I know my public sector pension is great, but I can't afford it
So why has he opted out of this generous savings scheme — along with many more of his NHS colleagues?
Habad, 28, graduated from medical school last summer but it could be nine years until he completes his training to become an orthopaedic surgeon. He pays £800 a month to rent his room in hospital accommodation, £600 to help his family cover his empty room in their London council flat, about £300 a month on groceries and £200 on gas and electricity.
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Daily Record
25 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Man struggled to eat sandwich at work and only has six months to live
Des Longstaff was diagnosed with stage four cancer that spread from his windpipe to his liver. A tragic dad who was diagnosed with stage four cancer after struggling to eat a sandwich at work has been told he'll be dead in the next six months. Des Longstaff, 40, from Blackpool, was being treated for an aggressive stage four oesophageal adenocarcinoma, which spread from his windpipe to his liver. But, sadly treatment has now stopped and the courageous father is now sharing his story one final time to raise awareness about the cruel disease. His story rocked the nation earlier this year, after he revealed to us the simple act of eating a sandwich led to his devastating diagnosis, reports the Mirror. In a devastating health update, he explained: "I have about six months to live. I was told yesterday. I have had a tough life and I genuinely would do anything for anyone. I am still trying to help people out now. I don't feel poorly. But I won't be having any more treatments. "I will die with dignity. I put up a good fight, I never lost a fight yet but this time is different. I'm not scared of dying, I just don't want to leave the people that need me still. "I am ready for death now. I hope that people can still donate to my son's GoFundMe so he can get his life together without this daddy who loves him so very much. I fought for him until the day I died I suppose. "I'm sorry I let everyone down but thank you so much for the support. I hope you all remember me this way." Oesophageal cancer affects the oesophagus, the tube that carries food from people's throat to their stomach, and according to the NHS, it mainly impacts people in their 60s and 70s, and is more common in men. Symptoms of the disease can include difficulty swallowing, indigestion, loss of appetite and weight, pain in your upper tummy, chest or back or bringing up food soon after eating. For Des, who is a landscape gardener, he first realised something wasn't right with his body while at work one day. Speaking to Reach PLC earlier this year, he said: "I am a landscaper by trade and I was doing a job for one of my friends and his partner had made me a bacon and sausage sandwich. When I was eating it – I hadn't put any sauce on or anything – it sort of got lodged in my oesophagus and I had a good pint of water but it still wouldn't budge. "It was to the point where you're thinking you're choking. I thought to myself, 'Am I not chewing it properly?" Des went to a doctor and an endoscopy was recommended – but he threw up blood and noticed more blood in his stool before this happened. After going to the hospital, a 35cm tumour was discovered in his lower oesophagus on Christmas Eve. It was hoped that keyhole surgery would remove the tumour but another scan revealed it has spread to his liver. Cancer Research UK states that advanced stage four esophageal adenocarcinoma, which means the cancer has spread from the food pipe to other areas of the body, usually cannot be cured.. Des had been fundraising to go to Germany for alternative treatments so he could see his little boy, five, grow up, but he has been told he is now too poorly. He emphasised the brutality of his previous treatment, saying immunotherapy and chemotherapy made him feel 'more sick than the cancer'. Des also said he has suffered extreme stress in his personal life away from his health battle which he believes progressed his condition. Giving a brief summary, he simply said: 'I've been through hell.' And in a poignant recent post on social media, he wrote: "The king and the little prince. He's going to be the king. He will do it better than I. My spirit will live in him always. My love of life he is."
