coming back using half the amount of che... more

06 January 2020

The US Congress has voted to raise the minimum age to buy tobacco and e-cigarettes from 18 to 21 to stem the rising tide of youth vaping. Passed by the Senate as part of a wider budgetary bill, it will take effect next year and mean that tobacco and ... more

06 January 2020

Advertising for electronic cigarettes is pushing non-smokers and young people to take up vaping, despite the health risks. Researchers from Macquarie University reviewed 43 studies involving 27,303 people globally to examine the effect of e-cigarette... more

06 January 2020

The US government is banning most flavoured e-cigarettes in a bid to curb the rising tide of youth vaping. The Food and Drug Administration said cartridge-based e-cigarettes in flavours other than tobacco or menthol would be illegal unless specifical... more

06 January 2020

Vaping should be completely banned over emerging health concerns and vaping-related deaths overseas. This is the slim majority view dividing more than 4000 South Australians involved in the Sunday Mail’s survey. Just over half said that vaping should... more

06 January 2020

Scientists have discovered how to switch off a key “pain gene”, dramatically raising hopes of a long-term treatment to relieve the agony of serious illness for millions. The revolutionary technique alters a patient’s DNA, silencing a gene that transm... more

06 January 2020

A google artificial intelligence system proved as good as expert radiologists at detecting which women had breast cancer based on screening mammograms and showed promise at reducing errors, researchers report. The study, published in the journal Natu... more

06 January 2020

The UK’s National Health Service is hoping that a new pre-treatment fitness program will lead to better odds of survival for thousands of cancer patients. People who have been diagnosed with the disease are being given the option of entering into a “... more

06 January 2020

Not all processed meat has the same cancer risk, new research suggests. A study published yesterday in the journal Nutrients has questioned the World Health Organisation’s blanket classification of processed meat as carcinogenic. Researchers say they... more

06 January 2020

People with a high body mass index in some cases have a better chance of surviving certain cancers, Flinders University research has found. Its study used clinical trials of atezolizumab — an immunotherapy treatment for non small-cell lung cancer — a... more

06 January 2020

Australian dentists are joining the fight against skin cancer, taking an interest in the faces of patients rather than just their teeth and gums. Australian Academy of Dento-Facial Aesthetics (AADFA) director Myles Holt said dentists are asking patie... more

06 January 2020

20 December 2019

The number of men using traditional tobacco products has finally started to decline worldwide. Four out of five tobacco users globally are men, so declines among males “mark a turning point in the fight against tobacco,” the World Health Organisation... more

20 December 2019

The Instagram hashtag #breasties is used by breast cancer patients across the globe to share hidden insights about their treatment. RMIT University marketing researcher Lauren Gurrieri said information about breast cancer usually showed what happened... more

19 December 2019

The life-saving sun-safe message is getting lost, with Queenslanders making vital mistakes such as soaking up too much sun to boost their vitamin D. New research from Cancer Council out today highlights where sun safety is falling over. The latest da... more

19 December 2019

US health officials have endorsed a type of cigarette that could help ease the addictive grip of smoking by delivering very low levels of nicotine. The Food and Drug Administration will allow 22nd Century Group to begin selling the first low-nicotine... more

18 December 2019

Australia’s largest life insurer, TAL, has been sued in the Federal Court by the corporate watchdog after the company cancelled a cancer patient’s policy, claiming she had an unrelated “history of depression” that was not disclosed to the company.  ... more

18 December 2019

A South Australia researcher has received $560,412 to find more ways for the body’s own immune system to kill tumours. Acting Health Minister and South Australia Senator Anne Ruston yesterday announced $8.9 million for cancer research projects. The F... more

18 December 2019

A Queensland-first, innovative clinic has launched at the Princess Alexandra Hospital to predict the chances of a diagnosis in those who are at high risk of familial breast cancer. The Preventative High Risk Familial Breast Cancer Clinic will provide... more

17 December 2019

Vaping could raise the risk of serious lung disease by almost a third, a study by the University of California has found. E-cigarette users are 29 per cent more likely to suffer conditions such as emphysema, bronchitis and asthma than people who have... more

17 December 2019

Nicotine fluid can no longer be possessed in the Northern Territory – even with a doctor’s prescription – in a move which health experts say could force ex-smokers back to cigarettes. A spokesman for Health Minister Natasha Fyles said promoting e-cig... more

17 December 2019

Australians will have to slash their alcohol consumption by four drinks per week to fit within stringent new guidelines issued by the nation’s peak medical body. Previously, the safe drinking guidelines allowed up to 14 drinks per week. That will be ... more

16 December 2019

Almost 40 million illegal cigarettes have been seized in Melbourne in the past week. The Australian Border Force searched sea cargo shipments from China and X-rayed containers before finding the massive stash of tobacco. The shipment was declared as ... more

16 December 2019

Adelaide researchers leading an international clinical trial say they have made “the biggest breakthrough in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) treatment this century”. The project has demonstrated the safety and efficacy of a next-generation treatment ... more

16 December 2019

Certain forms of hormone replacement therapy actually protect women against breast cancer, researchers have shown. After years of debate on the risks of HRT, new analysis presented to the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in Texas suggests the type... more

16 December 2019

Women who use certain types of hormones after menopause still have an increased risk of developing breast cancer nearly two decades after they quit the pills, long-term results from a US federal study suggest. Although the risk is very small, doctors... more

13 December 2019

Smoking giant Philip Morris wants to introduce a new tobacco product in Australia: heated “sticks” it claims are an alternative to vaping and smoking that “produce fewer and/or lower levels of toxic chemicals than cigarettes”. The heated tobacco prod... more

13 December 2019

Doctors in the US have reported unusually good results from tests of two experimental drugs in women with an aggressive form of breast cancer. One drug, Tucatinib, showed particular ability to reach tumours in the brain, which are notoriously tough t... more

12 December 2019

A new type of cancer treatment that could potentially stop tumours growing and spreading has been discovered by Queensland scientists. The breakthrough by QIMR Berghofer researchers offers hope for patients with cancers that do not respond to current... more

12 December 2019

The number of Queenslanders admitted to hospital for skin cancer has tripled in the past five years. New Medibank data has revealed a 177 per cent spike in patient admission, with 5670 in the last financial year. The Australian Institute of Health an... more

11 December 2019

Hospital admissions for skin cancer in South Australia have tripled in the past five years. Analysis of Australian Cancer Council figures by Medibank shows there were more than 1300 hospital admissions in SA for skin cancer treatment last financial y... more

11 December 2019

The number of hospital admissions for skin cancer treatment in Tasmania has almost quadrupled over the past five years, new data from Medibank shows. Medibank chief customer officer David Koczkar said the increase in hospital admissions in Tasmania c... more

11 December 2019

Obesity experts want tougher restrictions on advertising junk food to children, after Kellogg’s exploited a loophole to tempt kids into consuming sugary foods via a colouring-in competition. The Ads Standards Community Panel, which oversees the food ... more

09 December 2019

Only 9 per cent of South Australians check UV levels to determine their use of sun protection, despite UV exposure causing up to 95 per cent of melanoma skin cancers, Cancer Council SA research shows. Despite all the information out there, these resu... more

09 December 2019

Parents have become so focused on keeping their kids safe from the sun they are neglecting to look after their own skin, a new study has revealed. The research from life insurer TAL also reveals that eight in 10 Victorians said they could do more to ... more

09 December 2019

There is new hope for cancer patients suffering from painful side effects from chemotherapy, with a new remedy being developed to treat or even prevent the symptoms. The breakthrough research is one of 66 Australian projects sharing in $61 million in... more

09 December 2019

Lung cancer is set to become the target of a new national screening program as cancer experts ask the public to help determine who should be eligible for testing. Cancer Australia is calling for submissions to help design a screening program that wil... more

06 December 2019

New research from life insurance agency TAL has revealed that Aussie parents are so focused on keeping their kids safe from the sun they neglect looking after their own skin. Almost 40 per cent of parents said they would always urge their children to... more

06 December 2019

Men who keep active cut their risk of prostate cancer by half. Experts say exercise, which can include gardening or walking, has a “far larger” protective effect than previously thought. A team funded by Cancer Research UK measured physical activity ... more

06 December 2019

Australian scientists studying a tapeworm commonly found in dogs have stumbled upon a potential new treatment for some human cancers. In what they describe as scientific serendipity, scientists from Brisbane’s QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institut... more

04 December 2019

Young women with breast cancer are missing out on the chance to have a baby because their doctors are not referring them to fertility clinics before their treatment starts. Half the young women diagnosed with breast cancer were not referred to a fert... more

04 December 2019

A survey of more than 9000 students across Australia has found approximately one in 14 teenagers said that they consumed energy drinks at least weekly and one in four had consumed them at least once. Teens who consume energy drinks at least once a we... more

03 December 2019

A lack of government funding is putting the lives of women in remote communities at risk, with Senator Malarndirri McCarthy calling on the Morrison Government to invest in breast cancer screening in the Northern Territory. Mobile mammography unit “Mi... more

