The ‘revolutionary' blood test offering new hope to lung and breast cancer patients
NHS England is introducing a liquid biopsy blood test to analyse tumour DNA, enabling personalised treatments for lung and breast cancer patients.
The blood test eliminates the need for traditional tissue biopsies in many cases, reducing wait times and enabling quicker access to targeted therapies; 15,000 patients are expected to benefit each year.
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, with smoking being the main cause, but it can also have genetic causes and links to pollution, obesity, asbestos exposure and certain work-based chemicals.
A persistent cough, recurring chest infections, shortness of breath, and blood in phlegm are key symptoms of lung cancer, according to experts.
Other potential signs of lung cancer include unexplained weight loss, fatigue, loss of appetite, shoulder or chest pain, and a hoarse voice.
Scientists say these small health issues might be an early sign of lung cancer
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The National
27 minutes ago
- The National
Starmer's approach to global trade is clearly not ‘pragmatic' at all
The UK Government estimates that annual economic output will be a stunning 0.1% higher by 2040 than it would have been without the India trade deal. In contrast, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) noted in Spring 2023 that Brexit's impact in the long run reduces our overall output by around 4% compared with what we would have had we remained in the EU. The amount gained by the 'landmark' India deal is therefore one-fortieth of the amount lost due to Brexit. READ MORE: UK-India post-Brexit free trade deal agreed after years of negotiation Prime Minister Starmer has described the Indian trade deal as a 'pragmatic' approach to global trade. Such an approach would, however, involve the UK Government restoring frictionless trade with the UK's largest trading partner, the European Union. If the UK Government were looking to deliver a 'pragmatic' approach on the economic front, Sir Keir would be looking to get the UK back into the European single market as soon as possible. This would be far more productive than trying to deliver trade deals with far-off countries and deliver immensely higher economic benefits than the paltry 0.1% generated by the India trade deal. Alex Orr Edinburgh THE world must be having laugh at Starmer as they did with Boris Johnson. Starmer considered he had done well to claim first prize with his Trump deal, being the first in the world to do so. Then along came Joseph Stiglitz, an American Nobel-prize-winning economist, on Laura Kuenssberg's Sunday show stating that Trump's method for changing his business bargaining tariffs is to choose the weakest first, then move on to the other countries, which is indeed what he did with the UK. READ MORE: Scottish care sector chief compares Keir Starmer to Enoch Powell in damning comments Stiglitz was a breath of fresh air in his interview, even stating that Scotland did things differently to Westminster especially where student fees are concerned. Starmer behaved like a school boy bringing an apple for his teacher when he presented Trump with an invitation for tea with King Charles. 'What a pushover', Trump must have thought, 'this guy is gonna be no trouble.' And so it was with Starmer claiming a success story with his 10% tariff in exchange for the 1.8% tariff on UK goods to America. Even more than before Brexit when we were part of the EU market. Alan Magnus-Bennett Fife STARMER'S Trump appeasement and grovelling is reaching the point where we're all reaching for the sick bag. Put aside the smarm-fest that was the 'royal' invitation. Put aside the bizarre trade deal, with oligarch-pal and yacht-botherer Peter Mandelson first lapping it up at Trump's left shoulder before looking like a puppet with cut strings when a real reporter (Scottish) pointed out it was all smoke and mirrors. Put aside all the UK's debasement. READ MORE: Police and fire brigade attend fire at Keir Starmer's house I ask again, when is enough going to be enough? Presidential adviser Stephen Miller, creep of creeps, has just announced a possible end to habeas corpus – the foundation stone of the most basic democracies. This follows the deportation of US citizens by ICE and Trump's befuddlement over whether or not he has to 'follow the constitution'. I just wait to see who Westminster will send along to represent Britain (England) at Trump's birthday military parade. Yes – the military parade for the draft dodger who has mocked veterans and banned transgender people from serving in the US military. Might I nominate Tony Blair as the perfect envoy to watch real heroes march by as slimeballs look down from a gold balcony? Amanda Baker Edinburgh I KNOW that modern journalists are generally illiterate about anything to do with religion these days but I would have thought that a journalist for The National would know a little more about the Scottish Catholic Church than shown in your article of May 9 on the election of Pope Leo XIV. The journalist quotes 'international development charity Cafod' about the Pope, obviously oblivious to the fact that this is the aid and development agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Scotland's equivalent, Sciaf (Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund) is ignored, as is any source from the Scottish Catholic Church. READ MORE: Richard Murphy: Pope Leo can yield power stronger than political force The Vatican is the only state in the world which recognises Scotland as a separate entity from the rest of the UK. The then Pope Leo XXIII restored the Scottish hierarchy in 1878 and the current Scottish Bishops' Conference was born. The current pontiff has taken the name of Leo because he wants to acknowledge Leo XXIII's first modern Catholic Social Teaching encyclical, Reurum Novarum, which protected the rights of workers at the height of the industrial revolution – a sign that he will follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis. By the way, Sciaf, which transforms the lives of the poor, not making them comfortable in their poverty, is at the top of the recipients of funds for projects from the Scottish Government's overseas development fund (which would be much bigger had we been independent, of course). Please note for the future! Dr Duncan MacLaren KCSG Glasgow Former Director of SCIAF and former Secretary General of the Vatican-based Caritas Internationalis I HAD to laugh about the RBS bank notes article in last Monday's National. For the last two years, the ATM inside the Falkirk branch of the RBS only appears to dispense English bank notes (seven out of seven visits). All part of the anglicisation of Scotland, after the Tories changed the name of the parent company from RBS to the NatWest (National Westminster) Group in 2020? A Wilson Stirlingshire
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Ministers on resignation 'watch-list' over welfare reforms
A watch-list for potential ministerial resignations over Labour's welfare reforms is in place, Harriet Harman says. Speaking to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harman reckons there could be resignations over the matter. While this week's spending review was taking up most of the headlines, the government told their MPs that controversial reforms to disability benefits would go ahead. The measures - headed up by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall - have proved mightily unpopular in Labour circles. More than 100 MPs from government benches are thought to have concerns about the plans to cut nearly £5bn from the welfare bill by restricting personal independence payments (PIP) and the health top-up to Universal Credit. Spiralling welfare costs, particularly in the wake of the pandemic, have been singled out as an area where the government could save money. Sir Keir Starmer has said he wants more people returning to the "dignity" of work. Asked by Beth if resignations could be on the cards, Baroness Harman said: "There might be. But I don't think, not cabinet." She added: "There is people on a watch list at the moment, but not cabinet ministers." A report released by a House of Lords committee earlier this year revealed that around 3.7 million people of working age get health-related benefits, 1.2 million more than before the pandemic. It also found that the government spends more (£65bn as of January) on incapacity and disability benefits than on defence. It added that if 400,000 people out of the workforce were able to find employment, it would save the government around £10bn through tax income and lower spending on benefits.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
What can a £5,000 at-home laser do?
