Latest news with #healthScreening
CTV News
24-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Mobile skin cancer screening unit stopping by this weekend
'Mole Mobile' is a free skin cancer screening clinic that is run by volunteer dermatologists and is travelling across Canada. Oct. 27/23 (Amanda Hicks/CTV Northern Ontario)
Forbes
21-05-2025
- Health
- Forbes
What Every Man Should Know About Biden's Cancer Diagnosis
The American Cancer Society and other groups recommend that decisions about prostate cancer ... More screening be thoughtfully discussed within the physician–patient relationship On Sunday, May 18, former President Joe Biden's office announced that he has been diagnosed with an "aggressive" form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. Questions about the disease and conspiracy theories of various sorts quickly lit up the internet. Rather than add fuel to the fire, I turned to one of the world's foremost experts on prostate cancer to relate what every man should know about prostate cancer. Dr. Otis W. Brawley is globally recognized for his expertise. Over 35 years, he has participated in major studies of prostate cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment and authored more than 250 scholarly articles. From 2007 to 2018, he was the chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society. Now at Johns Hopkins University, he leads a broad interdisciplinary research effort to advance clinically appropriate cancer screening and care. Dr. Art Kellermann: Former President Biden's diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer seemingly came out of the blue, despite a lifetime of regular screening. Is that rare? Dr. Otis Brawley: The public may be surprised, but I am not. As a cancer epidemiologist and an oncologist who treats men with prostate cancer, I am contacted by doctors several times a year regarding patients who are newly diagnosed with advanced metastatic cancer after decades of normal screening tests. Studies show that regular screening reduces the chances of metastatic disease at diagnosis, but not to zero. Some men who've been screened religiously for decades are diagnosed with metastatic disease. Dr. Kellermann: How common is prostate cancer? Dr. Brawley: The lifetime risk of being diagnosed is about 12.9%. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that about 314,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year. Annually, about 36,000 men die from the disease. Among men, it is the most common non-skin cancer and second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer-related death. Fortunately, receiving a diagnosis of prostate cancer is not a death sentence. When detected in time, most cases are curable. Also, small, indolent prostate cancer is extremely common as men age, but rarely advances to serious disease. Otis w. Brawley, M.D., is the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Oncology and Epidemiology at ... More Johns Hopkins University Dr. Kellermann: Speaking of screening, what are the current recommendations? Dr. Brawley: In the 1990s, the ACS aggressively promoted prostate cancer screening for everyone, believing it could only be helpful. Many members of the public, including some doctors, still hold this view. However, once more data were collected, the ACS and other organizations adopted a more conservative stance. Here's why. Unlike screening mammography of women over 50, which clearly reduces their risk of dying from breast cancer, and studies that demonstrate the benefits of screening for colon, cervical and lung cancer in specific populations, the value of prostate cancer screening is less clear-cut. A substantial number of men who screen positive turn out to have localized disease that can be safely followed without treatment. If they panic and go forward with surgery or radiation therapy they don't need, they run the risk of significant side effects such as erectile dysfunction or urinary incontinence. A small proportion of those getting die from the procedure. That's why the ACS and other groups now recommend that decisions about prostate cancer screening be thoughtfully discussed within the physician–patient relationship. Although advice on when to start varies from the mid-40s to the mid-50s, all major organizations recommend stopping at age 70 to 75, or when the patient's life expectancy is less than ten years. Dr. Kellermann: When prostate cancer is diagnosed, what determines its prognosis? Dr. Brawley: The most important factor is cancer stage at diagnosis. Localized disease within the prostate has the best prognosis. Regional disease that has spread outside the prostate but still in the pelvis is worse. Cancer that has spread to bones and other organs has the worst prognosis of all. Tumor aggressiveness is rated by Gleason score. It can range from 6 to 10. Until about 2005, all Americans diagnosed with prostate cancer were advised to get surgery or radiation. Today, those with small, localized cancers that are Gleason 6 are usually observed. This group, which includes roughly half of all men with prostate cancer, only requires treatment if the disease gets worse. It rarely does. One now-famous research paper was entitled, 'Should Gleason 6 prostate cancer be called cancer?' As Gleason score rises, so does tumor aggressiveness. Common treatments for localized Gleason 7 to 10 disease include surgical removal or radiation. Unfortunately, men with a Gleason 9 or 10 cancer often relapse after a total prostatectomy. Dr. Kellermann: What factors increase or decrease a man's risk of developing prostate cancer? Dr. Brawley: The biggest risk factor is age. More than half of all men are over age 67 when prostate cancer is found. It is rarely detected in men younger than 55. Obesity and smoking appear to increase the risk of developing more aggressive forms of prostate cancer. Studies have found