02 December 2019

Artificial intelligence could soon be used to diagnose melanoma more cheaply and accurately based on an algorithm developed by WA researchers. Findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, led by researchers from the Universi... more

02 December 2019

In an explainer on glyphosate, the effects on farmers and gardeners using the herbicide is explored. Farmers say glyphosate is cheap, safe to use (when you follow the instructions) and works. It slashes farmers’ diesel bills because they don’t need t... more

29 November 2019

Massachusetts has become the first US state to ban flavoured tobacco and nicotine vaping products. The ban is meant to reduce the appeal to young people amid a rash of illnesses and deaths linked to vaping. Anti-smoking groups hailed the ban, which r... more

29 November 2019

In an article for the Courier Mail Brisbane, Senior Business Reporter, Glen Norris, writes that Asia is not only a region of rapidly expanding economies and wealth but one facing an increasing burden of disease associated with an ageing population. O... more

29 November 2019

A light therapy used to treat skin cancer and sun spots is emerging as a promising treatment for reaching cancer cells deep in the body, with Australian researchers finding the first evidence of its ability to kill ovarian tumours. New research from ... more

28 November 2019

A ban on e-cigarettes should be lifted across Australia to help lifelong smokers kick the habit, a new vaping lobby says. The Australian Retailers Association, groups of retailers and some health specialists are united in a push to relax strict vapin... more

28 November 2019

The District of Columbia is joining several states in suing e-cigarette maker Juul Labs, saying the company’s online ads and promotions illegally targeted minors. Washington, DC, Attorney-General Karl Racine announced the lawsuit, alleging that Juul’... more

28 November 2019

Australian researchers have uncovered a new key reason why men are more likely than women to get and die from cancer. Scientists from Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre found that a common gene mutation on the X chromosome involved in more than half of al... more

26 November 2019

A surge in potentially deadly e-cigarette poisonings and the strength of nicotine liquid detected in Victoria has prompted a fresh health warning over the dangers of vaping. Already this year the Victorian Poisons Information Centre has received 38 c... more

24 November 2019

Many Aussies are putting themselves at risk this summer by not getting their skin checked. A new survey from the Skin Health Institute says only one in 12 Australians will prioritise a skin check, ranking it behind visits to the GP or dentist, or a b... more

24 November 2019

The Council of Australian Governments’ health council has released a consultation paper looking at ways to intercept the country’s expanding waist lines. The paper canvasses a broad range of solutions – including the politically sensitive sugar tax, ... more

24 November 2019

Clinical trials on a new treatment expected to improve the survival rates for sufferers of lung and ovarian cancer will begin soon in South Australia. Recruiting patients for the trials will start in early 2020 thanks to a partnership between AusHeal... more

23 November 2019

Medical and Scientific: Keeping cancer at bayMen who take statins are 24 per cent less likely to get an aggressive form of prostate cancer, a study suggests. Scientists tracked more than 44,000 British men over more than two decades and found that th... more

22 November 2019

Cosmetic surgeons have been granted permission to use banned breast implants linked to a rare cancer as the national medical watchdog hints the devices may carry other safety risks. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved applications from ... more

22 November 2019

Skin cancer expert Professor Anthony Dixon has had two journal articles retracted from The Australian Journal of General Practice after complaints from other cancer experts. After Professor Dixon’s articles were published in June, 18 of Australia’s t... more

21 November 2019

A ban on e-cigarettes has been ordered by Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who threatened to arrest anyone vaping publicly in a country that already has some of Asia’s toughest antismoking rules. He has also imposed a wide-ranging ban on smokin... more

21 November 2019

Queensland researchers have taken another step towards the development of a genetic risk profile for melanoma that will allow doctors to warn parents about children most susceptible to excessive sun exposure. Scientists at the QIMR Berghofer Medical ... more

20 November 2019

California announced yesterday it is suing Juul, the US’s largest electronic cigarette manufacturer, for illegally targeting minors with its marketing campaigns. A joint lawsuit filed by California Attorney-General Xavier Becerra and his Los Angeles ... more

20 November 2019

Australians with forms of lung cancer and leukaemia will have access to drugs under additions to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme being announced today. The treatment options for non-small cell lung cancer and early-stage acute lymphoblastic leukae... more

19 November 2019

A leading tobacco researcher says new figures showing an increase in smoking among pregnant women in Tasmania adds fuel to the push for raising the smoking age. University of Tasmania School of Medicine adjunct researcher Kathryn Barnsley said the fi... more

19 November 2019

Dedicated skin cancer referral centres have opened in Western Australia, with the aim of giving people quicker and cheaper access to disease diagnoses and treatment. Skin Cancer WA works by offering GPs a direct way to refer people with suspected ski... more

18 November 2019

Doctors and tobacco experts have slammed new government guidelines on e-cigarettes claiming they exaggerate the harms of vaping nicotine and are forcing people back to smoking. New advice, released last week on a government health website - Health Di... more

18 November 2019

Children as young as 12 are exploiting online delivery systems to have alcohol and cigarettes sent straight to their homes or local post offices, with one in three getting booze delivered without an ID check. New research from the Foundation for Alco... more

18 November 2019

Sydney researchers investigating one of the most aggressive forms of childhood cancer have made a “significant” breakthrough by discovering a new molecule that causes the diseased cells to grow. It gives new hope to children with neuroblastoma, a can... more

18 November 2019

Cancer Council’s National Sun Protection Survey has sparked a call from Cancer Council for the government to run a national skin cancer awareness campaign. That was one of Australia’s great public health successes at its high point more than 12 years... more

13 November 2019

Fruit-filled toddler snacks promoted as healthy options contain more sugar than many junk foods, a shocking new study has found. The Obesity Coalition says parents are being misled about the risk because there is no clear labelling of added sugar. Th... more

12 November 2019

The first 10-year study of Australian men affected by prostate cancer has found many have long-term impairments to quality of life, sparking a call by experts for a change in the management of the disease. Cancer Council lead researcher, Associate Pr... more

11 November 2019

US health officials announced a breakthrough into the cause of a mysterious outbreak of vaping illnesses, reporting they have a “very strong culprit”. The same chemical compound was found in fluid taken from the lungs of 29 patients across the countr... more

11 November 2019

E-cigarette market leader Juul has said it is ending the sale of mint-flavoured products in the US, ahead of a possible ban by health authorities, intended to curtail youth vaping. President Donald Trump’s administration announced last month it would... more

11 November 2019

The amount of time and effort involved in prescribing medicinal cannabis is stopping doctors from becoming involved with the legal therapy, while cost is proving a barrier for patients. It comes as cannabis trials get under way in Australia for poten... more

11 November 2019

The risk of being diagnosed with and dying of cancer has been over-estimated prompting calls to overhaul estimation methods, according to new research. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) estimates the lifetime risks of cancer diagn... more

08 November 2019

Marijuana company Cann Group has signed a distribution deal to allow approved patients access to the company’s drugs at pharmacies around Australia. Symbion, which supplies healthcare products to 4000 retail pharmacies and 1300 hospitals around Austr... more

08 November 2019

Cowpox inspired the vaccine which ended the scourge of smallpox 200 years ago and now the virus is being used to kill cancer. Scientists have engineered a new virus based on cowpox that is able to kill every known type of cancer cell in a petrie dish... more

06 November 2019

An at-home, non-invasive screening for cervical precancer could increase compliance with recommended follow-up tests, according to research presented at a cancer conference. The new screening, called the S5 test, is based on a urine sample or a vagin... more

06 November 2019

Women's health experts say that more patients are requesting unproven tests and treatments, based on advice from online forums or social media influencers. IVF fertility specialist and gynaecologist Dr Raelia Lew said more women were relying on Dr Go... more

05 November 2019

An Australian-first study is investigating how ovarian cancer affects women’s body image and sexuality, with the aim of developing tools to improve their wellbeing and relationships. Researchers from the Royal Women’s Hospital want to recruit 130 Aus... more

04 November 2019

More than $28 million will be spent on new weapons in the state's fight against cancer. Premier Will Hodgman yesterday announced that the tenders to upgrade the state’s ageing oncology equipment had been awarded during the Walk4BrainCancer event in M... more

04 November 2019

Oral cancer rates “have more than doubled in a generation”, according to a new awareness campaign by the UK-based non-profit Oral Health Foundation. The hygiene advocacy group warned people to be aware of the causes of mouth cancer – primarily the se... more

04 November 2019

A simple blood test could detect breast cancer up to five years before any clinical signs of the disease. British researchers are developing the test which they say identifies the body’s immune response to substances produced by tumour cells. Details... more

04 November 2019

Men with higher levels of free testosterone and a growth hormone in their blood are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to new research. Factors such as ethnicity, age and family history are already known to increase the likel... more

01 November 2019

Labelling fast-food menu items with calorie counts only leads to a slight, short-term decrease in average calorie intake, a study has found. Researchers gathered data on almost 50 million menu purchases in the United States at 104 locations of a fast... more

31 October 2019

Adelaide lung and bowel cancer patients are among the first in the world to try a new anti-cancer drug that is shrinking tumours in cases where nothing else works. Oncologist and Adelaide University Professor Tim Price says the drug is an “exciting m... more

