'My heart sank each time I had to undress...': After divisive call to allow male medics to do breast screenings, women reveal what it's REALLY like when a man treats you - and what experts say you MUST do
Plans to let male health workers perform breast screening exams has provoked a furious backlash – with some women experts saying the move could put lives at risk.
Last week, medical leaders called for men to be allowed to work as mammographers in the NHS breast cancer screening programme, in a bid to ease 'critical' staff shortages.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Athlete's bid to become youngest woman to run length of UK in 20 days
A 20-year-old athlete from Bradford is bidding to become the youngest woman to run the length of the UK in 20 days. Ellie Horrocks, who already holds a Guinness World Record for completing 8,321 chest-to-floor burpees in 24 hours, has announced her next challenge Project 20-20-20. The endurance event will see Ms Horrocks run from John O'Groats to Land's End in just 20 days, clocking up around 44 miles per day. She set off on the 880-mile journey on Friday. She is aiming to raise £30,000 to buy 20 defibrillators, which she will place in UK gyms across the country, and to fund her challenge. Her GoFundMe fundraiser has already hit over £15,000. She said: 'I chose defibs as, as much as I don't want the machines to be used in the first they need to be used they will potentially save someone's life and keep a family together for longer. I've had investigations on my heart for the past couple of years due to an abnormal electrocardiogram (ECG) I had a triathlon event. 'I have realised how important it is to have defibs close by. I want to buy as many as possible, the more defibs I buy the more lives we save.' Ms Horrocks, a qualified CrossFit coach and triathlete, found scar tissue and inverted T-waves on her ECG, a test that records the electrical activity of the heart. She added: ' Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anywhere. Only 8.3 per cent of those 85,783 out-of-hospital cases in England in 2023 received a defibrillator. I want to change that'. Her father Michael will be supporting her along the way, and Ms Horrocks was fuelled on the first night of her challenge by his spaghetti bolognese. Speaking in a Youtube video describing her new challenge, Ms Horrocks said: 'My dad always used to say to me if you're living in my house you've got to do sport twice a week, so I went into cheerleading and did swimming lessons. Swimming lessons was were I found my love for sport.' Referring to how she discovered she had scarring on her heart, she said: 'They were doing this thing called cardiac risk in the young and everyone was coming out saying my heart's fine. I went in and they said 'oh Ellie sit down for me', I was bricking it thinking something was wrong. 'My T waves were upside down...I had to go and have tests. They basically said you can't do sport if it carries on getting that in my head when you're training is pretty tough.' She said that the hardest part of her John O'Groats to Lands End challenge would probably be if she gets any injuries, but mentally she would be fine on the over 880-mile journey.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
My five-year-old daughter has childhood Alzheimer's and isn't expected to live past her teen years - these are the two early symptoms I spotted
A heartbroken mother spotted her daughter's 'childhood Alzheimer's ' after she stopped talking aged two - and is now desperate to make memories before it's 'too late'. Esmay Ford, five, was diagnosed with Sanfilippo Syndrome (MPS IIIA) on May 15 - a rare, life-limiting genetic form of childhood dementia that causes mental deterioration, memory loss and personality changes. Esmay's mother, Alisha Morris, 24, and grandmother, Sabrina Peake, 45, grew concerned about the 'healthy' tot in 2021, after she stopped talking and was constantly 'picking up colds'. The family was initially told by doctors that Esmay had an autoimmune disease and overactive thyroid, which had caused her brain to stop developing. They 'hoped and prayed' that medication would help with her brain development, but after a series of genetic testing, Esmay was diagnosed with MPS IIIA. Also known as 'childhood Alzheimer's' due to the similarity in symptoms, the disorder affects the brain and nervous system causing cognitive decline. The degenerative disorder means that Esmay's life expectancy is between 10 to 18 years old, and her condition will get progressively worse until 'her body totally gives up on her'. Five-year-old Esmay is now unable to recognise her family and needs 'constant supervision' as she is unable to walk and has 'no awareness of danger'. Her family are desperate to 'give her the best life' before her condition becomes too severe, and are raising money for a trip to Disney Land, as well as vital equipment such as a modified bed and shower. Sabrina, a flight attendant, from Crediton, Devon, said: 'We knew something was wrong when she stopped talking, and then her hair started to fall out in big clumps. 'Esmay doesn't know much about it as she's in her own little world most the time, but it's been incredibly tough for us. 'She can barely walk and she can't talk, and she has no awareness and doesn't interact with anyone. 