Exercise could extend life after a colon cancer diagnosis
Something as simple as an exercise program post-chemotherapy could significantly increase the risk of survival in colon cancer.
A 17-year randomised-controlled trial found a 37 per cent lower risk of death in patients who participated in the three-year program.
This compared to a group that received exercise advice but didn't receive structured support.
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Professor Janette Vardy, professor of cancer medicine at the University of Sydney
Professor Janette Vardy, professor of cancer medicine at the University of Sydney
Professor Haryana Dhillon, professor of psycho-oncology at the University of Sydney
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ABC News
11 hours ago
- ABC News
SA ambulance ramping surges to third-highest level on record as government 'falls desperately short' of its promise
South Australian patients spent 4,791 hours ramped in ambulances outside public hospitals in May — more than one thousand hours higher than the previous month — as the health system continues to struggle despite billions in extra funding. Two days after releasing a state budget with $1.9 billion in additional money for health, the state government on Saturday published data revealing May was the third-worst month for ambulance ramping in SA since records began in July 2017. The amount of time ambulances spent waiting outside public hospitals to discharge patients increased from 3,700 hours in April to 4,791 in May. The result is roughly in line with the 4,773 hours recorded in May 2024, which preceded a winter surge that saw ramping reach record levels in June (5,539) and July (5,284) of that year. Health Minister Chris Picton said public hospitals were under "significant pressure" last month. "But we've got people stuck in hospital that don't need to be there because they're waiting for a federal aged-care bed." There are 243 elderly patients in SA's public hospitals awaiting an aged care bed, according to the state government. The Royal Adelaide Hospital recorded the biggest spike in ramping hours last month, jumping from 1,194 to 1,698 hours, while the Flinders Medical Centre also spiked from 1,021 to 1,318. Ambulance response times to call-outs also worsened slightly in May. The percentage of priority two call-outs met within the benchmark 16 minutes decreased from 67.7 per cent in April to 60 per cent in May. Priority one call-outs — triaged for a response within eight minutes — stayed the same, with 72.3 per cent of calls met on time. The Malinauskas government highlighted that the May 2025 response times are significantly improved on its early months in office — in May 2022, 54.9 per cent of priority one call-outs and 34.8 per cent of priority two call-outs were being met on time. The head of South Australia's paramedics union said today's ramping figures have given him "grave concerns" about the winter months ahead. Paul Ekkelboom, general secretary of the Ambulance Employees Association (AEA), said his members were also "very frustrated" with the situation. "I get messages every day from regional and metropolitan crews about the extended … hospital ramp times they're having," he said. Asked about the outlook for the next few months, Mr Ekkelboom said: "I've got some grave concerns, obviously." He said the current ramping levels were only around 700 to 800 hours below last year's record numbers and "we've not even hit winter". "If something's not done dramatically, then I think it's going to be even worse than what we saw last year, and that's detrimental to people in the community," he said. The Malinauskas government has invested an additional $9 billion in the state's health system since coming to office in March 2022, according to the state budget papers released on Thursday. Labor won the 2022 election with a core pledge to "fix the ramping crisis" through new spending on hospital beds, ambulances and staff. Opposition health spokesperson Ashton Hurn said the government was falling "desperately short" of its promise. "Labor are now three quarters of the way through their term in office and we're yet to see any green shoots when it comes to delivering on their number-one election promise which was to fix ramping," she said. "We really need to move away … from looking at the statistics here and actually remember what this means for people. "What this means is that sick South Australians are left stranded outside of our hospitals desperate to get in for the care that they need." But the Health Minister said the government was "throwing the kitchen sink" at the problem. "We are opening additional beds which has been called for for years and years and years. "We're putting extra into mental health which has been called for for years and years and years, we've hired an additional, above attrition 2,800 extra doctors, nurses, paramedics and allied health professionals. "But we've got a blockage at the other end of the system that is depriving us of that, so every bed that we're opening is pretty much being filled with an aged care resident that can't get into aged care." Thursday's state budget revealed that demand on public health services is estimated to have grown by more than 4.5 per cent in 2024-25, with the government stumping up $1.7 billion over five years just to cope with increasing demand. The state government says it is building and opening more than 330 new hospital beds across Adelaide in 2024 and 2025.
