Weight-loss drugs, characteristic compassion and bus stop battles
KT (MetroTalk, Thu) complains at their taxes paying for other people's weight-loss treatments – but it actually makes sound economic sense.
Healthier people are able to work longer, thus contributing more in taxes themselves, while obese people are more likely to suffer weight-related illnesses, which are themselves a drain on NHS resources.
There is no call to vilify those carrying extra weight. Anybody can fall into bad habits and we all make unwise choices from time to time.
So long as the people treated are able to make the lifestyle changes required to remain healthy afterwards, this represents a net gain. The drugs quite literally pay for themselves. Julian Self, Wolverton
What a closed-minded question KT posed. By that logic, we might as well ask why should my taxes pay for NHS services for people with drug addictions, for NHS costs relating to alcohol-fuelled driving accidents or for NHS treatment of other people's anxiety and depression?
Are you among those who believe that anxiety and depression exist simply due to a lack of willpower?
Public services are not self-interested and lacking in empathy. Mike, Manchester
Adrian (MetroTalk, Wed) asks why Gaza children are being brought into 'destitute' Britain for NHS treatment when they 'should be sent to oil-rich countries such as Saudi Arabia'.
Who told him the UK is destitute? We are far wealthier and more powerful than Saudi Arabia in every respect.
Also, we are ceaselessly proclaiming how generous, welcoming, tolerant and compassionate we are.
Perhaps this characteristic of Britishness is rapidly being destroyed by the utterly distorted and deceitful malevolence of some politicians and their altogether too-keen followers – and being replaced by spitefulness, bigotry,intolerance and fanaticism. Saif Deen, Luton
Richard (MetroTalk, Wed) would like to bring back queuing at bus stops. Personally, I don't miss queues and prefer to wait away from the road, anyway.
In the 1970s it was not uncommon for buses to become full so you couldn't get on. This rarely happens nowadays, which shows how much better the bus services are. If the bus isn't going to be full, does it matter who gets on first? Nick, London
I totally agree with Agatha (MetroTalk, Wed) that anti-social, selfish viewers without headsets on public transport are a menace.
I don't bother trying to reason with them and just stand over their shoulder and comment on what they're watching. Seems to work. Tony, Bognor Regis
I loved the Nigel Farage cartoon (Metro, Thu), picturing him saying 'Get me an AI company, I'd never have to go to Clacton again'. To which a colleague replies 'Again?'
It's a struggle these days to know where to start in Metro: cartoon, MetroTalk jokes or Rush Hour Crush. All quality products.Mark, Staines
It is now 80 years since the two atomic bombings of Japan (Metro, Thu) and we should remember the consequences.
On a recent trip to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and park, it was so easy to see how horrible the bombing was for everyone.
It is an event that should never happen again and yet Vladimir Putin has mentioned the possibility of a nuclear attack and the bombs are still ready to go.
As the saying goes, 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it' – and those that ignore it and make threats are evil. Dennis Fitzgerald, by email
I have worked in the NHS for 24 years now. I cut my head quite badly last week, which needed some stitches.
Put off by a five-hour wait, I did not bother. More Trending
Meanwhile, my dog cut its pad quite badly two weeks ago. I was in and out of the vet's in less than an hour and it only cost £70.
I would gladly have paid this to have my head stitched.
This implies animals get a better service.
More on from this, my other dog had an aggressive mast-cell tumour a few years back. This was diagnosed and operated on in just three days. The NHS would never match this… Anon, by email
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South Wales Argus
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Leader Live
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Patients to be fast-tracked on to new head and neck cancer vaccine trial
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Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Powys County Times
Patients to be fast-tracked on to new head and neck cancer vaccine trial
People with head and neck cancer in England will be fast-tracked on to a clinical trial for a 'potentially transformative' vaccine under new NHS plans. The first patients have received the jab, which uses mRNA technology to train the immune system to fight cancer, with more set to be enrolled at their nearest NHS hospital. Head and neck cancer is a general term to describe forms of the disease in those regions of the body, and can include cancer of the mouth, throat or voice box. Around 11,000 new cases are diagnosed in England every year. Aggressive forms are difficult to treat, with high rates of recurrence and two-year survival rates under 50%. The vaccine used in the study has been designed to create two proteins that are commonly found in head and neck cancers associated with high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV). These types of cancer, known as squamous cell cancers, develop from flat, scale-like cells in the outer layer of the skin and other areas of the body. More than 100 patients with advanced forms of the disease will be matched to the trial, known as AHEAD-MERIT (BNT113), which will run at 15 hospitals over the next year. Health minister Karin Smyth described the plan as a 'massive win for cancer patients'. She added: 'These cancer vaccines could be game-changing for patients facing some of the most challenging diagnoses. 'By getting these trials running in our NHS, we're putting ourselves at the forefront of medical innovation, improving outcomes for people living with cancer.' NHS England has joined forces with life sciences company BioNTech to help identify potentially eligible patients to refer to NHS hospitals running the trial. The trial is the third to be run through the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, which is supported by the Cancer Research UK-funded Southampton Clinical Trials Unit. Professor Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancer at NHS England, said: 'It's fantastic that more patients with advanced head and neck cancers will now be able to access this potentially transformative vaccine, offering renewed hope of holding the disease at bay.' Tamara Kahn, chief executive at Oracle Head & Neck Cancer UK, said the trial 'offers crucial hope to those living with advanced stages of cancer'. 'While we advocate for HPV vaccination to prevent these cancers, those already fighting this devastating disease urgently need new treatments that could mean more time with loved ones,' she added. Chris Curtis was diagnosed with HPV-related head and neck cancer in 2011 and set up a support charity, The Swallows. The 67-year-old, from Blackpool, said: 'As a survivor of HPV-related head and neck cancer, I know first-hand the physical, emotional, and psychological toll this disease takes not just on the patient, but on the entire support system around them. 'With this aggressive cancer you live in the fear of reoccurrence every day – so anything that could help control the disease or give people peace of mind is groundbreaking – it'll allow people to get on with their lives and move forward.' The Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad – a partnership between NHS England, the Government and BioNTech – has already helped refer about 550 patients to trials for vaccines for bowel and skin cancers. Dr Iain Foulkes, executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, said: 'The Cancer Vaccines Launch Pad is an important route to fast-track promising mRNA vaccine technology into clinical trials. 'Research into personalised cancer treatments is vital. 'There are over 200 different types of cancer and it's unlikely there will ever be a single cure that works for everyone. 'That's why it's vital that we support a wide range of research, so that more people can live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.'