The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
The dark side of ‘shrinking girl summer'
I read Rose Stokes' article with great sadness (I thought we'd entered the age of body positivity. Then came 'shrinking girl summer' – is everyone getting smaller except me?, 10 August). Once again, a healthy, intelligent woman is made to feel not good enough by society because she is larger than a size 10. Then came anger, not with Stokes but with the media and brands that propagate a culture of skinny worship. I was born with a rare physical disability and have spent years coming to terms with the way my body is. I look disabled, I have scars from operations and a spinal curve surgeons couldn't straighten, and I use mobility aids. To me, Stokes presents as an attractive, successful, healthy woman who is non-disabled (although this is her private business) with the good fortune to have two children. I wish Stokes and others could see themselves in that vein. Granted, it took me years to be happy in my own skin and see the strengths of my body, everything I've been through and the pleasure it can give and receive, but it's doable. We are living in dark times when non-disabled women and men are wrecking their mental health and putting their physical health in danger with fad diets and weight-loss jabs, shrinking themselves to an ever-hungry and cold status to please others' gazes and get likes on TikTok and Instagram. As a society we should be ashamed that we are engendering this, putting people at risk of eating disorders, malnutrition and mental health issues. We only have one body and if you're fortunate enough to have one that works properly, you've won the and address supplied Self-loathing, shame, isolation and the desire for slenderness are not an intrinsic or inevitable aspect of being fat, as features such as Rose Stokes' seem to suggest. They are caused by fatphobia. This has been ruthlessly exploited by weight-loss industries, including the contemporary manufacturers of GLP-1 drugs. These purveyors are not called to account when their products fail or harm their users. Instead, fat people are made to feel responsible. We should have tried harder. For a more balanced view, I invite Guardian editors, writers and readers to consider a social movement that has been active for at least 50 years and which takes a critical view of the obesity‑industrial complex. The scholarly field of fat studies and the public health model known as 'health at every size' are offshoots. There are many of us working in these areas, providing a more nuanced and hopeful understanding of fat CooperLondon Rose Stokes' article strikes a chord across the femisphere. I would add that body dysmorphia has never been confined to women whose bodies don't conform to skinny standards. The body-positivity movement liberated all women from these impossible strictures. It's no coincidence that as soon as it arrived, and women began to take up more and powerful space, drugs were pumped out to make sure we take KeanHastings, East Sussex Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The Sun
26 minutes ago
- The Sun
I lost a life-changing 11st on Mounjaro after secret bingeing habit but I didn't expect painful outcome
SELF-confessed "secret eater" Emilly Murray weighed 22st 2lbs and was struggling to squeeze into size 30 clothes. Now a svelte 10st 10lbs and wearing a size eight, the 35-year-old barely recognises herself in the mirror. 10 Mostly, her incredible slimming success has been positive - she is fitter, her "food noise" has disappeared, and can finally shop in Zara. But there have been several negatives to shedding half her body weight. People often comment on Emilly's weight, and she finds shaving her "hollow" armpits almost impossible. The stay-at-home mum-of-three can also barely take a bath without screaming in agony, and even rolling over in bed causes her pain. Emilly, from Liverpool, says: "It feels amazing but it's very surreal. "I look in the mirror and I still don't see what other people see. "It's really hard to not feel like the old me. Your brain just doesn't catch up. "Lying in the bath is not comfy. Obviously I'm not used to feeling all these bones. "When I was on holiday I was so uncomfortable on the chairs and the sunbed. My coccyx hurt the most. "I was obviously that fat before that my bones didn't touch much. I lost 6st on Mounjaro but hate my body even more - I feel disgusting "I didn't roll over in bed and feel hip bones and now I do and I'm like, 'Oh'. It really is uncomfortable." She adds: "I've never had a gap on my armpits before - it's always been flat - and now there's a big gaping hole. "I've constantly got cuts because I'm not used to being able to shave my armpits now they are hollow. "It's strange, I think I might have to get laser hair removal." Emilly began her weight loss journey in 2023 when she decided to eat in a calorie deficit (consuming fewer calories than she was burning) and start exercising. She lost more than 6st in a year then hit the dreaded plateau, struggling to slim down any more. "I've got disordered eating; I'm a bit of a binge eater," Emilly says. "I was binge eating over the weekend and restricting my calories during the week. "I wasn't addressing the issues I had with food." 10 10 Usually only eating one 2,000-calorie meal a day, she would go to the shop in the evening to buy Doritos, a sharing-sized bar of chocolate and a bag of sweets and "eat them all". But everything changed when she bought her first Mounjaro weight loss jab for £105 from a private pharmacy in December 2024. "I've never looked back; it's the best thing I've ever done," Emilly says. "I've never not struggled so much because I've not got that constant obsession of thinking about food every minute of every day. "People talk about 'food noise'. And when you take Mounjaro