'I don't think she always knows who we are. She is now is the healthiest she'll be, she'll get worse every day until her body totally gives up on her.' Sabrina was 'over the moon' when her daughter Alisha gave birth to a 'happy and healthy' baby girl on 9th August 2019. As a toddler, Esmay started to talk and loved playing in the park, dancing, and interacting with others. In 2021, at two and a half years old, Sabrina and Alisha noticed that Esmay had become withdrawn and had stopped talking. Sabrina explained: 'We noticed she didn't like doing the things she used to like doing like going down the slide at the park and dancing to music. 'She would pick up bugs and colds and would be ill for weeks at a time - we knew something was wrong. 'When her hair started to fall out, we took her to Exeter Hospital A&E and had to really push for answers.' Blood tests revealed that little Esmay had an auto immune disease and overactive thyroid, and after further genetic testing she was diagnosed with MPS IIIA. Doctors have warned her family that her mobility and cognitive ability will continue to deteriorate, and that she will have a significantly shorter life expectancy. Sabrina said: 'We've had to come to terms with the fact that we will lose her, and that things will be extremely tough going forward as she gets worse. Our biggest fear aside from losing her at such a young age, is watching her suffer.' Esmay's family are now raising money to cover the costs of the equipment she will need as her condition deteriorates, as well as 'making memories' with her while they can. Sabrina said: 'We don't know what the future holds, but we're raising money to get Esmay all the things she will need to support her, and make the remainder of her life as comfortable as possible. 'She will need special car seats, a bath and shower chair, a padded, zip up cot and bed, a reclining disabled special buggy, plus many more things. 'We also want to give her the best life now, before she gets worse. 'We'd love to take her to Disneyland, but this is the healthiest she'll be so we'd need to go soon. 'I have watched my beautiful granddaughter rapidly decline over the last few years which is heartbreaking. 'I would give anything to hear her talk, laugh, or even smile again. 'To know that I will never hear her speak again is so hard to accept.' You can donate to the GoFundMe here - WHAT IS SANFILIPPO SYNDROME? Sanfilippo syndrome is a genetic and terminal disorder that affects around one in 70,000 live births. Victims lack an enzyme that is essential for normal cellular function. The condition eventually causes a buildup of a toxic material - heparin sulfate - resulting in dementia, loss of speech, blindness and eventual death. The disease is referred to as childhood Alzheimer's due to the effects. Sufferers typically die before they are out of their teens. There is no known cure, however clinical trials are being conducted in order to find one.
South Wales Argus
an hour ago
- South Wales Argus
Government's new health strategy ‘no more than hiding the crisps', Tories say
Under new proposals, retailers could be made to set targets to increase their sales of less fattening products. Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said setting mandatory targets for supermarkets was 'nanny state'. 'They had 14 years in opposition to think about what they wanted to do about the NHS, they've had a year in government, and the number one thing in it seems to be hide the crisps,' she told Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips. Mr Streeting said the Government wants to 'nudge people in the right direction' (Lucy North/PA) 'It's obviously the nanny state, but it's also not what people want for the NHS. 'People want to hear how they're going to get to see their GP. 'Telling people what to buy, I think, is not up to government. I believe in personal responsibility.' Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the same programme the Government will work with supermarkets to help 'nudge people in the right direction'. 'By taking the approach we're taking with supermarkets, they will decide through the combination of where they put their products, how they do price promotions, the reformulation, what products they choose to put on the shelves,' he said. 'They will work with us to make sure that we nudge people in the right direction without any of us even noticing, in the same way that we've nudged the country in the other direction since the 1990s.' Rejecting suggestions that the idea was too controlling, he said it was different to 'traditional nanny statism, where we regulate more heavily on price, on marketing, on what's sold'. Labour's 10-year health plan is set to be published next week. Other changes could include money for hospitals being linked to patient ratings. According to the Times, part of the proposals will see patients contacted a few weeks after their hospital treatment for feedback. Based on their responses, money could be diverted to a local 'improvement fund'. Another proposal could see NHS users awarded points for upping their step count and eating healthily. Points can then be traded for vouchers, with discounts at supermarkets and coffee shops, according to The Sun. Hundreds of bodies responsible for overseeing and running parts of the NHS in England are likely to be scrapped as part of the changes. Mr Streeting has said the current system is too complex and needs reform.