that African American men are at higher risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer. The reasons are a significant focus of research. Studies also show black men are more likely to receive lower quality of care once diagnosed compared to white Americans. The greater risk of diagnosis and the higher proportion receiving poor quality care are reasons for the Black-White disparity in death. Black men who receive the same care as white men at the same stage of disease have similar clinical outcomes. This is one of the best pieces of evidence that supports the benefits of screening. Dr. Kellermann: Former President Biden's diagnosis is ironic given his longtime advocacy for cancer research and his leadership of the Cancer Moonshot. How are cuts to HHS programs affecting cancer research? Experts say NIH funding cuts are derailing vital research programs and putting current and future ... More cancer patients at risk. Dr. Brawley: The recent cuts to the NIH and the CDC will harm cancer patients. Dr. Kellermann: If RFK Jr. asked you, 'What's the most impactful thing President Trump and I can do to reduce deaths from cancer?' what would you say? Dr. Brawley: Prevention and risk reduction efforts are cheap, underappreciated and underutilized. Effective tobacco control efforts that the administration recently abandoned should be swiftly reinstituted. Obesity is now the second leading cause of cancer. Since 1991, we've cut the death rate from cancer by 34%, mainly by decreasing the use of tobacco and improving cancer screening and treatment. Left unchecked, the obesity epidemic will reverse this progress. The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
National Post
15-05-2025
- Health
- National Post
MedX Health and Health Partners Sign Commercial Agreement Following Successful UK Pilot
Article content MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — MedX Health Corp. (' MedX ' or the ' Company ') (TSXV: MDX), the global leader in teledermatology solutions, is pleased to announce the signing of a commercial contract with Health Partners Group Ltd (' HPG ' or ' Health Partners Group '), the United Kingdom's largest occupational health services provider. This agreement follows the successful completion of a pilot project across two of HPG's clients, utilizing MedX's DermSecure® skin cancer screening platform. Article content Article content Following the pilot's success (11% of 300 employees from two of HPG's clients had moles requiring in-clinic dermatological follow-up), MedX's DermSecure® skin cancer screening platform will be rolled out to Health Partners' clients across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, representing a major milestone in MedX's global commercialization strategy. Article content 'We are thrilled to deepen our relationship with Health Partners through this commercial agreement,' said Mike Druhan, President of Dermatological Services at MedX. 'This rollout means potentially thousands of at-risk individuals, particularly outdoor and industrial workers, will gain access to dermatologist-level skin assessments, directly at their workplaces. Health Partners Group is offering MedX services as a fast-track to a Dermatologist, which is a powerful step forward in the early detection and prevention of skin cancer in the workplace.' Article content With three million client employees served and 650+ corporate, government, and insurance clients, Health Partners Group is now poised to offer scalable, remote skin cancer screening as a standard part of their client employee health services. Article content 'The pilot validated the accuracy, speed, and accessibility of MedX's technology,' said Andrew Noble, CEO of Health Partners Group. 'Preventive care is essential to workplace health. Health Partners Group is extending its preventative care and chronic care services to include Skin Cancer screening. This is a complementary partnership that enables Health Partners to integrate world-class dermatological assessments into our existing services, speeding up diagnosis to under 3 days from the current NHS wait time of between 5-9 months and helping safeguard the health of the UK's workforce.' Article content Skin cancer is among the most common forms of cancer in the UK, with over 220,000 cases diagnosed annually. According to the UK Cancer Alliance, outdoor workers face a 60% higher risk of developing skin cancer due to prolonged sun exposure. Early detection remains critical, with survival rates dropping sharply between early and late-stage diagnoses. Article content The MedX platform allows rapid, non-invasive imaging of skin lesions, which are securely transmitted to dermatologists for assessment within a period of 72 hours or less. The rollout represents a pivotal advancement in accessible, preventative care, especially at a time when healthcare systems face growing demand and staffing pressures. Article content About Health Partners Group Ltd. Health Partners Group is the UK's leading occupational health and primary care provider, supporting corporate, government, insurance, and individual clients across the UK and Republic of Ireland. With over 1,300 staff and a robust technology platform, Health Partners Group delivers personalized and scalable health solutions. Visit: Article content About MedX Health Corp. MedX Health Corp., headquartered in Ontario, Canada, is a leader in non-invasive skin assessment and teledermatology. Its proprietary SIAscopy® technology, integrated into the DermSecure® platform, enables pain-free, accurate imaging of skin lesions for rapid dermatologist review. These products are cleared by Health Canada, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Conformité Européenne, for use in Canada, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Turkey. Visit: Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Article content Article content
