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CTV National News: Could Canada lose its measles elimination status?

CTV National News: Could Canada lose its measles elimination status?

CTV News16-05-2025

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There are concerns Canada could lose its measles elimination status as cases soar across the country. Kathy Le has the details.

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Man in his 60s seriously injured after being struck by vehicle in North York
Man in his 60s seriously injured after being struck by vehicle in North York

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  • CTV News

Man in his 60s seriously injured after being struck by vehicle in North York

Police investigating after a man in his 60s was taken to hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries on Saturday May 31, 2025 (CP24 photo). A man in his 60s was taken to hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries after allegedly being struck by a vehicle late Saturday night. In an email to CTV News Toronto, Toronto police say they were called to the area of Victoria Park Avenue and Eglinton Square shortly after 10 p.m. TPS Toronto police officers on scene of a collision on Saturday May 31, 2025 (CP24 photo). The driver involved did remain on scene, police say. The investigation is ongoing. Police are asking any witnesses to come forward.

International clinical trial shows exercise improves survival for colon cancer patients
International clinical trial shows exercise improves survival for colon cancer patients

Globe and Mail

time29 minutes ago

  • Globe and Mail

International clinical trial shows exercise improves survival for colon cancer patients

For nearly two decades, researchers from around the world have explored a question in a clinical trial considered the first of its kind: Can physical activity improve cancer survival? The answer, according to their research, is a resounding yes. The study from a trial called the CO.21 Challenge, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Sunday, says a structured exercise program significantly improves survival for colon cancer patients. From 2009 until 2024, researchers looked at the impact of physical activity on patients with Stage 3 or high-risk Stage 2 colon cancer. The trial included 889 patients who'd had surgery and chemotherapy. The participants were randomly assigned to participate in a structured exercise program with an exercise therapist over a three-year period, or they received health education materials on the benefits of physical activity and nutrition. The patients also received cancer surveillance and follow-up care. The results showed a significant improvement in overall survival and disease-free survival among participants assigned to the exercise program in comparison with those who only received the health education materials. The research found patients in the structured exercise program had a 37-per-cent lower risk of death and a 28-per-cent lower risk of recurrence or developing other cancers. Christopher Booth, an oncologist at Kingston Health Sciences Centre and a professor of oncology at Queen's University who co-chaired the global cancer trial, said that he didn't sleep for days after first seeing the results. He experienced a sense of joy and exhilaration, for both patients and for the future of cancer care. 'I think this really does change the landscape of cancer treatment; it opens an entirely new avenue of cancer therapy,' Dr. Booth told The Globe and Mail by phone. Dr. Booth's fellow chair is Kerry Courneya, a professor and Canada Research Chair in physical activity and cancer at the University of Alberta. He said the study shows exercise is no longer only an intervention for quality-of-life. 'It is a treatment for colon cancer that must be made available to all patients,' Dr. Courneya said. Gen X and millennials blindsided by rising rates of cancer Terri Swain-Collins, a 62-year old who lives in Kingston and who participated in the trial, said working with a trainer over a three-year period helped her establish and maintain a fitness plan. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in June, 2021. Ms. Swain-Collins said the sense of accountability made 'all the difference' and simply being told to work out by a doctor would not have been enough. She appreciated the regular check-ins, as well as being able to have someone with her while she logged steps on a treadmill. Dr. Booth, Ms. Swain-Collins's oncologist, said researchers were thrilled to see behavioural changes could lead to positive outcomes for patients. For example, he said they felt better; their fitness improved. On top of that, he said, the scale of the benefit of exercise is, in some cases, better than what is offered through many standard cancer drug regimes. Dr. Booth said it is important to note that the exercise program offered added benefits on top of those from surgery and chemotherapy. After nearly two decades of working on the research (for reference, Dr. Booth started working on it when his wife was pregnant with their child who is now 18), he is hopeful the findings can help change the standards for colon cancer care. But he said knowledge of the benefits of exercise won't be sufficient to see most people change their lifestyle and to sustain change. A new model, he said, should see patients who have had surgery and received chemotherapy treatments with oncologists like himself referred to an exercise specialist who can then work with them over the next three years. 'We need to ensure the health systems provide this structured behaviour change intervention,' he said, adding an exercise consultant should be part of the health care team.

'Is this the year of another caterpillargeddon?' People in northern B.C. are spotting more tent caterpillars
'Is this the year of another caterpillargeddon?' People in northern B.C. are spotting more tent caterpillars

CBC

time33 minutes ago

  • CBC

'Is this the year of another caterpillargeddon?' People in northern B.C. are spotting more tent caterpillars

In trees, gardens, and even on sidewalks — people across northern B.C. are spotting dark-coloured, fuzzy caterpillars with little spots on their backs and wondering if another tent caterpillar outbreak is on the horizon. From Prince George to Taylor, people are posting pictures of them on social media, asking if this will be the year the insects return in mass numbers. Chad Wiebe works at the Two Rivers Art Gallery in downtown Prince George and he said he's noticed tent caterpillars dangling from the trees that line the sidewalk in front of the building. "They are a little bit creepy when they are just hanging about and they can get in your hair and fall on you." Dodging tent caterpillars as he's heading into work isn't a new experience for Wiebe, who said he's familiar with the population booms that have plagued the city in the past. "Every time they appear, we end up getting a pressure washer to make sure our house is cleared off," he said. The last caterpillar population boom in the region happened during the spring and summer seasons between 2010 and 2014 — when streets, sidewalks, trees and buildings were covered with the insects. The caterpillars feed on deciduous trees, and build silk tents where they live communally, before cocooning and turning into moths in late summer. Dezene Huber, an entomologist at the University of Northern British Columbia, said they often go unnoticed when they first hatch because they're quite small. "As they grow, we start to see them in these clusters, living in these little tents that they make out of silk." Huber said it's natural for tent caterpillars to experience a population explosion every decade or so but when exactly that will happen is not easy to predict as a lot of factors like bad weather and disease can impact a caterpillar's ability to survive. "When the dice rolls the right way usually you get a big boom in caterpillar numbers and then they get knocked back again," he said. "It depends how these various dice roll and sometimes all the right numbers come up and we end up with a big explosion of them for a few years." Tent caterpillars aren't limited to northern B.C. The city of Edmonton is also currently seeing more tent caterpillars this year. WATCH | Tent caterpillars in Edmonton: Tent caterpillars taking over Edmonton 3 days ago Duration 1:43 Huber recently saw a cluster of western tent caterpillars on a rosebush during his walk to work, but he said he isn't sure if this year will be the start of another outbreak in the region. "I think people are noticing them a bit more right now. We might be heading into an outbreak coming up in the next year or so we'll have to see what happens." Huber said even if there is another tent caterpillar outbreak brewing, they are relatively harmless as most trees are able to survive losing their leaves entirely for a year or two. "Everyone sort of loves to hate them," he said. "No one likes having caterpillar poop dripping on them and sliding around the dead caterpillars, but it is a pretty interesting phenomenon to witness."

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