31 October 2019

South Australia based Ferronova has produced its first tiny cancer tracers for their journey into the human body in an attempt to find a new path to early detection of solid tumour cancers. Ferronova’s specialist polymer-coated iron oxide nanoparticl... more

30 October 2019

More than 1500 Victorian women are likely to have breast cancer without knowing it due to screening black holes across the state. New data shows almost half of Victorian women aged 50-74 are not participating in regular free screening. The analysis b... more

30 October 2019

More Victorians say they intend to cut back on sugary drinks after being educated on their links to cancer. Cancer Council Victoria launched a public awareness campaign last October, which revealed the link between obesity and 13 types of cancer. Can... more

29 October 2019

Women with breast cancer will be able to claim Medicare rebates for MRI scans for the first time, under changes to take effect this week. From November 1, women with or suspected to have breast cancer will be able to claim Medicare for the scans. The... more

28 October 2019

Fewer reports of vaping illnesses are coming in, but US health officials say they are not sure what to make of it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 125 additional cases were reported in the last week, bringing the total to 1604 in ... more

28 October 2019

A routine test of bowel cancer patients for a hereditary condition could save the lives of up to 80 high-risk patients a year. Lynch Syndrome greatly increases the risk of developing aggressive colorectal cancer in particular, but also increases the ... more

28 October 2019

Patients suffering from stage three melanoma will have new treatment options after the Federal Government extended subsidies on several drugs used after surgery. From November 1, the drugs dabrafenib, sold in Australia as Tafinlar, and trametinib, ma... more

26 October 2019

Hundreds of Australians are expected to die from liver cancer because the nation is failing to meet its targets to eliminate hepatitis B. Despite setting a national plan and having effective treatments to combat the infectious disease, Australia is f... more

25 October 2019

Australia’s youngest cancer victims will receive a $22 million Federal Government boost today. CanTeen, which supports Australians aged 12-24 with their cancer diagnosis or those who have a family member with cancer, will receive the funding to conti... more

24 October 2019

Mexico’s Senate has passed changes to the health law aimed at reducing the country’s obesity crisis by requiring warning labels on processed foods with high levels of sugar, saturated fat, sodium and calories. Three United Nations agencies had urged ... more

24 October 2019

In an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report to be released today, it has been revealed that Queenslanders are smoking more than any other mainland state. More than 15 per cent of Queenslanders are daily smokers, compared with the national... more

23 October 2019

Eating high levels of dairy products may be linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer, according to new research. Men who ate higher amounts of cheese, butter, milk and yoghurt were more likely to develop the disease, a study by US researchers f... more

21 October 2019

Deaths from 10 different cancers are “significantly” higher in Adelaide than the national rate, new figures released yesterday show. Deaths from bladder, breast, colorectal, kidney, leukaemia, liver, lung, lymphoma, prostate and uterine cancer had hi... more

21 October 2019

Johnson & Johnson said it recalled one lot, about 33,000 bottles, of its Johnson’s baby powder because the US Food and Drug Administration found a small amount of asbestos in a single bottle, a discovery likely to fuel existing concerns about the... more

20 October 2019

Cancer patients desperate for medicinal cannabis are being turned away by GPs, as new figures reveal South Australia doctors are among the least likely in Australia to prescribe the drug. A TGA spokeswoman said cancer pain and symptom management, chr... more

20 October 2019

A 'secret' list of medicines approved for Federal Government subsidy – but that have never made it on to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme – includes drugs that dramatically improve the lives of cancer sufferers. Several drugs approved by the Pharma... more

19 October 2019

The Victorian government has rushed through a ban on advertisements for vaping in time for next weekend’s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island. The ban comes after The Age revealed that cigarette makers Philip Morris and British America... more

19 October 2019

Vaping-related illnesses in the US are still rising, though at a slightly slower pace. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the latest jump – 180 cases – was the lowest increase since mid-September, but officials said there was no i... more

19 October 2019

A new system using artificial intelligence to assess MRI scans will make breast cancer readings 10 per cent more accurate and leave less to chance, University of Adelaide research reveals. Project researcher Gabriel Maicas said the previous system th... more

18 October 2019

A possible cancer cluster on the Bellarine Peninsula will be examined by a federal parliamentary inquiry. In December last year, media reported a potential cluster of cancers — particularly around Barwon Heads — noting historical use of an agricultur... more

17 October 2019

Tradies are being warned that exposure to the same invisible particles of crystalline silica that cause silicosis is also resulting in hundreds of cases of lung cancer each year in Australia. Hidden in bricks, tiles and concrete, the substance is put... more

13 October 2019

Dr Gino Pecoraro, in an article for Sunday Mail Brisbane, writes about the medical breakthrough that has been reported this week from Queensland researchers based at the Griffith University Institute for drug discovery. They report using a new gene e... more

13 October 2019

In an article for the Sunday Telegraph, Jane Hansen reports on the only hospital in the state dedicated to women’s health not having a mammogram machine. The Breast Centre at the Royal Hospital for Women has to borrow one from BreastScreen NSW but ca... more

12 October 2019

Twenty-six people have died from illnesses associated with e-cigarette use since March, US health authorities said yesterday, while about 1300 have suffered lung injuries linked to vaping. Officials have yet to identify the cause of the outbreak, whi... more

12 October 2019

Australia isn’t ready to implement tough food rules being advocated by the UK’s chief medical officer to curb obesity, experts say. Dame Sally Davies has called for an urgent end to the UK’s “mindless” snacking culture by calling on the government to... more

11 October 2019

Adelaide researcher, Associate Professor Daniel Thomas, plans to 'outsmart' cancer cells armed with a $1.25 million research grant. The grant, announced in Perth last night, will fund Prof Thomas’s ongoing research into acute myeloid leukaemia, with ... more

11 October 2019

A leading anti-smoking advocate has said negative stigmas around vaping and a lack of access to safer nicotine alternatives are halting a decline in Territory smoking rates. On the back of a tour to New Zealand and Melbourne, University of Ottawa pro... more

10 October 2019

A popular heartburn medication has been pulled from the shelves after it was found to contain a cancer-causing substance. Eight types of the heartburn drug ranitidine have been recalled across Australia, including common over-the-counter medication Z... more

09 October 2019

Australian health authorities are urging people to “think twice before vaping”, as US reports of serious lung illnesses relating to e-cigarettes soar past 1000. Australia’s chief medical officer Professor Brendan Murphy – along with his state and cou... more

09 October 2019

Researchers have used gene-editing technology to “cure” mice of cervical cancer in what they believe is a world first. The Griffith University scientists are working towards human trials of the gene therapy in the next five years and are also researc... more

08 October 2019

The Federal Government has promised to spend millions of dollars investigating the benefits of medicinal cannabis in cancer treatment. Health Minister Greg Hunt will today announce $3 million for research into the use of medicinal cannabis for the re... more

08 October 2019

Canberra cancer patients have been forced to travel as far as the Gold Coast to get radiation treatment while local wait times extend out more than six weeks, internal documents reveal. The documents show two life-saving linear accelerators - used to... more

08 October 2019

A tradie suffered first-degree burns after his high-visibility work wear magnified a case of sunburn. The burn along his back matched up with the reflective strip of his high-vis shirt. The case occurred two years ago, but is published in the Medical... more

08 October 2019

Nicotine-free e-cigarettes can cause more upper respiratory cell damage than tobacco cigarettes depending on the electronic device used, new research from South Australia shows. Royal Adelaide Hospital and University of Adelaide researchers have disc... more

08 October 2019

Anti-smoking groups have gone to war over a vaping conference in Melbourne amid allegations of intimidation of the event’s attendees and secret tobacco industry funding. National health bodies including Cancer Council denounced the conference, allegi... more

08 October 2019

The number of patients suffering from probable lung injury associated with e-cigarette use has surged to more than a thousand, US health authorities said yesterday, while the death toll from the outbreak now stands at 18. A report by clinicians in No... more

08 October 2019

Australian researchers have developed a proof-of concept drug that can keep cells alive and thriving in situations where they would otherwise have died. The world-first finding in mice, led by the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) of Medical Res... more

08 October 2019

The US state of Massachusetts has upheld a ban on e-cigarettes amid a spate of deaths and injuries linked to vaping across the country. Eighteen deaths in 15 states have now been positively linked to vaping since March, from a total of 1080 illness, ... more

08 October 2019

Young adults who start their 20s in a healthy weight range, but become overweight by middle age are at greater risk of 13 types of cancer. New analysis from Cancer Council Victoria has found that gradual weight gain in early adulthood can bump up som... more

08 October 2019

A new type of drug that blocks one of cancer’s escape routes from chemotherapy could be used to treat aggressive breast cancers. Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research in London found the drug could boost the response to chemotherapy in cance... more

08 October 2019

Women who have survived breast cancer are being sought for an international trial of a new drug to stop hot flushes and night sweats. Up to 20 women will take part in the trial at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, one of seven sites across Australia invol... more