ABC News
17 hours ago
- ABC News
WA government takes control of land next to children's hospice to allow development of 'a beautiful park'
The WA government has moved to take control of land next to the new children's hospice in Swanbourne from the City of Nedlands, after the council opposed plans to turn it into a parkland for terminally-ill children. The Perth Children's Hospital Foundation's plans to transform what it called a 'dust bowl' into a green oasis were blocked by the council, which owns Allen Park. The Lands Minister John Carey has moved to excise 3,000 square metres of land at Allen Park from council control, pending a motion in state parliament in the middle of this month. That would pave the way for the PCH Foundation's $4million plans to create a green space next to Boodja Mia, a $34 million respite and palliative care centre for children, due to be completed later this year. The City of Nedlands Council opposed the proposed park development, saying it wanted to build its own park on the A-Class reserve. A-Class classifications are used to protect areas of high conservation or high community value, but Mr Carey argued the council had not been maintaining the land in "any meaningful way". "It is a dustbowl. The Nedlands council have done nothing with this land and then right at the last minute they've said they do have a plan," Mr Carey said. "For the City of Nedlands to make some sort of claim that this land is of any significant or extraordinary value is simply false." The project will include the planting of up to 10,000 native plants, boosting tree canopy at the site to 62 per cent. Mr Carey said the park would be open to the public while also catering to patients and their families at the nearby hospice centre. The City of Nedlands has been contacted for comment.
News.com.au
18 hours ago
- News.com.au
La Trobe researchers warn gazania garden plant sold at Bunnings is ‘highly invasive'
A popular garden plant sold at Bunnings is even more invasive and potentially dangerous to Australia's natural environment than originally thought, new research has revealed. La Trobe scientists, writing in the Frontiers journal, warn that gazania daisies, a brightly coloured ornamental plant sold in nurseries nationwide, is a 'highly-invasive plant' that is beginning to impact grain production and grasslands across southern Australia. The plant can germinate and thrive in almost all conditions, the report shows, regardless of moisture, temperature or salinity levels. 'Due to its flexible growth requirements, gazania is now widespread and naturalised in a variety of habitats including coastal sand dunes, stream banks, wastelands, open grasslands, along roadsides and on cultivated and irrigated sites,' the report states. 'While gazania has long been considered as an environmental weed in Australia, a trend of 'jumping the fence' has been observed in recent years, infesting grain crop production fields in low-rainfall regions of South Australia. 'The presence of gazania in cropping fields is proving highly problematic, with farmers finding it difficult to control with common herbicides.' The researchers warn the weed is now 'rapidly spreading' across Australia and urgent long-term management strategies are needed to control the invasion. Gazania is native to South Africa and was introduced into Australia in the 1950s and 1970s. Invasive Species Council advocacy manager Imogen Ebsworth said the daisies should be banned from sale immediately. 'Gazanias are the perfect example of an escaped invasive garden plant that needs to be banned from sale,' she said. 'They are already banned in South Australia, but it's clear we need them pulled nationally. 'I urge the nursery industry to act on this new evidence and stop selling it … we've seen this story unfold far too many times. Ornamental plants that turn into unstoppable weeds, costing us billions in control efforts and wiping out native species in the process.' The council estimates more than 30,000 plant species have been imported into Australia for gardening, but 'fewer than a quarter' have been assessed nationally for their weed risk. Weeds cost the country more than $5bn a year in agricultural and environmental damage, the council said, with 'escaped' ornamental plants making up more than 70 per cent of the country's environmental weeds. Garden plants can escape and germinate in the wild via garden waste, lawn clippings and seed dispersal. Bunnings continues to sell gazanias, NewsWire has confirmed. According to the retail giant, each state and territory has its own list of declared weeds and laws and regulations for invasive weeds. The plants Bunnings sells across its stores differ depending on where they are sold and their declaration status. 'Like many nurseries and retailers, we sell a wide range of locally sourced plants across our stores and we work hard to create an assortment that caters to customer preferences and demand,' Bunnings director of merchandise Cam Rist said. 'As always, we closely follow all relevant local biosecurity regulations and the advice of regulators about the plants we sell.' The plant is also sold at other nurseries, including online marketplaces. The council argues 'self-regulation' has not worked and wants a federal government response. 'We've spent decades relying mainly on self-regulation, which just doesn't work,' Ms Ebsworth said. 'You can still legally buy plants that are banned in neighbouring states or overseas. 'Unless governments act, we'll keep selling the next lantana, the next gazania, straight into our backyards and bushland.'
