'Prostate cancer diagnosis felt like a black hole'
McFarlane's friend, theatre director Femi Elufowoju Jr said hearing his story encouraged him to get checked, which led him to also being diagnosed.
He thanked McFarlane for saving his life.
Despite treatment, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Mr Burkey's body has stopped responding to advanced hormone therapy.
He said: "Inevitably your body becomes resistant, the cancer becomes resistant to them.
"You are constantly having your PSA levels monitored to see how treatments are working.
"You are constantly sort of on your toes thinking where am I up to now?
"What have I still got left that can be used?
"It is a very anxious time.
"I do not want another man to be in the position I am in."
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Trump to force NHS to pay for wonder drugs
NHS patients have been given new hope of accessing wonder drugs previously blocked in Britain as Donald Trump pressures the health service to spend more with US suppliers. Ministers are understood to be reviewing the value-for-money rules that govern which drugs the NHS can buy, amid demands from the Trump administration for the UK to be more welcoming to US pharmaceutical companies. Under the trade agreement signed between the two nations earlier this year, the Government agreed to 'endeavour to improve the overall environment for pharmaceutical companies operating in the UK'. Earlier this week, The Telegraph revealed that this could result in the NHS paying more for US drugs to see off criticism of the differences in medicine prices between the two nations. However, it is understood that discussions include not only paying more for treatments already supplied on the NHS but also making it easier for US drug giants to sell their most cutting-edge treatments to the health service. It follows a wave of high-profile rejections of so-called 'wonder' drugs in recent years. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice), which approves new NHS drugs for purchase, has blocked treatments including one which stopped the progression of Alzheimer's disease and another that doubled the life expectancy for terminal breast cancer patients. Nice has rejected them based on assessments of how long they would extend a patient's lifespan and improve quality of life. To qualify under Nice rules a new treatment must deliver one extra year of perfect health, or longer for less perfect health, for no more than £30,000. This figure has not increased in line with inflation since 1999. If it had, it would be just over £53,000. Nice has maintained that, to get approval for use on the NHS, medicines 'must not only provide benefits to patients but also represent a good use of NHS resources and taxpayers' money'. However, critics say a failure to raise the threshold in-line with inflation meant life-changing drugs were being blocked. Richard Torbett, chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, said: 'There is growing evidence that it is becoming harder to bring new medicines to NHS patients. Increasingly, some new medicines may not be launched in the UK at all.' Companies including US giant Eli Lilly have said the regulator must rethink how 'value-for-money' is assessed. On Monday, a spokesman for the company said: 'The UK has historically focused on medicines as a cost to the NHS rather than evaluating their social and economic value.' Ministers are understood to be listening to demands from the industry for Nice to shake up its formula, with medicines such as AstraZeneca's breast cancer treatment Enhertu likely to be resubmitted for approval for NHS use if the formula is updated. Nice and AstraZeneca previously failed to reach an agreement over a price for the drug, which costs an estimated £118,000 per course of treatment. The NHS typically gets discounts, although the level is commercially sensitive. The Nice formula is being discussed after President Trump took a personal interest in the NHS issue. In trade documents between the US and UK, it said the NHS would review drug pricing to take into account the 'concerns of the president'. US officials are particularly concerned by an arrangement that sees companies pay revenue back to the NHS if costs rise faster than expected. Drug companies paid £3bn back to the NHS last year. In April, Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, said he was proud that the UK had kept prices of medicines low. However, he admitted that the UK had become too focused on cost rather than the benefits in some cases. Mr Streeting said: 'We've moved from quite rightly trying to drive a good bargain on the price of drugs and treatment to a position where sometimes people view medicine spend as a dead weight cost'.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Millions of women live life by their menstrual cycle – including when they exercise & what they wear, study shows
A NEW tool tells women the best days of the month to exercise, go on a date, get dressed up for a party, and perform well at work. The calculator has been designed to determine when they will be at their best at different points in their monthly cycle. 1 The nifty asset allows women to input their usual length of cycle and date of last period, before plotting out exactly when they should do – or avoid – certain activities. It has been pulled together by natural period pain supplement monthlies, on the back of its research of 5,000 women in the UK. The findings show millions of women are governed by their menstrual cycle – and its pattern determines when they exercise, how they feel, and what they wear. It emerged 51 per cent feel controlled by their periods – to the extent 32 per cent say it dictates when they have sex, and 21 per cent what and when they eat. Socialising (23 per cent), sleep (20 per cent) and even when to commit to an important meeting (11 per cent) are among the things women plan around their time of the month. The study, by natural period pain supplement brand monthlies, found 54 per cent of those who experience period pain can pinpoint the exact days in the month it will occur. While 91 per cent experience ovulation pain mid-month – with discomfort when the ovaries release the egg felt around days 14 and 15 – with 63 per cent feeling this for more than two days. The average sufferer will also experience bloating for just over seven days of the month. And just seven per cent of lucky women claim to feel balanced and 'normal' for their entire monthly cycle. A spokeswoman for monthlies, which is designed to help with menstrual symptoms and cycle throughout the month, said: 'While this research gives us an 'average' picture of what the monthly cycle can look like, we know every single woman has their own unique set of experiences when it comes to having periods. Ex-Love Islander on what really happens when they get their period in tiny bikinis & the trick that DIDN'T work for her 'And while pain is more commonly felt the few days of bleeding, and at the mid-month point, this is not the case for everyone. 'Every woman needs to learn about their own period journey and work out what works best for them in terms of how to manage their period pain, as well as when to get the best out of themselves personally, professionally and socially.' Women generally do try to stay active for the majority of the month, including when they are on their period (44 per cent) and during ovulation (60 per cent). However, moods can fluctuate throughout the monthly cycle for two thirds of those polled, and six in 10 (59 per cent) often notice differences in their energy levels. Sleep, hunger, and productivity can also vary across the four week cycle. However, on the plus side, the research has highlighted that days 11 to 15 in the average woman's monthly cycle is when they feel the best, have the most energy and the most confidence. These days are also cited as those which are best to take a shopping trip, go out for the evening and feel nicest in clothing. With day 12 voted the best for having sex for the average person experiencing periods polled via OnePoll. The spokeswoman for added: 'Having a period isn't all bad, in fact at times it can be empowering, and depending on what our hormones are doing and when, we can often feel great. 'It's all about learning about your own body, what it responds to, how to look after it and realising that everyone is different.'
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Natural birth v caesarean — what the latest statistics tell us
D octors in the UK are never short of reading material thanks to a continual stream of new guidance on various aspects of clinical practice, the latest of which is designed to improve the quality of care for anyone considering a caesarean birth. Colleagues working in specialities such as dermatology and orthopaedics can choose to ignore topics like this but we GPs are expected to know something about everything, so I read it over the weekend and want to share some of the highlights. Not least because they help to dispel a myth that regularly pops up on social media: namely that having a caesarean means you can avoid the continence problems that affect so many women after giving birth. First though, a caveat. While the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has gone to great lengths to assimilate the best evidence out there, it remains far from perfect. Indeed Nice starts the section comparing the risks and benefits of vaginal and caesarean deliveries — for mother and baby — with a warning that, despite compiling data from 30 years' worth of international research, they are not as reliable as it would like.