04 October 2019

Smokers could soon be forced to butt out along Southbank Promenade as Melbourne City Council presses to extend a Bourke Street smoking ban across the CBD. The Bourke Street Mall ban comes into effect today between Elizabeth Street and Russell Place, ... more

04 October 2019

In an opinion piece, Dr Sud Agarwal, CEO and co-founder of Australia's first medically backed medicinal cannabis company, Cannvalate, says we need to focus our minds on the problem with vaping. In the US, an outbreak of 800 illness cases and 12 vapin... more

04 October 2019

A heartburn medication popular with Victorians will be taken off shelves after fears it could be linked to cancer. The Therapeutic Goods Administration is expected to today update its advice on medications containing ranitidine, which is sold under b... more

02 October 2019

Smoking rates are at an all time low among Tasmanian teenagers, the latest Australian Secondary Students' Alcohol and Drug survey has revealed. The survey is repeated every three years and provides information on the use of tobacco, alcohol and over-... more

02 October 2019

Experts have urged caution over a series of reviews that claimed to find there is no need for humans to reduce their meat intake. While the World Health Organisation refers to red meat as "probably carcinogenic" and dietary guidelines around the worl... more

02 October 2019

A new study has found there is no reason for Australians to quit eating red meat. The research refutes claims that red meat could eventually cause cancer, diabetes or heart disease, with the authors declaring any link between red meat the negative he... more

02 October 2019

Experts say "women need to be breast aware", given that approximately one in six breast diagnoses come without a lump. While most people know to have a lump in their breast checked, other symptoms of breast cancer, such as discharge, pain and swellin... more

01 October 2019

A ban on advertising, promotion and online sales of e-cigarette products comes into force today and retailers will not be allowed to display such products at the point of sale. Penalties for businesses which fail to meet the regulations will be up to... more

01 October 2019

A new ultrasound technology that could pick up far more cases of cancer and cut the need for biopsies has been developed by scientists. A team at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh say that they have made a major breakthrough and can produce images ... more

01 October 2019

The risk of Australian women being diagnosed with breast cancer has increased to one in seven as new statistics reveal eight women die each day from the deadly disease. The National Breast Cancer Foundation has revealed the number of Australian women... more

30 September 2019

Cancer patients aren’t being warned that their treatment could leave them infertile, robbing them of the chance to freeze their eggs or sperm and the hope of having children. A major Australian study involving 878 survivors found that 54 per cent of ... more

30 September 2019

More than half a million patients, including those battling cancer and leukaemia, will have access to cheaper medicine from today. Prime Minister Scott Morrison will announce five new medicines will be added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, in ... more

29 September 2019

Many of the hundreds of ecigarette users who have developed lung problems in recent months, some of them fatal, used black-market marijuana products, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed. Of 514 patients who gave information... more

29 September 2019

An Adelaide tattoo artist is helping breast-cancer patients across the world feel more like a woman after body-disfiguring treatment. Aleisha Gannon was the first in Australia to develop temporary nipple tattoos in 2018 as an interim solution to the ... more

28 September 2019

An unregistered Sydney naturopath who claimed he could cure cancer, and said patients who quit his treatment would commit suicide, has been permanently banned from practising. The NSW Health Care Complaints Commission found Aleksander Strande breache... more

28 September 2019

Women with breast implants or expanders are being urged to see a doctor after regulators announced a crackdown over cancer fears. The Therapeutic Goods Administration is taking action on all breast implants and breast tissue expanders sold in Austral... more

27 September 2019

In an article for The Age, Melissa Cunningham reports that fewer Australians will be able to get Medicare-funded colonoscopies under a contentious overhaul of the system aimed at tightening regulations around the diagnostic test used to detect bowel ... more

27 September 2019

World-leading cancer researchers suspect Tasmanian devils hold a clue to help work out how human cancer genes evade the immune system. In the study, scientists have discovered that some human cancers share a common feature with the disease that has d... more

27 September 2019

Men who need fertility treatment have an increased risk of prostate cancer, research says. Experts believe biological issues around infertility drive the increased chance of developing the disease, and can lead to prostate cancer earlier in life. The... more

26 September 2019

A urine test for pancreatic cancer could boost survival rates to 60 per cent, scientists believe. The test, developed by researchers at Queen Mary University of London, has reached the final stage of validation before being developed for use with pat... more

26 September 2019

A push by Melbourne researchers to develop new treatments to combat incurable brain cancers will be given an added boost today. The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research will receive a $1.4 million grant from the federal government to r... more

26 September 2019

Some women diagnosed with ovarian cancer could have their survival rates significantly increased after the Therapeutic Goods Administration approved a drug treatment for newly diagnosed sufferers. The drug olaparib is available to women who have expe... more

25 September 2019

American retail giant Walmart will stop selling e-cigarettes in stores as the country deals with a string of vaping-related deaths that have stirred regulators to take action. The retail giant’s decision comes after a mysterious spate of vaping relat... more

25 September 2019

The “revolving door” between government and the alcohol, tobacco and gambling industries has been revealed in a new study that tracks for the first time the influence of lobbyists on public health policy. The study, published today in the journal Pub... more

25 September 2019

The latest health spending data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, released today, shows patients spent $3.9 billion on out-of-pocket hospital expenses in 2017-18, up $560 million, or 17 per cent, over the financial year and quadrup... more

25 September 2019

A program now being run in the US, UK, Canada and four Australian states provides survivors of gynaecological cancers and their carers the opportunity to educate medical students. The program is called Survivors Teaching Students, and Ultimate Founda... more

24 September 2019

One in six Australian teenagers gulp down at least 5.2kg of sugar each year from sugary drinks alone, new research shows. Cancer Council Australia’s National Secondary Students’ Diet and Activity survey looked at the habits of more than 9000 students... more

23 September 2019

Flavoured e-cigarettes, even those without liquid nicotine, are dangerous and likely to kill the cells that line the airways, a new Australian study has discovered. Scientists from the University of Adelaide and the Royal Adelaide Hospital found that... more

22 September 2019

Walmart is getting out of the vaping business. The US retailer said it will stop selling electronic cigarettes at its stores when it sells out its current inventory. It said the move is due to “growing federal, state and local regulatory complexity” ... more

22 September 2019

An eastern suburbs Jewish school will test and search students for drugs and e-cigarettes. Moriah College in Queens Park will introduce drug testing after Year 10 students were caught using marijuana and e-cigarettes at a recent Zionist seminar. The ... more

22 September 2019

Young cancer patients will now be offered a free service to preserve their chances of having children. A free service to collect, freeze, transport and store reproductive tissue from people aged 13 to 30 around the country is being offered by a team ... more

21 September 2019

An eighth death in the US has been attributed to e-cigarettes, as health officials say the number of people with vaping-related breathing illnesses tops 500. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said 530 confirmed and probable cases had been... more

20 September 2019

Canada has reported its first hospitalisation for severe respiratory illness linked to vaping. The Middlesex-London Health Unit said that “a youth has been diagnosed with severe respiratory illness linked to the individual’s use of vaping products”. ... more

19 September 2019

Advanced radiotherapy technology could cut prostate cancer treatment time from two months to two weeks, safely delivering curative treatment for some patients, new research suggests. Study author Dr Douglas Brand said “The new results from our clinic... more

19 September 2019

Australia's top medical body has backed a statement from all state and territory health officials on the link between vaping and lung disease. Australian Medical Association president Dr Tony Bartone’s warning comes after the seventh vaping-related d... more

19 September 2019

E-cigarette maker Juul Labs’ sales have been halted in China, days after the start-up launched its products in the world’s biggest tobacco market. Juul’s vaporisers went on sale early last week online, but by the end of the week, they had been taken ... more

17 September 2019

Queensland researchers have launched the world’s largest genetic study of skin cancer and are seeking more than 20,000 Australians to take part. QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute scientist David Whiteman said the genetic analysis formed part ... more

16 September 2019

School principals and health experts have expressed alarm about the increasing use of e-cigarettes by teenagers, as concerns mount about the health impacts of vaping. Head of high school at Moriah College Jan Hart said the use of e-cigarettes by scho... more

16 September 2019

Australian health authorities have called for a crackdown on vaping as evidence mounts the habit can lead to serious health problems and even death. Quit Victoria director Sarah White said vaping was now the subject of intense scrutiny in the US, wit... more

16 September 2019

Cancer research has received a $3 million funding boost from the Federal Government. The money, from the Medical Research Future Fund, will go towards South Australia Cancer Council’s “Beat Cancer Project”, an initiative to advance research with inte... more

16 September 2019

Diagnosing breast cancer is about to be revolutionised in Victoria with new 3D breast screening technology set to be rolled out.  The new technology will lead to quicker diagnosis and cut down on invasive procedures, according to Health Minister Jenn... more

16 September 2019

The most common blood cancer in South Australia is expected to more than double over the next 16 years, claiming the lives of more than 4600 people.  A new Leukaemia Foundation report predicts lymphoma rates will jump from 645 annual cases in SA this... more

16 September 2019

One in three potentially deadly endometrial cancers could be avoided, and losing weight, drinking coffee, having babies and breastfeeding just might help. Cancer Australia launches a new website today compiling the most recent research. It classifies... more

