Latest news with #Walshe
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Health
- RTÉ News
Exercise may reduce risk of cancer returning, study shows
An international cancer study has found that exercise can have huge benefits for cancer patients and can even reduce the risk of the disease returning. The results were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual conference in Chicago at the weekend, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Among those attending the expert gathering was Professor Janice Walshe, medical oncologist at St Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin. She called the study an "incredibly strong finding", saying "it adds to the literatures that suggests that exercise is really important in keeping ourselves well." The study examined nearly 890 patients who had high risk colon cancers (stage 2 or stage 3) and was completed in 55 locations, including in countries such as the US, France and Australia. All patients had completed chemotherapy treatments and were put into one of two groups. One group was given structured, supervised exercise sessions with a personal trainer and the other was just given a booklet outlining the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. The first group did 45 to 60 minute walks three or four times a week and could do more if they chose. Twice a month they worked with a personal trainer and then later once a month for a total of three years. After eight years, the patients in the first group had a 37% lower risk of dying than those in the second group. Prof Walshe said it was important to note that all these patients had already received chemotherapy. "So, this intervention is not a substitute for drugs that we know already reduce the risk of people dying from different various cancers," Prof Walsh said. Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Prof Walshe said she felt that some newspaper headlines about the study were "misleading." "I think what they're trying to say is that the magnitude of benefit we have seen with this intervention, of an exercise programme, is the type of reductions we've seen with many of our new drugs. "But this is not a drug substitute," Prof Walshe said. "This is on top of you receiving the best drugs in the market to reduce the risk of disease recurrence." Prof Walshe said there is a "huge amount of Irish research" at this year's American Society of Clinical Oncology conference. "The consultants who travel here are all networking with various research groups to bring these trials home to Ireland and obviously the best approaches in terms of managing our cancer in our Irish patients," she said. "We already have exercise programmes ongoing in various parts of the country that are free of charge, because we believe exercise is really important in terms of, one, reducing risk of disease recurrence and, two, increasing people's confidence," she added.
Irish Examiner
21-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
New breast cancer treatment that avoids chemotherapy saves woman almost €43k in lost income avoided
A new approach to breast cancer care in Ireland, which avoids chemotherapy, is saving each woman almost €43,000 and health services €152m annually across all patients who benefit. Data gathered on 577 patients attending four Irish hospitals showed for the first time the wider benefits of the Oncotype DX test approach in addition to health boosts. Some 412 of these women were able to avoid chemotherapy after this test identified they could safety have other treatment instead. This means they did not suffer the debilitating side-effects of chemotherapy. In addition, this study shows they needed less time off work during treatment, which is estimated to have saved each woman €42,924 in average lost income avoided. The women also skipped appointment-related costs estimated at €1,059. The Irish Cancer Society previously described these hidden costs as 'an often overlooked burden'. The hospitals, all in Dublin, experienced a significant drop in demand, as these women needed 7,186 fewer hospital visits, 15,386 fewer hospital hours, and 187 fewer inpatient days. Across the group of 577 patients, they needed 3,284 fewer chemotherapy cycles, which this study estimated is equivalent to 10,052 when extrapolated nationally. On the broader economic impact, the study estimated €49.8m in societal chemotherapy cost savings. This comes to €152m when extrapolated nationally, a spokesman said. They also estimated €4.7m in direct healthcare savings, coming to €14.5m when extrapolated nationally. Lead author Professor Janice Walshe said 'The use of the 21 gene score in the management of breast cancer has resulted in over 70% of patients with early-stage hormone sensitive and HER-2 negative breast cancer avoiding chemotherapy.' Prof Walshe, a consultant medical oncologist at St Vincent's Hospital and senior lecturer at UCD and Trinity College Dublin, said the findings have "wide reaching impacts for patients, their families and wider society.' 'While we have previously demonstrated cost savings from this gene expression test, our latest analysis — which incorporates the societal cost of chemotherapy — shows a national saving of €152m.' The research, 'The Impact of Predictive Genomic Testing in Ireland: Financial and Resource Implications for Healthcare Institutions and Patients', was published at the European Society of Medical Oncology Breast Cancer 2025 conference in Munich this week. Meanwhile, the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association welcomed a 34% increase in pharmaceutical industry-sponsored clinical trials started in Ireland last year compared to 2023. The average time to recruit the first patient into a trial dropped by 31%. However IPHA also warned on Tuesday: 'Despite these positive steps, Ireland still lags many of its European peers. In 2024, Ireland ranked 18th out of 27 EU countries in clinical trials per capita.'
