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NHS Days (MSW)

01 Nov - 01 Dec
Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Lung cancer is known as the “invisible” or “forgotten” disease but lung cancer is a stark reality for more than 37,000 new patients in the UK every year – that’s one every 15 minutes.

BBC Health

'Superglue' brain op for toddler

The parents of a 17-month-old girl have told how surgeons used glue to seal tiny brain blood vessels that were threatening her life.

Asbestos victims win 'test case'

Asbestos-related cancer victims and their families have won an important test case over access to compensation.

Hairspray linked to birth defect

Boys born to women exposed to hairspray in the workplace may have a higher risk of being born with a genital defect.

Hospital bug fine plan 'unfair'

The government's plan to fine hospitals for not hitting Clostridium difficile targets is unfair, experts say.

Detention units 'fail on health'

Children held in UK detention centres are not getting the medical care they need, a leading medical journal warns.

Young drinkers offered education

Police are tackling the growing problem of drink-related crime by offering youngsters a re-education programme.

Over-the-counter Viagra bid ends

The makers of the anti-impotence drug Viagra have withdrawn an application for the medicine to be available without a prescription.

Dog 'sniffs out' owner's cancer

A man from north Oxfordshire credits his pet Rottweiler with sniffing out his skin cancer.

Heavy drinkers 'lie to doctors'

Almost two in five people who drink to excess lie to their doctor about how much alcohol they really consume, says a survey.

About face! How babies in their buggies benefit from eye contact.

The direction a child is facing in their pram could affect their development and stress levels, a study suggests.

Yahoo Health

Study: Pill as good as chemo on lung cancer, but costlier (AP)

AP - Some advanced lung cancer patients already treated with chemotherapy might be able to skip some of the bad side effects of another series of chemo by taking a pill instead, a study suggests. An international study showed patients on Iressa, an expensive, newer targeted treatment, survived about as long as those on another course of chemotherapy.

HIV tests not yet as routine as cholesterol checks (AP)

AP - Two years after the government urged making HIV tests as common as cholesterol checks, there are small gains but still one in five people infected with the AIDS virus doesn't know it, scientists said Thursday.

Teen lives 4 months with no heart, leaves hospital (AP)

Fourteen-year-old D'Zhana Simmons (L) of South Carolina, who survived without a heart for nearly four months, walks with her mother, Twolla Anderson (R) as they enter a news conference at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center in Miami November 19, 2008. Simmons was kept alive by a custom-built artificial blood pumping device until she was able to have a heart transplant. (Joe Skipper/Reuters)

AP - D'Zhana Simmons says she felt like a "fake person" for 118 days when she had no heart beating in her chest. "But I know that I really was here," the 14-year-old said, "and I did live without a heart."

Insurers make pitch for health coverage mandate (AP)

AP - The health insurance industry said Wednesday it will support a national health care overhaul that requires them to accept all customers, regardless of pre-existing medical conditions but in return it wants lawmakers to mandate that everyone buy coverage.

Surgeon who did first US heart transplant dies (AP)

In this photo released by L.VAD Technology Inc., Dr. Adrian Kantrowitz is shown in New York in 1968. Dr. Kantrowitz, who performed the first human heart transplant in the United States in 1967 also pioneered development of mechanical devices to prolong the life of patients with heart failure, died in Ann Arbor, Mich., Friday, Nov. 14, 2008. He was 90. (AP Photo/L.VAD Technology Inc.)

AP - Dr. Adrian Kantrowitz, a cardiac surgeon who performed the nation's first human heart transplant and who also developed lifesaving medical implants, has died. He was 90. Kantrowitz died Friday in Ann Arbor of complications from heart failure, said his wife, Jean Kantrowitz.

Obese have right to 2 airline seats: Canada court (Reuters)

Reuters - Obese people have the right to two seats for the price of one on flights within Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Thursday.

Pfizer drops bid to sell Viagra over the counter in Europe (AFP)

Pfizer has dropped its bid to market its potency pill Viagra over the counter in Europe, the US pharmaceutical giant announced Thursday.(AFP/HO/File)

AFP - Pfizer has dropped its bid to market its potency pill Viagra over the counter in Europe, the US pharmaceutical giant announced Thursday.

Clinical Trials Update: Nov. 20, 2008 (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of CenterWatch:

Health Tip: Signs That a Child May Be Autistic (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Autism is a childhood developmental disorder that has no cure. Autistic children have problems with social interaction, communication, and may engage in repetitive behaviors.

Retirees hit by "longevity risk" (Reuters)

Edie Stark, 84, a retiree who lives in an upscale retirement complex, said she has been hard hit by the meltdown in U.S. financial markets during an interview in Miami November 6, 2008. (Joe Skipper/Reuters)

Reuters - Like many other elderly Americans, Edie Stark has been hard hit by the meltdown in U.S. financial markets. She is 84 and has been worried a lot lately about outliving her savings.