16 September 2019

More than 10,000 people won’t be able to have medical scans and tests next week as Australia faces a shortage of nuclear medicine that is vital for cancer diagnoses, experts warn. Australia’s only nuclear reactor, at Lucas Heights in Sydney’s south, ... more

13 September 2019

The Trump administration is preparing to ban the sale of flavoured e-cigarettes in a bid to stop an epidemic of nicotine vaping among young Americans. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said ‘‘We intend to clear the market of flavoured e-c... more

13 September 2019

British American Tobacco plans to cut 2300 jobs as cigarette sales decline in major markets and US President Donald Trump vows to tighten restrictions on new alternatives to smoking. Tobacco companies are facing the biggest disruption in decades as t... more

13 September 2019

Children's meals at fast food restaurants have not become any healthier since the introduction of the Government’s mandatory menu kilojoule labelling or obesity campaigns. New research shows 82 per cent of kids’ meals are not even healthy enough to m... more

13 September 2019

Young people wanting to preserve their fertility before starting cancer treatment now have a new advocate through the entire process. About 140 Victorian children and teenagers a year are expected to benefit from the creation of the state’s first pae... more

12 September 2019

Billionaire and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced a $160 million campaign to ban flavoured e-cigarettes in the US after a spike in vaping deaths. “This is an urgent health crisis, and tobacco companies are behind it,” said Bloombe... more

12 September 2019

A blood test which detects aggressive prostate cancer could prevent thousands of men having painful, unnecessary biopsies. The simple test, which diagnosed almost 93 per cent of men with the disease correctly in a trial, could be available within thr... more

12 September 2019

Australia is a world leader in cancer survival rates, beating other high-income nations with the best one-year survival rates in most cancers. A study in Lancet Oncology reveals patients diagnosed with oesophagus, stomach, colon, rectal, pancreatic, ... more

10 September 2019

An ASX-listed medical marijuana company says it is providing cannabis to nearly 2000 Australian patients with debilitating conditions, numbers it expects to more than double by end of the year. Chief executive Josh Fagan says "The patient numbers are... more

10 September 2019

An Adelaide City councillor says Hindley St visitors must be protected from the health effects of inhaling second-hand shisha smoke, asking council to work with SA Health to improve public health along the entertainment strip. The push comes as Cance... more

08 September 2019

In an opinion piece, Gino Pecoraro writes that the study published last week in The Lancet linking hormone replacement therapy to increased risk of breast cancer is "NOT new" and "further research is eagerly awaited". The real story, he says, should ... more

08 September 2019

Cases of severe lung illnesses related to vaping are surging in the US. Officials in Indiana said an adult had died from a lung illness possibly tied to vaping, as the number of suspected cases across 33 States rose to 450. The death marks the fourth... more

08 September 2019

420 shift workers will trial three diets to help researchers devise the world's first dietary guidelines for those working night shift. A partnership between UniSA and Victoria’s Monash University, the groundbreaking research will help the 1.5 millio... more

08 September 2019

Public health officials have urged Americans to stop using e-cigarettes as they try to investigate a rapid "epidemic" of lung illnesses that has claimed the lives of at least 5 vapers in recent days. The country’s top public health agency announced i... more

07 September 2019

Cancer treatment could be enhanced by gold-based molecules engineered by Australian researchers which lessens toxic side effects. The RMIT University study published in Chemistry - A European Journal found the molecules were up to 24 times more effec... more

07 September 2019

Young women who vape may harm their fertility and chances of getting pregnant, a study published in the Journal of Endocrine Society says. In tests, mice exposed to e-cigarette vapour were less fertile, taking longer to have their first litter becaus... more

07 September 2019

A $45 million investment has almost halved the number of South Australians overdue and waiting for colonoscopies, with public hospitals working with the private sector to perform extra procedures. State Government funding has resulted in numbers drop... more

06 September 2019

The Governor of the US state of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer has moved to make her state the first to ban flavoured electronic cigarettes, accusing companies of using candy flavours and deceptive advertising to “hook children on nicotine”. Health offici... more

06 September 2019

In his weekly article Health Matters, Sean Parnell writes about shortcomings in the health system revealed through an international survey. The survey found delays in diagnosis and managing ongoing side effects as the biggest cause of inefficiency. P... more

06 September 2019

Australian-led research has shown a 33 per cent improvement in survival rates of men with advanced hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. It found that men with the disease who were given the hormone drug enzalutamide with their standard treatment had a ... more

04 September 2019

Drugs taken by millions of women with breast cancer may not kill all malignant cells, a study suggests. Instead, hormone pills such as tamoxifen may send a small number of breast cancer cells into “sleep” mode, meaning they can come back to life up t... more

02 September 2019

Smokers are being encouraged to think about their reasons for smoking, such as nicotine addiction, habits and emotion or stress, in the latest campaign launched by Quit Tasmania. Quit Tasmania director Abby Smith said “By listening, Quit Tasmania fou... more

02 September 2019

Cancer experts have developed a new online tool to help men and their partners weigh up the significant pros and cons of undergoing prostate cancer screening. The prostate specific antigen test, or PSA test, screens for elevated levels of a protein i... more

02 September 2019

Blood cancer rates across Australia will more than double in the next 16 years, claiming 186,000 lives, a national report shows. The Federal Government is expected to establish a national taskforce and commission an action plan to tackle the growing ... more

01 September 2019

Authorities are investigating hundreds of cases of severe lung disease among vapers, US health officials said yesterday. A total of 215 possible cases of pulmonary illness associated with vaping from 25 states are being probed, the Centres for Diseas... more

01 September 2019

Cancer patients and those recovering from strokes will have cheaper access to some treatments from today.  The listing of Opdivo from today on the PBS will provide healthcare professionals with the option to prescribe it as a flat dosing schedule eve... more

31 August 2019

Cancer cells corrupt their healthy neighbours in order to support their own survival, scientists say. The discovery, published in Nature, was made using a new technique to study the tissue around a tumour - called the tumour micro environment - known... more

31 August 2019

Women taking hormone therapy for menopause increase their chance of breast cancer by 60 per cent, a landmark global study has found. The risk is twice as great for women taking the drugs for 10 years rather than five, according to research from Austr... more

30 August 2019

Three in 10 young people say alcohol or drugs are a problem for their family and peers, according to a report from Mission Australia. The National Health and Medical Research Council has been reviewing Australia’s alcohol guidelines and is due to rel... more

29 August 2019

Tobacco maker Philip Morris has announced it is looking into teaming up again with its former parent company, the Altria Group.  A merger could help the two companies confront declining cigarette sales and diversify in a consumer market shifting towa... more

29 August 2019

World-leading Victorian researchers will share in $440 million as they get closer to beating the quick death sentence faced by lung cancer patients.  Health Minister Greg Hunt will today announce Victoria is to receive more than $202 million in Natio... more

29 August 2019

At least 699 people died in 2018 from the aggressive cancer mesothelioma, according to a new report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The report, Mesothelioma in Australia 2018 revealed new diagnoses of the aggressive cancer... more

28 August 2019

Victorians will see fewer advertisements for tobacco under tighter laws introduced by the state government. The changes come in the wake of the government intervening to stop overseas-based Formula 1 teams displaying tobacco advertising on their cars... more

27 August 2019

Health Minister Natasha Fyles has “no plans” to increase the age people can legally buy cigarettes in the Northern Territory despite a proposal from the Australian Medical Association Northern Territory. “Smoking rates in the NT have been progressive... more

26 August 2019

Territorians under the age of 25 will be banned from buying cigarettes if a controversial proposal by Australian Medical Association NT president Dr Rob Parker is adopted. Dr Rob Parker said the NT needed more “innovative programs” to stop smoking. C... more

26 August 2019

A new blood test could detect ovarian cancer two years before women are currently diagnosed. The blood test looks for four proteins released into the bloodstream by the most common type of ovarian cancer. Study leader Robert Graham, from Queen’s Univ... more

25 August 2019

World-leading genomic cancer profiling and treatments will be available in South Australia for the first time at a new $80 million research institute to be housed in Adelaide’s medical precinct. The South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute wi... more

25 August 2019

New research adds to a growing body of evidence that diet could help cancer treatment.The study, published in the journal Nature, found restricting intake of an amino acid found in red meat and eggs significantly enhanced cancer treatment in mice, sl... more

25 August 2019

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has agreed to personally lobby Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis on behalf of a former police officer who was refused access to a lifesaving cancer treatment. “(Minister Hunt) will write to Novartis to see if this ... more

24 August 2019

An expensive combination therapy for non-small cell lung cancer has been approved for subsidy, saving patients $15,000 every three months. The combination of high cost immunotherapy treatment Keytruda with chemotherapy has been shown to dramatically ... more

24 August 2019

An estimated 92 per cent of cancers caused by HPV could be prevented through vaccination, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday, adding that boosting immunisation coverage was a key priority. “A future without HPV cancers i... more