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Murder suspect Brian Walshe wants Google searches on body disposal barred as trial evidence
Brian Walshe, a man charged with killing and dismembering his wife in Cohasset, wants to bar evidence of Google searches about the 'best ways to dispose of a body' at his trial on the basis that investigators did not use a search warrant to obtain it, according to court filings. Investigators found the Google searches on his son's iPad, but his lawyers argue that they obtained this evidence improperly and without his consent. In the initial days of the police investigation, when Brian Walshe's wife — 39-year-old Ana Walshe — was merely a missing person, he agreed to let law enforcement review his family's electronic devices for messages, according to court filings. He did not consent to allowing police access to internet search histories on the devices, his lawyers argue. Walshe's attorneys now assert the Google searches and any subsequent searches, including some with warrants, were 'fruits of the illegal and unauthorized searches,' and are impermissible in court. In Norfolk County Superior Court on Monday, prosecutors countered that since Ana Walshe was a missing person at the time and her husband turned over the devices voluntarily, the evidence was obtained properly, the Boston Globe reported. Ana Walshe's body has never been recovered, but prosecutors allege that DNA evidence suggests her husband dismembered and disposed of it in dumpsters across Massachusetts during the first few days of January 2023. Walshe has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, disinterring of a body and witness intimidation in connection with the death of his wife on New Year's Day 2023. He is being held without bail. The internet searches, which were made between Jan. 1 and 3, 2023, include questions such as 'How long before a body starts to smell,' 'How long for someone to be missing to inherit,' 'Can you be charged with murder without a body,' 'Can identification be made on partial remains' and 'How to clean blood from wooden floor.' Walshe's lawyers wrote in new court filings that detectives violated his constitutional rights by obtaining this evidence improperly. The defense team also questions the validity of the subsequent search warrants investigators used to obtain evidence against Walshe. One was prepared by disgraced former state police Trooper Michael Proctor, who was the lead investigator in the Karen Read murder case. It is unclear when Norfolk Superior Court Judge Diane Freniere, who is presiding over the case, will rule on this issue. Trial hearings are set to take place over the course of two days this week. Ana Walshe was a mother of three and a real estate executive who split her time between Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. She was reported missing by coworkers on Jan. 4, 2023, beginning a multi-week search for her by authorities that resulted in her husband being charged with her murder. Ana and Brian Walshe hosted one of her former employees on New Year's Eve 2022, but the guest left the couple's Cohasset home around 1:30 a.m. Prosecutors allege that by 4:50 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2023, Brian Walshe had killed his wife and become the sole beneficiary of her $2.7 million life insurance policy. Prosecutors turn over 100+ pages of Trooper Proctor's notes to Brian Walshe Brian Walshe to hire experts in DNA testing, cellular devices as murder trial nears 'Nothing gets better with time': Judge overseeing Brian Walshe case sets 2025 trial Landlord sues Brian Walshe's mother for damage to property from wife Ana's killing Read the original article on MassLive.