With the beauty-gadget industry growing at four times the rate of the overall skincare category, with sales projected to hit $92.55 billion by 2028, it seems to be becoming the favoured option for people who want the results of a visit to the aesthetician, but prefer less invasive approaches. • This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue As a result the British wellness brand LYMA is doing better than ever. Founded in 2018, its initial offering was the LYMA supplement, a gold-coloured capsule containing active ingredients formulated to be bioavailable and therefore fully absorbed by the body. Despite coming at a price — around £199 for a month's supply — the pills frequently sold out and were nicknamed the 'supermodel supplement' to those in the wellness world. Unsurprisingly, LYMA loyalists were thrilled when LYMA dropped its first at-home clinic-grade laser in 2020, the launch helped LYMA receive a 40 per cent increase in turnover to £32.5 million, with US sales accounting for 70 per cent of their total revenues. Now the range includes both the original LYMA laser as well as the LYMA Laser Pro which launched in March 2024. Both use technology called low-level laser therapy (LLLT) first developed in the 1960s which was previously used to treat medical injuries such as healing tendons and rebuilding cartilage. The founder of LYMA, Lucy Goff, decided to harness this existing technology and re-engineer it for the cosmetic market, creating a portable, cordless device that could be used at home without the supervision of a doctor or a prescription*. Goff consulted geneticists, longevity scientists and surgeons and spent five years developing the laser. In contrast to some other cosmetic procedures which have to deliver micro-injury to the skin and inflict damage in order to create collagen, the LYMA lasers utilise powerful, zero-damage cold laser technology. The original iteration is a smaller, handbag-sized device that features a patented 8cm² treatment lens, primarily designed for the face. The LYMA Laser Pro can also be used on the neck and body, and has cut down the initial treatment time of 15 minutes per day to just three minutes per area of concern (such as cheeks, forehead and eye areas), or a full face in as little as 9 minutes, thanks to its larger 30cm² lens. Dr Graeme Glass, a craniofacial, aesthetic and plastic surgeon and now the director of aesthetics at LYMA, helped develop the laser and has written several medical papers on its technology. With many women losing fat through the rise of Ozempic and other weight loss alternatives, Glass recommends the LYMA laser. 'Losing weight can be associated with the loss of subcutaneous fat which can give the appearance of laxity as the face and neck structures hang on relatively loose ligaments,' he says. 'The skin loses its lustre because of loss of water content in the dermis, lack of synthesis of the protective fatty acids that condition the skin, and lack of vitamins and minerals essential for healthy skin function.' Just like the rest of our body, our skin needs energy function, which usually comes in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to help the skin stay hydrated, produce collagen and elastic, as well as promote cell renewal. Without enough ATP, the skin becomes dull and will start to sag or age at a faster rate, Glass explains. To counteract this, the LYMA laser uses the technique of low level laser therapy using near-infrared light. According to LYMA's website: 'this light triggers a natural process in your cells called photobiomodulation, which helps your skin produce ATP more efficiently. It's like charging up the skin's internal battery, so it has the energy it needs to repair and regenerate itself.' LYMA claims that over time the ATP produced through using the laser will help boost collagen and elastin production — both key for the appearance of firmer, smoother skin. The brand promises an improvement in as little as 30 days with daily use and recommends following with twice weekly sessions as maintenance. LYMA's own clinical trials involving 10 subjects showed 64.3 per cent improvement in pigmentation, a 53.8 percent improvement in wrinkles, a 42 per cent improvement in rosacea symptoms, and a 56 per cent decline in acne and blemishes.** At around £1,999 and around £4,995 respectively, the LYMA lasers are undoubtedly an expensive piece of kit, but that hasn't kept customers away. LYMA sold 47 per cent more stock than predicted in the first 24 hours of its US launch and counts a whole host of celebrities, including Sienna Miller and Gwyneth Paltrow, as loyal users. Likewise, the launch of LYMA skincare, a duo of anti-ageing serum and creams, had a waitlist of around 30,000 expectant customers. But it's the Laser Pro which is helping the brand put a stake in the ground of the $211 billion global professional beauty services market — and a pretty big stake at that. * LYMA's policy outlines if you have a recurring or previously diagnosed health condition that concerns you, or are taking prescription medication, upon purchase of our products you agree to seek medical advice from your GP before taking our products and/or making dietary and lifestyle changes. **Based on an independent clinical trial measured by Cutometer dual MPA 580 — a device used to measure skin elasticity and firmness by assessing the skin's ability to deform and return to its original shape, plus LYMA's own studies which can be found here.