23 August 2019

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating a “cluster” of lung illnesses that it believes may be linked to e-cigarette use after reports in 14 states.  The CDC said there was no evidence that an infectious disease was behind t... more

23 August 2019

A deceptively simple device made in Adelaide can be used to detect cancer cells in a urine sample, UniSA research shows. It is hoped the urine test will replace cystoscopy. Dr Melanie MacGregor, of the UniSA Future Industries Institute, said a precli... more

23 August 2019

Junk food companies have been accused of targeting children on their way to school as pressure mounts on the Victorian government to ban the ads on state owned property. Research by the Obesity Policy Coalition suggests that more than a quarter of th... more

21 August 2019

Cancer Council Queensland researchers have shown that the number of people beating cancer or living with cancer are expected to increase by 73 per cent in the next 22 years. Researchers have today released a mortality study offering new hope to cance... more

21 August 2019

The Heart Foundation has revealed new advice following a review of its dietary statement. The first changes since 2013 call for restrictions on red meat but lift the ban on full-fat milk products for healthy people. Heart Foundation chief medical adv... more

20 August 2019

In an opinion piece, Ashley Reid, CEO of Cancer Council Western Australia, discusses the obesity crisis that Australia is facing according to the World Health Organisation.  He writes that the 'junk food industry evolution is the biggest driver of th... more

20 August 2019

Australians could finally have access to information about how many "empty calories" are in the soft drinks and packaged foods they buy, after state and federal ministers ordered a review to consider mandatory "added sugar" labelling. State and feder... more

19 August 2019

Up to 50 people in six US States have come down with breathing illnesses that may be linked to e-cigarettes or vaping products. Dr Melodi Pirzada, a paediatric lung specialist at NYU Winthrop Hospital in New York, said she had seen two cases this sum... more

19 August 2019

New Queensland research, carried out over nine years using 1200 people, will help dermatologists determine the risk of developing melanoma – and it is a numbers game. University of Queensland Diamantina Institute researcher Associate Professor Rick S... more

15 August 2019

The federal government will push to cut Australia’s smoking rate to less than 10 per cent by 2025 as part of new efforts to boost preventative health outcomes. Health Minister Greg Hunt used an address to the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednes... more

15 August 2019

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has sought more information from companies responsible for breast implants associated with an increased risk of cancer.  It comes as some surgeons warn of regulatory overreach, with the TGA threatening to ban or s... more

14 August 2019

A Melbourne family is driving and funding medical research needed to help their son, who has been diagnosed with a rare mitochondrial disease called ECHSI deficiency. The experimental treatment replaces faulty genes with a healthy, working version an... more

12 August 2019

An emotional Barnaby Joyce has been involved in a bizarre confrontation with medical cannabis campaigners in his local electorate. The former deputy Prime Minister was filmed telling campaigners that he “gets furious” at suggestions marijuana offers ... more

12 August 2019

A Labor MP has called on her own government to hurry up with a crackdown on misleading food labels that prevent West Australians from making informed decisions about their sugar intake. Margaret Quirk this week asked for a progress report from Health... more

12 August 2019

Obesity is far more likely to cause cancer than previously thought, scientists have warned. The risk of excess body weight leading to cancer is at least twice what was originally believed, according to a major study of the genes of 700,000 British pe... more

12 August 2019

A simple breathalyser test may soon be all it takes to diagnose diabetes, asthma and certain cancers.  Macquarie University researcher Noushin Nasiri has developed a device called the Nanotech Electronic Nose which can analyse a person’s breath and d... more

12 August 2019

New hi-tech equipment to track and try prevent cancer progression is available in South Australia after the opening of a state-ofthe-art imaging facility at the Centre for Cancer Biology. Co-director for the Centre Professor Angel Lopez said the new ... more

12 August 2019

News Ltd has reported on a new survey that reveals doctors are failing to diagnose many cancer cases, putting lives at risk. The survey also reveals nearly one in three cancer patients are initially wrongly diagnosed and one in eight wait six months ... more

08 August 2019

Australia will provide more than $1 million in legal funding to help Pacific nations introduce anti-smoking measures without fearing the interference of big Tobacco. The $1.065m funding is part of the $19m health package, to be announced at the Pacif... more

07 August 2019

Cancer patients in the ACT face the longest average wait time in the nation before starting radiotherapy treatment, new figures show. The ACT government has blamed increased patient demand, staff shortages and the lengthy process to replace old machi... more

07 August 2019

The author of legislation to ban the sale of tobacco products to those aged under 21 says he is hopeful it will win the support of the parliament. Legislative Council member Ivan Dean’s Public Health Amendment (Prevention of Sale of Smoking Products ... more

07 August 2019

Australian researchers have identified 45 new genes linked to the development of the most common form of skin cancers. The Queensland study into basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, more than doubles the genetic information available on the non-m... more

06 August 2019

South Australian researchers are part of a national team trying to attack dormant blood cancer cells hiding in bone marrow, potentially revolutionising diagnosis and treatment for thousands of patients. “If we can target and eliminate the dormant cel... more

05 August 2019

A new cancer treatment that supercharges the immune system will now be available to young Australians fighting blood cancer. The cancer-killing chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy will be provided by two Melbourne hospitals free of charge after ... more

05 August 2019

Early signs of breast cancer went undetected in more than 100 Queensland women due to failings by the state-run screening provider, court documents reveal. The claims are outlined in a $1.2 million negligence lawsuit brought by a former senior execut... more

05 August 2019

Women who test positive for changes that can lead to cervical cancer are facing a six month wait for treatment because public clinics can't cope with higher detection rates under a new test. The first study of the effect of the new test, published in... more

05 August 2019

A smart blood test detects the spread of breast cancer almost a year earlier than scans, research shows. It analyses DNA in the blood to show with high accuracy whether cancer will recur after treatment. Researchers from the Institute of Cancer Resea... more

02 August 2019

Diet is a key part of managing diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, but new research adds to the evidence it could help cancer treatment too. The study, published yesterday in the journal Nature, found restricting intake of an amino acid found... more

02 August 2019

A major “don’t eat me” signal that cancer cells appear to use to stop the immune system from attacking them has been discovered by US researchers. Normally, immune cells detect cancer cells and engulf them, but researchers have previously discovered ... more

02 August 2019

In a discovery that may open up new ways of treating acute myeloid leukaemia, Australian researchers have identified a “Benjamin Button” mechanism that allows blood cancer cells to reverse their ageing and trick the immune system to not dispose them.... more

01 August 2019

A diet full of Vitamin A can reduce your risk of skin cancer. New research published in the JAMA Dermatology Journal has found people who eat vitamin A-rich foods such as lean meat, leafy greens and pasta have a reduced risk of developing one of the ... more

01 August 2019

In an opinion piece, Michael Wadsley says silica is being called the new asbestos. The piece focuses on the risks associated with exposure to crystalline silica dusts and the gap in regulation of silica dust emissions. He calls on the government to p... more

31 July 2019

Screening Australians at high risk of lung cancer, the nation’s biggest cancer killer, has the potential to prevent thousands of deaths, particularly among former smokers. However, experts say more research is needed to ensure future Australian lung ... more

31 July 2019

The gap between rich and poor extends to bowel cancer risk, new data from the Cancer Council indicates. The analysis of bowel cancer cases shows 37 per cent of the state’s lowest socio-economic areas have a higher than average rate of bowel cancer. I... more

31 July 2019

Curtin University researchers have called for tighter limits on diesel exhaust levels in under-ground mines, saying current allowable limits can significantly increase the risk of lung cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2012 c... more

30 July 2019

Women are overweight because they are eating two biscuits too many every day, a top medical expert has warned. Professor Dame Sally Davies urged people to be “honest” instead of pretending others are not overweight and advised that women need to cut ... more

30 July 2019

As Dry July draws to a close, organisers are urging people who gave up alcohol for the month not to overdo celebrations with a “wet” August. Cancer Council South Australia community education officer Nat von Bertouch urged South Australians not to fa... more

29 July 2019

A breakthrough drug is providing hope for babies at risk of dying from an aggressive form of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia – and ultimately all cancer patients. A team from the Children’s Cancer Institute has proven a form of the blood cancer that ki... more

29 July 2019

Australian researchers are developing a hormone tablet to prevent ovarian cancer by using the way pregnancy, breastfeeding and the contraceptive pill all dramatically reduce the risk of the deadly disease. Three Australian researchers have been award... more

29 July 2019

Patients dying of cancer have been denied crucial pain medication after a crackdown on prescribing opioids backfired. Doctors frequently prescribing opioids were issued warning letters last year amid concern patients with chronic pain were abusing th... more

29 July 2019

Electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products are not helping fight cancer, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says, urging smokers and governments not to trust claims from cigarette firms about their latest products. The seventh WHO Report on t... more

29 July 2019

Smokers are being encouraged to quit for good, as a new SA-made campaign launches. Health and Wellbeing Minister Stephen Wade said the State Government had for the first time developed, created and produced the campaign advertisements in South Austra... more

29 July 2019

Four medicines that treat cancer and inflammatory disease have been added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme at a cost of $56 million. The medicines to be extended or listed from Thursday treat brain tumours, leukaemia, and inflammatory disease of... more