MedPage Today

Long-Term Erythromycin Therapy Limits COPD Exacerbations

LONDON (MedPage Today) -- For moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, daily treatment with a macrolide antibiotic reduced the rate of exacerbations, a randomized, placebo-controlled trial showed.

Physicians Reluctant to Follow CDC Call for Routine HIV Testing

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- The CDC's 2006 recommendation that HIV testing should be essentially universal in healthcare, even for low-risk patients, has been largely unheeded, in part because many clinicians have declined to go along, said researchers here.

Water Aerobics During Pregnancy May Make Childbirth More Bearable

CAMPINAS, Brazil (MedPage Today) -- Performing water aerobics during pregnancy may ease the pain of delivery, a small, randomized trial found.

Gefitinib Edges Chemotherapy for Advanced NSCLC

HOUSTON (MedPage Today) -- For second-line treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), oral gefitinib (Iressa) may be as effective as standard chemotherapy, researchers found.

Weekly Weigh-In Could Bolster Teen Weight Control

MINNEAPOLIS (MedPage Today) -- The bathroom scale used at least once a week may encourage overweight teens to find healthy ways to shed unwanted pounds, researchers reported here.

Gene Variant Linked to Alcohol Consumption

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (MedPage Today) -- Variation in the gene for the serotonin transporter appears to be linked to how much some alcoholics drink, researchers here said.

Religious Feelings Associated with Women's Lengthier Survival

NEW YORK (MedPage Today) -- Expressions of religious feeling by participants in the Women's Health Initiative translated into a greater likelihood of survival during the study, researchers here said.

Specialized Care and Telemedicine Improve Stroke Outcomes

BERLIN (MedPage Today) -- The long-term prognosis for stroke patients is better at community hospitals equipped with monitoring technology, trained multidisciplinary teams, and teleconsultation capability, researchers found.

Psychiatrists Give Mixed Reviews on ACP Antidepressant Guideline

PHILADELPHIA (MedPage Today) -- A practice guideline on the use of second-generation antidepressants, issued here this week by the American College of Physicians, has earned cheers as well as jeers from psychiatrists.

Waxman Takes Gavel from Dingell as Chairman of Powerful House Committee

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) today unseated the longest serving current member of the House, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), an automaker ally, to lead the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee in the next Congress.

Daily Mail

Girl, 5, now able to 'shine' after epilepsy surgery removes half her brain

A five-year-old girl who suffered from severe epilepsy has been transformed by an operation that removed half her brain. Two years after the surgery, her mother Jessica Nelson said: ‘She just shines.’

Big six fast-food chains pledge to slash fat and salt in historic anti-obesity shift

Six of the country's biggest restaurant chains have pledged to serve more salad and slash levels of fat and salt in their products in an historic shift.

Boy, 12, collapsed and died after 'using too much Lynx deodorant'

A boy of 12 collapsed and died after using 'copious' amounts of deodorant in a cramped bathroom, an inquest heard.

Our cancer shame: '10,000 Britons die needlessly every year as GPs miss vital symptoms'

More than 10,000 people die needlessly each year because their cancers are not diagnosed in time, a study says.

Autumn babies more likely to develop asthma, say researchers

Babies born in the autumn are up to 30 per cent more likely than other babies to develop asthma, researchers reveal.

Teenager lives for record 118 days without a heart before having transplant

A teenager survived for nearly four months without a heart until she was able to have a transplant, American doctors say.

Aerobics in the pool can 'ease the pain of childbirth'

Doing aqua-aerobics during pregnancy can ease the pain of childbirth, research shows.

Scientists are a step closer to creating 'elixir of life'

The secrets of eternal youth are being unlocked by scientists. Experiments show that an enzyme called telomerase could be the key ingredient in an 'elixir of life'.

Why 'traumatised' babies in front-facing buggies grow into 'anxious' adults

Baby buggies which face forwards may stunt children's development and turn them into anxious adults, according to a study.

Scrapping fast food ads would reduce childhood obesity by a fifth, finds detailed study

Fewer fast-food adverts could take a bite out of childhood obesity figures, a comprehensive study suggests.

Welcome to our Surgery Website...

... We hope to use this site as a way of presenting all our patients with an up to date resource for all information relating to our practice. We will keep it current with any news, developments & details that are relevant to the practice & our patients.

As well as a source of information about our Practice, the staff & the services we provide, we hope you use the website as a useful resource with links to other reliable websites for health related information. If there is topical health information we will also add this to the website.

Have a look around our website and please do send us some feedback. We can use your thoughts to improve our online services & further develop the website to make it more useful for our patients.

New Health Centre
A new purpose built health centre is planned for Aylesham and is due to be completed in 2008. The new centre, funded by the Primary Care Trust, will enable Aylesham Medical Centre to greatly extend the medical services we already offer. Wingham Surgery will remain our satellite surgery and work closely with us during this period of transition.

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