and that stops, it's like mental clarity. "I've got friends who are like, 'Oh I forgot to eat today'. "You literally just eat for fuel and I hate to say 'normal people', but that's what normal people do." I was able to go to Zara and buy clothes. I actually stood in the changing room and cried Emilly Murray With her goal weight of 9st 7lbs fast approaching, Emilly's next step will be loose skin removal. "Because my brain has not caught up, it's hard to be like, 'This is enough now' because I've got loose skin," she says. "I've got it everywhere and it's quite bad." Elaborating on the negative side effects of the injections, she Emilly adds: "The top one, I would say, is other people's opinions. "I must get hundreds of comments throughout the week saying, 'Just eat less and move more'. People don't see obesity as a disease. "I haven't lived my life, I've always hid away and been miserable. "When you've got people who don't struggle with their weight giving their opinions, saying you're 'cheating' using medication, is one of the most negative things. "The risks of obesity are far worse to me than the risk of Mounjaro but when you start Mounjaro everyone wants to say how dangerous it is. "Now as I've lost weight people are telling me I need to stop, or I've gone too far. "Where were these people when I was 22st?" 'SECRET EATER' As well as having to "acclimatise" to being able to feel her bones now she has lost weight, Emilly still finds buying new clothes "weird" and will often pick out a bigger size. "I was able to go to Zara and buy clothes," she says. "I always remember every winter trying to find a coat that fit me and it was so difficult, there were no options. "It's always been such a negative experience, and it's so nice now that it can be a nice experience. "I actually stood in the changing room and cried." 10 10 10 Putting her previous diet down to emotional eating, Emilly says "things got worse" when her daughter was in hospital after being born prematurely and with a rare birth defect. "It would trigger me to binge; I'd secretly eat," she says. "I own my own house but I'd still hide wrappers in the bin. "I wouldn't have breakfast and sometimes skip dinner. "At around 3pm I'd just grab a chocolate bar and a coffee on the way to do the school run. "When the kids had gone to bed I'd go to the Tesco at the end of my road and buy a big massive packet of Doritos, a big bar of chocolate and a bag of sweets and eat them all. I was a secret eater. "The one meal I had would be 2,000 calories - even though I was full, I had to have something afterwards. "Now I'll have a clear whey protein drink, yoghurt and fruit for breakfast, and chicken thighs for dinner. "I'll make, for example, a chicken tikka for dinner and have that but it's all calorie counted and portion controlled." Emilly plans to cut back on her Mounjaro doses and eventually stop taking the jab in the next six to twelve months. "It's literally changed my life," she adds. "I wish I'd started it earlier. "It's not even about losing weight; the most important thing about it is rebuilding your relationship with food." The rising cost of Mounjaro By Vanessa Chalmers, Assistant Head of Health THE price of Mounjaro is set to soar - leaving slimmers desperate and worried at how they will afford the 'life-changing' drug. The NHS has been giving Mounjaro prescriptions within GP practices since June. Private pharmacies boast 'no GP referral needed', with tantalising prices drawing in an estimated one million paying customers. Costs vary depending on the provider, jab and dosage, but are currently between around £120 to £220 per month. But that's all set to change, as the US-based maker of Mounjaro, Eli Lilly, told The Sun it will be increasing charges in Britain to 'address inconsistencies' with prices it commands from other western countries. The price the pharma giant charges pharmacies for a mid-range 5mg dose will nearly double from £92 to £180 from September 1. The maximum available dose, 15mg, will rise from £122 to £330. Eli Lilly claimed to have negotiated with big private suppliers to ensure the whole price increase is not passed on to patients - but with pharmacies already marking up jab prices, the public can expect to see the cost increase. It marks a huge blow for those for whom the jab offers a life-saving way out of obesity. The hefty price would affect those currently on the jabs, as well as those who had hoped to pay for them long-term to avoid weight regain. Toby Nicol, CEO at CheqUp, which has around 50,000 customers on weight loss jabs, said: 'This news will be disappointing for those who have achieved life-changing results with Mounjaro. 'This is particularly the case for those on higher doses who will likely see substantial rises in price." Mounjaro has been dubbed the 'King Kong' of fat jabs because its success tops other brands, including Wegovy (also called Ozempic for type 2 diabetes), and Saxenda. Now, with people considering switching to Wegvoy, some providers appear to have hiked prices of the alternative jab that's similar to Ozempic, in response to the update. Mr Nicol, who says they have reduced the price of Wegovy on CheqUp, says: "Wegovy is a brilliant drug and that's why we don't want anyone to be priced out and think they have to take something which is unsafe. "Do not buy from the cowboys. If the price is too good to be true, it probably is." Dr Ralph Abraham, a diabetes and endocrinology specialist verified on Doctify, a healthcare review platform, says: 'There is no problem in switching from one drug to another. 'But in a world where the drugs are often not prescribed by experienced doctors, it then becomes difficult to know where side effects might lie.' Danish firm Novo Nordisk confirmed it will not increase the price of Wegovy when its rival Mounjaro doubles next month.