29 July 2019

Australians living with an aggressive form of brain cancer will benefit from a subsidy for expensive treatment. Together with new treatments for leukaemia and inflammatory disease of the large blood vessels, the drug Avastin will be available to pati... more

29 July 2019

A new supercomputer that can crunch data 10 times faster than anything else in Australia will come online in November. The federal government will today announce $70 million for the supercomputer, called Gadi, which will help researchers tackle bigge... more

26 July 2019

In an opinion piece, Penny Egan, CEO Cancer Council Tasmania, writes about the importance of behaviour change in reducing cancer risk. The piece focuses on why investment from governments and charities like Cancer Council Tasmania, into preventative ... more

23 July 2019

A blueprint to reverse the childhood obesity crisis has been laid out by leading health groups in an effort to pressure the Victorian Government into action. Including tougher restrictions on unhealthy food and drink advertising to children, an overh... more

23 July 2019

Australia’s peak medical body plans to address patient concerns over out-of-pocket medical costs by educating consumers about the healthcare system. Australian Medical Association president Tony Bartone said the association’s informed financial conse... more

22 July 2019

The treatment of prostate cancer is now following the successful path of breast cancer by offering conservative surgery to cut out tumours without removing the prostate. Victorian men with prostate cancer now have a surgical option to remove tumours ... more

22 July 2019

Health Minister Greg Hunt’s promised medical fee transparency website has been rejected, with leading physicians warning they will not participate in a ‘‘meaningless’’ political exercise. As the minister’s advisory group prepares to meet on Friday, o... more

22 July 2019

A new media campaign will launch today to encourage people to use the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. A recent study conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that NSW bowel screening participation rates are the secon... more

22 July 2019

A daily coffee will not give you cancer, but it’s unlikely to protect you from cancer either, a Queensland study has found. Researchers at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute analysed data from more than 300,000 people, finding that drinkin... more

22 July 2019

Junior biotech Imugene has acquired a cancer-fighting virus it hopes increases its appeal to big pharma. The Australian-listed immuno-oncology company announced this week it had acquired Vaxinia, which has the global rights to license oncolytic virus... more

19 July 2019

The Hodgman Government has no plans to raise the state’s smoking age to 21, despite new data showing four out of five Tasmanians support an age increase. Figures released this week by polling website You Gov Galaxy showed 78 per cent of the 600 Tasma... more

19 July 2019

The potential legalisation of liquid nicotine in Australia has been labelled “controversial” by a coroner investigating the death of a Victorian toddler, who died after drinking a lethal amount of the potent substance. Coroner Philip Byrne yesterday ... more

19 July 2019

A drug that promises to save women with a deadly breast cancer gene from their fate and avoid radical surgery will be trialled in Adelaide. The world-first clinical trial will use a drug – currently used to treat osteoporosis – on women who carry a B... more

16 July 2019

Current and former heavy smokers could soon be offered regular screening for lung cancer. Australian researchers are leading an international trial to test whether a CT scan is an efficient and cost-effective way to detect early cancers, given lung c... more

15 July 2019

Fruit juice and fizzy drinks significantly raise the risk of cancer, a major study shows today. As little as 100ml of pure juice a day increased the odds of the disease by 12 per cent.  And the same quantity of sweetened soft drink, such as cordial o... more

15 July 2019

A revolutionary urine test has been developed that can accurately predict which men do and don’t need risky prostate cancer surgery. The urine test could replace the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test currently used to identify men at risk of... more

15 July 2019

Women fighting cancer will have their eggs, embryos and ovarian tissue frozen for free before they undergo chemotherapy. Leading obstetricians from Westmead, Randwick’s Royal Hospital for Women and Royal Prince Alfred agreed on Monday to give cancer ... more

15 July 2019

On Thursday, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) proposed banning, suspending and restricting textured breast implants after an exhaustive review confirmed their link to large cell lymphoma (ALCL). It recommended banning nine Allergan ‘‘Natrel... more

15 July 2019

A combination of two drugs is more effective at fighting breast cancer than one treatment alone, a study has found. The breast cancer drug Palbociclib is boosted when combined with lung cancer medication crizotinib, researchers said. The “one-two pun... more

12 July 2019

An Australian ban on a range of textured breast implants has been recommended after a review of apparent links to rare forms of cancer. The Therapeutic Goods Administration’s proposed regulatory action – which could include cancelling, suspending or ... more

12 July 2019

Drinking sugary drinks has been linked to a higher risk of certain kinds of cancer. French researchers assessed associations between heightened consumption of sugary drinks and the risks of overall cancer, as well as several cancer types, including b... more

11 July 2019

A “misleading” website mimicking Australia's official breast screening service is directing women to a dangerous and unproven therapy. The breastscreeningaustralia.com site uses similar colours and images to the official BreastScreen Australia site a... more

10 July 2019

The UK government plans to eliminate smoking from Britain by 2030, leaked documents seen by the daily mail reportedly show.  Black market cigarettes will also be targeted by ministers and quit leaflets will be placed inside legal cigarette packets. T... more

10 July 2019

The same shock tactics used in Australia’s successful antismoking campaign to highlight cancer risks are needed to elevate the public health scourge of obesity, Queensland’s top doctor warns. The Cancer Council Queensland supports a campaign to educa... more

10 July 2019

Insurance companies have been accused of illegally denying insurance to people carrying cancer causing genes even when they eliminate their disease risk by removing body parts. In a study published in the European Journal of Human Genetics, Australia... more

09 July 2019

A coroner may back a push to make liquid nicotine legal in Australia to ensure there is more regulation around the product. Phillip Byrne called for more public awareness on the dangers of liquid nicotine and said legalising it could give authorities... more

09 July 2019

An Adelaide clinic is selling a breast cancer scan that uses deregistered technology that according to experts could leave women believing they’re clear, when in fact they have a tumour. Thermography is effectively a heat map of the body. There is no... more

08 July 2019

A high-precision radiation therapy for patients with secondary brain tumours has become available in Adelaide. The image-guided radiation system will be used as a non-invasive form of intracranial radiation to deliver precisely targeted radiation in ... more

08 July 2019

Women should only have to visit their doctor every decade for smear tests, a British study has suggested. A new cervical screening test is so sensitive those over 40 may only need it every decade. Women are asked for a smear test every three years fr... more

08 July 2019

The federal government has committed $5.6 million in funding towards six medical research projects focused on improving the health profile of ageing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It will include a $1.2 million grant to NSW Cancer Inst... more

08 July 2019

Randwick Council workers will stop using weed killer Roundup following concerns its main ingredient can cause cancer. Councillors voted to accept a staff recommendation and replace the widely-used product, which contains the herbicide glyphosate, wit... more

08 July 2019

A common cold virus could provide hope for bladder cancer patients after it was found to destroy their tumours. The CVA21 virus causes sneezing, runny noses and fever when it strikes. But scientists have found it may be a lifeline for those with the ... more

08 July 2019

Children as young as 12 are taking up vaping, lured by lolly flavours and in the mistaken belief it is safe. Record numbers of teens and university students are also using e-cigarettes, in a development the Cancer Council has warned could undo decade... more

08 July 2019

Depictions of tobacco have surged nearly fourfold in the past year in the most popular TV shows among young people – and Netflix’s Stranger Things season 3 was the worst offender, anti-smoking group Truth Initiative says. Netflix said all new shows i... more

05 July 2019

Health Minister Greg Hunt claims under-fire neurosurgeon Charlie Teo has agreed to make public his cancer surgery fees on the federal government’s new medical transparency website. In an interview yesterday on Sky News, Mr Hunt said Dr Teo had commit... more

05 July 2019

A US judge will reconsider a jury’s $80 million damage award to a California cancer victim who used Monsanto’s Roundup weed-killer. US District Judge Vince Chhabria said at a hearing this week that he would reduce but not entirely eliminate punitive ... more

04 July 2019

A world-first Australian study has found that as little as five cigarettes a day doubles the risk of smokers dying from a heart attack and stroke. For the first time, Australian National University researchers established that smokers have triple the... more

04 July 2019

Smoking is killing 17 Australians a day from stroke, heart attack, and other cardiovascular conditions, wiping out almost double the population of Port Douglas every year, warn the researchers of a world-first study. Tobacco smokers have triple the r... more

03 July 2019

A study has revealed cigarette smoke that settles on clothing, hair or car interiors can lead to cancer in non-smokers. The findings have sparked Cancer Council Queensland to warn parents, who think they are keeping their children safe by smoking out... more

03 July 2019

Private Healthcare Australia research shows about 44 per cent of patients incur a gap payment when they are treated in a private hospital, while 2 per cent end up with an out-of-pocket in excess of $10,000. Two main issues exist with out-of-pocket ex... more

02 July 2019

NSW researchers are engineering “mini-hearts” — which are made of patients’ own cells and beat like a real heart — as part of a world-first trial aimed at reducing the toxic side effects of drugs that can cause heart failure. Lead scientist Dr Carmin... more

