Monday 05 January 2009

Reconstructive breast surgery after mastectomy Cosmetic breast surgery is booming. So why isn't there a greater demand for reconstructive breast surgery when so many women are losing their breasts to cancer? There's a silence around breast reconstruction following mastectomy that's not helping women to make informed decisions about this major surgery, even though there are clear benefits for recovery. Deb Nesbitt, who prepared this special feature, questions the silence and looks at the dilemmas women face when thinking about breast reconstruction.  Read Transcript

Monday 29 December 2008

Gap kids This is a feature by Heather Stewart about children with a developmental language disorder. They struggle to create speech and interpret what is being said to them. These children often fall in the gap between state and federal health and education departments. However, good therapy would make a huge difference to their lives.  Read Transcript

Monday 22 December 2008

Genes and cancer This program is a feature on the controversial area of genes and cancer and we talk to scientists about their work in this area. Recent Australian research suggests an increased risk of prostate cancer in men who carry one of the two best known breast cancer genes, BRCA2. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are genes which, when they're normal, protect us against cancer, but some people inherit or develop an abnormality in one of the two copies they receive from their parents. If the second copy goes wrong, women are at very high risk of breast and ovarian cancer. And a scientist at Harvard School of Public Health has been looking for genes and signposts on chromosomes which are linked to increases in prostate cancer risks.  Read Transcript

Monday 15 December 2008

The effect of aspirin or resistant starch on colorectal cancer in the Lynch syndrome An international clinical trial investigated the role of aspirin and resistant starch in the prevention of colorectal cancer among carriers of the Lynch syndrome, which is a rare inherited condition that increases the risk of colon cancer.  Read Transcript

Magic bullet treatment Over 30 years ago scientists discovered how to make what are called monoclonal antibodies. They were hyped at the time as magic bullets which hit diseases like cancer without injuring any other part of the body.  Read Transcript

Monday 08 December 2008

Asthma breathing exercises Recently published research in the UK suggests that breathing exercises which are aimed to reduce the severity of asthma symptoms significantly improve quality of life, but they don't cut out the need for inhalers.  Read Transcript

White coat hypertension Many people get so stressed when having their blood pressure taken in a doctor's surgery that it actually goes up due to anxiety and not because they have high blood pressure on a regular basis. A recent study has investigated this.  Read Transcript

Gestational diabetes in Australia The first national report on gestational diabetes has just been released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. It provides insight into the increasing incidence of diabetes in Australia and who is at risk.  Read Transcript

HIV treatment puts people at risk for heart disease and diabetes It's been known for a while that people who are treated for HIV also become much more susceptible to diabetes and heart disease. Scientists at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney have studied this and shown some of the reasons why this occurs.  Read Transcript