Chris Luck's Blog

Prostate Cancer Charity lobbies against NICE’s decision

Chris Luck — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:06:08 +0000

The Prostate Cancer Charity has started to lobby against NICE’s decision not to support abiratone for men with advanced prostate cancer. Check out this video of Dr Sarah Cant, the Head of Policy and Campaigns at the charity:

You can go directly to the charity’s campaign web page at this address: [...]

Email your MP!

Chris Luck — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:09:16 +0000

I emailed my local MP yesterday regarding Nice’s decision not to support the use of the new drug abiratone (Zytiga) for men with advanced prostate cancer.

I invite all my readers to join me by emailing their MP. If you don’t know the email address for you local MP you can find it at the [...]

NICE (or not so nice?!)

Chris Luck — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:17:19 +0000

The Mirror tabloid newspaper has waded into the furore regarding NICE’s decision not to approve abiratone(Zytiga) for patients with hormonally resistant prostate cancer with an article entitled; Cancer charities blast health chiefs for not approving ‘too expensive’ prostate cancer treatment.

Owen Sharp, the chief executive of The Prostate Cancer Charity, is quoted again, this [...]

What the f****!!!

Chris Luck — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:04:05 +0000

Today the new media reported the appalling news that NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence), has decided that the NHS should not support the new drug Zytiga for use in patients with advanced prostate cancer (report here).

What!!!

Are these people mad or just bad?? Zytiga (also know as abiratone) has been [...]

Prostate Cancer quiz

Chris Luck — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:48:52 +0000

I came across this little quiz on a website recently. The answer to each question is either true or false. My comments are shown in curly brackets:

1. “Watchful waiting” is still a top option for this slow-growing cancer.

Answer: Question 1 SelectShow The correct answer is: False While watchful waiting was once a [...]

Running hot and cold

Chris Luck — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:16:25 +0000

The radio news this morning was full of warnings that we were going to experience a cold snap. In a typically British way this news is presented with much doom and gloom. Hey … you know what? Its called winter!

Temperature is clearly a physical phenomenon that can be accurately measured. The weather forecasters [...]

Mummy with Prostate Cancer

Chris Luck — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:44:15 +0000

A news website posted a report today about a group of researchers in Cairo who claim to have discovered the oldest case of prostate cancer in an ancient Egyptian mummy (report here).

By using CT scans they discovered several small, round, dense bone lesions in the mummy’s pelvis, spine and limbs, which are clear [...]

Baker’s dozen

Chris Luck — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:37:43 +0000

I visited my local clinic for my thirteenth Zoladex injection today (they still haven’t sorted out the replacement Prostap injections!).

Actually I should have had the injection yesterday but what with my cold I completely forgot. I was grateful that the clinic was able to rearrange my injection so quickly. There are a few [...]

Old bones

Chris Luck — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:09:18 +0000

Outside my window, The rain dolefully drips down, Onto the waiting earth, Where it is welcomed, As the bringer of new life,

But inside my soul, A desert; dry and dusty, Where words are unknown, And feelings have withered, And become like old bones.

Where is the water? [...]

Lemsip and tissues

Chris Luck — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:59:45 +0000

Unfortunately having cancer doesn’t make me immune form the common ailments that affect everyone. I wish it would – at least there’d be some usefulness in having cancer. But there’s nothing useful about cancer at all.

And so I find myself at home with a streaming cold. On top of all the pills and [...]