01 July 2019

Cancer patients are waiting up to five years to access life-saving medicines, as spending on the Pharmaceutical Benefit Subsidy scheme plummets. There are more than 30 new medicines that are reimbursed in most other developed countries, but not yet s... more

01 July 2019

Cancer will be diagnosed in an estimated 145,000 Australians this year and will kill about 136 people a day and while survival rates have increased, the incidence of cancer is also on the rise. Research has shown a third to a quarter of all cases are... more

01 July 2019

Researchers believe ‘night owls’ may be at higher risk of breast cancer. A new study published in The BMJ, finds women who considered themselves “morning people” were at a slightly lower risk (one less woman per 100) of developing breast cancer as op... more

01 July 2019

A paper-thin, flexible metal sticker placed on the chest can spot the signs of lethal heart attacks and strokes before they occur.The prototype device dubbed an "electronic tattoo" houses an intricate network of in-built sensors to track signs of abn... more

01 July 2019

More than $36 million in federal funding for health and hospital services has been granted to several projects across South Australia. The new listings include Oratane for severe cystic acne, Phenelzine for people with depression, and Pemetrexed, a c... more

28 June 2019

Being an early riser cuts the risk of breast cancer, research suggests. A major study examining the genes of 400,000 women found a marked difference in the chances of developing breast cancer between morning people and those who prefer evenings. The ... more

28 June 2019

Routine human papillomavirus vaccinations in Australia have led to a dramatic drop in infections that lead to cancer, global research published in the Lancet Public Health Journal shows. Rates of HPV infections in Australian women have fallen 92 per ... more

28 June 2019

Doing more exercise in middle age extends your life no matter how active you were before. A study conducted by University of Cambridge researchers tracked nearly 15,000 people aged 40 to 79 over eight years to establish how this affected their health... more

27 June 2019

San Francisco yesterday became the first major US city to ban the sale and manufacture of electronic cigarettes, as concerns grow over a sharp rise in vaping among youths. The city’s council unanimously approved an ordinance suspending the sale in sh... more

27 June 2019

A prostate cancer breakthrough could detect the disease without a biopsy and tell how aggressive it is. A study shows a urine test could spot the tumours and tell how likely they are to spread five years earlier than current methods. The test assesse... more

26 June 2019

Queensland has been leading the debate on food labelling at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) health meetings, says Health Minister Steven Miles, who is calling on the Federal Government to release the report into the Health Star Ratings t... more

26 June 2019

Australia’s largest alcohol retailer BWS has formed an ‘‘unlikely partnership’’ with the Dry July Foundation, which challenges people to go alcohol-free for a month to raise money for cancer patients, in a move that has drawn criticism. Michael Thorn... more

25 June 2019

An audit of brain cancer treatment in Australia will examine whether health professionals have departed from evidence-based practice and need to be given new standards and guidelines. Cancer Australia has commissioned the audit to identify the latest... more

25 June 2019

A cancer patient who had the wrong side of his bowel removed will need a third surgery to repair the damage as the Northern Beaches Hospital launches an investigation into the critical error. Surgeons at the private-public hospital removed the wrong ... more

24 June 2019

After a large community push, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee has recommended that Avastin should be made available to patients with glioblastoma via the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. While Avastin does not cure patients, advocates s... more

24 June 2019

An analysis by the Obesity Policy Coalition has found that many school lunch box snacks promoted as ‘healthy’ in some way would carry as little as one star, if they used the star rating system. Jane Martin from the OPC said “They are very carefully d... more

24 June 2019

A new study funded by St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne suggests that alcohol causes the most overall harm to the Australian community, surpassing ice and heroin. Lead researcher Yvonne Bonomo said “almost 6000 Australians die from alcohol-related h... more

21 June 2019

Doctors and patients with ‘neglected’ cancers are pushing to gain greater attention, research and treatments typically bestowed on more prominent forms of the disease. GI Cancer Institute chair Professor Tim Price said ‘the gathering would try to acc... more

20 June 2019

Australian researches have discovered why some patients become resistant to one of the most popular types of chemotherapy. At least half of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy are treated with a platinum-based drug, such as ciplastin, which works ... more

20 June 2019

Bottles of juice are serving up a high amount of sugar but not much of the healthy parts of fruit, according to an analysis of ready-to-drink products sold across Victoria. Cancer Council Victoria’s LiveLighter campaign manager, Alison McAleese, says... more

20 June 2019

A study has found that eating two servings of yoghurt a week could lower men’s risk of bowel cancer. Men who eat this amount are one-fifth less likely to develop polyps in the bowel. A Harvard Medical School study of 32,000 men tracked their diet, an... more

20 June 2019

Experts have warned that women are drinking in ignorance of breast cancer risks. Only one in five women attending breast clinics and screening appointments were aware that alcohol increased their risk of cancer. Research led by experts at the Univers... more

18 June 2019

A Queensland-led discovery has found new genetic causes for an increased risk of breast, ovarian, prostate and pancreatic cancers, refining knowledge about the high-profile BRCA genes that can potentially spare patients from unnecessary preventative ... more

17 June 2019

In an opinion piece, Colin Mendelsohn comments on the Northern Territory Government’s five-year Tobacco Plan that was released earlier this month. He claims that the plan is a clear demonstration that the "Government has lost its way" as the document... more

17 June 2019

According to Bowel Cancer Australia, age should not be a barrier to the Australian Government’s free bowel screening program. Two new global studies show bowel cancer rates are rising significantly in the under 50s, with one in 10 diagnosed. Bowel Ca... more

12 June 2019

In an editorial for the Sydney Morning Herald, the issue of out of pocket medical expenses is discussed in the wake of the Charlie Teo controversy. The piece argues that medical professionals should endorse clearer ethical guidelines including tellin... more

11 June 2019

Light treatments have undergone 500 controlled studies, with many showing it works as a way of treating cancer and soft tissue injuries. Clinical trials that use light to kill skin cancers are set to begin in Australia this year, and a robot has been... more

11 June 2019

Canberra smokers who litter their cigarette butts in public places could soon face a $500 fine for the act, under new laws the ACT government has proposed. City Services Minister Chris Steel on Thursday introduced a bill to extensively overhaul the t... more

11 June 2019

An Australian surgeon has likened the treatment of neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo to the frenzy surrounding Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton who experienced an intense trial-by-media in 1980 over the killing of her daughter at Uluru. Paediatric urologist Pro... more

11 June 2019

Health Minister Greg Hunt has sounded a warning to medical specialists over ‘‘very excessive’’ fees after brain surgeon Charlie Teo defended charging large medical bills for risky procedures. The high-profile Sydney doctor has accused the Royal Austr... more

11 June 2019

In an opinion piece for the Sun Herald, Helen Pitt writes about the problem with Australia’s health system, which has become so “profit-driven that it needs crowdfunding to not only keep patients alive but just to get them to the operating table”. Sh... more

11 June 2019

Medical leaders have hit back after an attack by renowned brain surgeon Charlie Teo claiming the medical establishment is “the enemy”, trying to push him out of the profession. The president of the Australian Medical Association, Tony Bartone, urged ... more

11 June 2019

Jill Margo writes a piece about the early detection of ovarian cancer, highlighting the pioneering work of UNSW vice-chancellor Ian Jacobs who has been researching a screening method for this type of cancer since the mid-1980s. The diagnosis of ovari... more

11 June 2019

A paradigm shift in cervical screening tests is resulting in earlier detection of potentially cancer-causing infections, researchers say. A test for the human papillomavirus (HPV) replaced Pap smear testing in December 2017, under the national cervic... more

11 June 2019

The Sunday Mail and the University of Adelaide are encouraging men to “man up” about men’s health this week and be aware of the risk groups and common warning signs for early signs of chronic illness. Dr James Richards, of The Men’s Health Centre, in... more

11 June 2019

The wait-time for follow-up colonoscopies in bowel cancer detection has been labelled the “Achilles heel of the screening process”, according to the head of Bowel Cancer Australia. The organisation is calling on all levels of government to commit to ... more

11 June 2019

Anne Rutherford from Claremont, Tasmania says her bowel cancer scare when she was 45 was just another example of why screening needs to begin at a younger age. The country’s second most deadly cancer is on the rise in people under 50, a new report re... more

11 June 2019

An environmental expert has attacked “hysteria” and “misinformation” that weed killer Roundup causes cancer, saying scientific evidence shows it’s “our safest herbicide”. University of Sydney Emeritus Professor Ivan Kennedy, who had conducted pestici... more

11 June 2019

One of South Australia’s most senior health executives has apologised “unreservedly” to an Adelaide man who has been given a progrognosis of one to two years following a missed cancer diagnosis. Claus Burg, 70, was given the all clear in July last ye... more

05 June 2019

A landmark study led by the Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate (ANZUP) Cancer Trials Group has shown that 80% of men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer who received the non-steroidal anti-androgen medicine enzalutamide ... more

05 June 2019

Australia’s peak surgeon body would back moves to reprimand specialists charging exorbitant fees that risk financially crippling patients and families. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) has echoed public concerns over patients crowdfu... more