Boston Globe
19-05-2025
- Boston Globe
Brian Walshe, accused of killing and dismembering wife in Cohasset, seeks to have Internet searches suppressed
Advertisement The defense is questioning the validity of seven search warrants, In court papers, the defense said Walshe and his then-attorney, Tracey Miner, shared electronic devices with investigators but on the condition that the forensic inquiry be limited to to communications since Dec. 25, 2022 — not Internet searches. Advertisement The defense argues that State Police failed to adhere to the agreement, improperly discovering the alleged Internet searches and violating Walshe's constitutional rights. Walshe's lawyers also contend that police then used the illegal information to collect more forensic evidence from the family home, a car, and other locations that should not be used against him. 'The searches conducted between January 6th and January 8, 2023, were without a warrant, without voluntary consent or were conducted outside the scope of any consent,' defense lawyers wrote in court documents. 'The searches conducted thereafter, whether by warrant or otherwise, were tainted from the illegal and unauthorized searches of the devices and were fruits of the illegal and unauthorized searches,' they wrote. But prosecutors from Morrissey's office said police acted properly because Walshe voluntarily gave them the devices after consulting with his attorney. 'When police first went to the defendant's home, there was no evidence of a murder; police were there because Ana's employer reported that she was missing,' prosecutors wrote. 'Attorney Miner ended the interview when it became apparent that the searches suggested a crime.' The defense is raising its contentions before Superior Court Judge Diane Freniere, who has been specially assigned to handle the trial. Freniere will preside over two days of hearings this week. Walshe has pleaded not guilty to first degree murder, disinterring a body, and misleading police. He is being held without bail. On New Year's Eve 2022, the couple had hosted one of Ana Walshe's former employees, who left their Cohasset home around 1:30 a.m., according to prosecutors. Advertisement By 4:50 a.m., authorities allege, Ana Walshe was dead and her husband allegedly used his son's iPad to conduct the Internet searches. Prosecutors say Brian Walshe was the sole beneficiary of a $2.7 million life insurance policy his wife had taken out. Ana Walshe's body has not been found, but authorities allege they have recovered DNA evidence showing where Brian Walshe dropped the remains into dumpsters. Information from earlier Globe reporting was used in this account. John R. Ellement can be reached at
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Yahoo
Pre-trial hearing held for Brian Walshe, Cohasset man accused of murdering and dismembering his wife
The Cohasset man accused of dismembering his wife, Ana Walshe, with a hacksaw and disposing of her remains after using his son's iPad to Google the best ways to get rid of a body, was back in court Thursday for a pre-trial hearing. Judge denies Brian Walshe's lawyers access to Michael Proctor's phone records It was a continuation of last month's hearing where issues came up regarding Massachusetts State Police Investigator Michael Proctor and DNA evidence. Brian Walshe, who prosecutors say killed his 39-year-old wife and misled investigators about her disappearance in early 2023, is slated to make an appearance in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn. Boston 25 News will stream the hearing live. In March 2023, a Norfolk County grand jury indicted Walshe on a charge of murder, misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice, and improper conveyance of a human body in connection with his wife's death. Ana Walshe, a mother of three young children and a real estate professional who worked in Washington D.C. vanished on New Year's Day 2023 and was reported missing a few days later, authorities said. Prosecutors have alleged that Walshe killed his wife in their Cohasset home on New Year's Day. The couple's three young boys were reportedly home at the time. Days after Ana's disappearance, a hacksaw and a blood-soaked rug believed to contain biological evidence were recovered from their home by investigators. Police later searched trash bins, dumpsters, trash trucks, and trash facilities in the areas where Brian Walshe traveled following her disappearance. Prosecutors have also previously said that a broken knife with blood on it was found in the basement of the Walshe family home. The Norfolk District Attorney's Office previously said that it was awaiting DNA test results from dozens of items. In late June, Walshe had a court appearance waived. At that time, prosecutors said during a brief hearing in Dedham Superior Court that DNA results were expected by the end of the month, the Patriot Ledger reported. In September, prosecutors announced that they won't call a suspended Massachusetts State Police trooper Michael Proctor to testify in Walshe's upcoming trial. Proctor was the lead investigator assigned to Ana Walshe's murder. State police suspended Proctor in July following Karen Read's mistrial. While testifying during Read's trial, Proctor received criticism for inappropriate texts he sent about Read. Walshe has been held without bail since his arrest. In December 2024, a judge set his trial date for Oct. 20, 2025. Ana's body has never been found. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
