This week in health

It’s been a varied week in health. There’s been some shocking and saddening news stories, including a report about the links between depression and cancer and the passing of Stephen Hawking. However, there’s also been a great deal of awareness in the media around skin conditions and IBS, which are helping to raise the daily struggles that these illnesses and diseases can create. So, read on below for your snapshot into this week’s biggest health stories.

Stephen Hawking

Beginning with one of the biggest news stories from the week, Stephen Hawking sadly passed away on March 14th. The leading expert in theoretical physics as well as cosmology. It was not only due to his contributions to science that many mourned his passing this week. Hawking had a huge impact on the perception of those living with disabilities; Hawking was diagnosed with a rare motor neurone disease from an early age. Despite this, he went on to make a huge impact in the world of science and beyond. The outpouring of love and support for Hawking’s contribution to science and those living with disabilities is evident in this write up.

When talking about disability, Hawking said in an interview with the New York Times: “My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you doing well, and don’t regret the things it interferes with. Don’t be disabled in spirit, as well as physically”.

No Smoking Day

March 14th also marked No Smoking Day in the UK. The day is used to encourage those who smoke to give it up for good. While it is never easy to give up an addictive habit such as smoking there is plenty of documentation and reports about the health risks that smoking can bring about, including lung cancer, heart disease and much more.

This week alone, a new report has found that smokers may run a higher risk of losing their hearing. If you are trying to quit smoking, there is plenty a support available to you. Why not check out some of our articles around the subject of smoking?

Depression and cancer

This week in health

In one of the largest UK studies to date around the link between cancer and depression, reports found the worrying statistic that cancer patients are five times more likely to take their own life when compared to the general public.

The findings detailed that those with urological cancers are at the highest risk of, including the likes of prostate cancer and bladder cancer. Finding out you have cancer can obviously be a highly distressing time, and the report suggested that around 25% of cancer patients may be dealing with serious depression. If you have any concerns about urology cancer, then we have our Online Clinic for bladder issues running in June, where we will have experts on hand to answer your questions. You can find more details here.

It’s extremely important to ensure that if you are worried about your own mental well-being, or someone’s around you, that you have information on the relevant support groups available. It is never easy o talk about depression, especially if you are dealing with cancer, but taking that first step is the most important. If you want to talk further about mental health problems or want to discover others that may have gone through similar situations, then head to our forum specifically for mental health.

Managing IBS

IBS can be difficult to manage and control on a day-to-day basis. It can cause serious distressed and discomfort for anyone affected by it. IBS itself can be extremely awkward to treat, as each individual patient will have unique triggers.

However, there are some key things you can do to help try and control IBS. This week, The Guardian put out an article on ways to manage irritable bowel syndrome. If you are suffering with IBS and looking for support, or if you have any tips or tricks that help you manage your IBS, then head to our forums today and join up with our community of those affected by the disorder.

Talking about skin conditions

There’s been a lot of coverage of skin conditions this week from the media. Skin conditions, regardless of type and severity, can have a huge impact on an individual, both physically and mentally.

BBC Radio 5 Live ran a talk shop on it, and the talkhealth team joined in the conversation alongside experts and those living with skin conditions. You can hear the full radio discussion here.

In addition to this, there have been some very powerful videos put out around skin conditions. Rosacea sufferer, Lex, talked at length about the impact rosacea can have on an individual. Alongside this, Tracy opened up about the struggles of living with adult acne, and how she copes and works through the problems the condition can cause.

If you are struggling with rosacea or acne, then why not check out our Patient Support Programmes for both which can provide you with additional support tools to help you with day-to-day management of either condition.

Eye for Pharma Awards

This week in health
Photo credit: Eye for Pharma

Finally, Eye for Pharma ran its annually awards ceremony, celebrating those that are making a difference in the world of pharmaceuticals and patient care. As always, the awards were hotly contested, with some big names battling it out for the awards.

We’d like to extend special congratulations to Trishna Bharadia, who won the Patient Advocate Award. The award celebrates those working on innovative projects designed to deliver patient improvements in both the long and short term. Trishna was awarded for having successfully brought MS, chronic illness and invisible disability into the public spotlight, raising awareness and improving education and services for patients, as well as helping pharma and healthcare-related companies to better engage with patients in all stages of product development. You can have a look at the full list of award winners here.

And that’s the round-up for this week’s health care news. If you want to discuss any of these stories further, head to our forums and keep the discussion going.

  

talkhealth

This is the talkhealth blog spot, where we post on a wide range of health conditions, topics, issues and concerns. We post when we see something that we believe is of interest to our visitors. Our posts do not reflect any particular view or standpoint of talkhealth, but are merely to raise attention and awareness.

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