Latest news with #hysterectomy
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Kathy Griffin debuts bold new look with wig at Hustler book signing after frail appearance sparks fears
Kathy Griffin stepped out in West Hollywood on Wednesday with a striking new appearance — just days after sparking concern with a shocking frail look. The 64-year-old comedian turned heads last week when she was spotted on a walk in Malibu, looking almost unrecognizable in her first public sighting since undergoing a hysterectomy in early April. Griffin's gray pallor and visibly thinning hair left fans stunned — some comparing her ghostly complexion to the bloody, severed head of Donald Trump she infamously posed with in 2017, a photo that nearly destroyed her career. But on Wednesday, the former sitcom star was practically unrecognizable in a different way. Wearing a vibrant red wig, full glam makeup, and flashing a wide smile, Griffin posed confidently at a book signing event for Hustler®: 50 Years of Freedom, celebrating the infamous adult magazine. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. She leaned into the risqué theme with a revealing black corset top and a Hustler-branded bomber jacket, happily posing with the book's author — Hustler founder Larry Flynt's widow, Liz Flynt. Later, Kathy was spotted playfully kicking up her heels before sliding into her car as she left the event. The high-spirited display was a world away from her Malibu outing, where her signature bright red hair hung loose around her shoulders, contrasting sharply with the jarring paleness of her skin — and where her receding hairline and visible scalp issues suggested a bald spot or condition. Known for her biting humor and criticism of Republicans, the Catholic League and celebrity culture, Griffin has opened up about her history of health struggles, starting with a binge eating disorder as a teen. She has also been open about her extensive history with cosmetic procedures, including breast augmentation, a nose job, lip tattooing, a botched LASIK surgery in 2003 that left one eye partially blinded, and life-threatening complications from a 1999 liposuction. She's also battled mental health struggles, especially after the notorious 2017 photo showing her holding what appeared to be Donald Trump's severed head sparked intense backlash. At the time, Trump condemned the image on Twitter, saying, 'Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11-year-old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!' Donald Trump Jr. added fuel to the fire during a Good Morning America interview, declaring, 'She deserves everything that's coming to her.' Amid the controversy, Griffin, her elderly mother, and her terminally ill sister received death threats, marking one of the darkest chapters of her tumultuous career. The Trump administration went further, placing Griffin on its no-fly list and prompting a Justice Department investigation lasting over two months to determine whether her photo amounted to a conspiracy to assassinate the president — a probe that ultimately led nowhere in legal terms. Still, the image caused her career to nosedive, at least temporarily. Talk shows and theaters canceled her appearances, and CNN ended her annual stint co-hosting its New Years Eve show with Anderson Cooper from 2009 to 2017. 'I wasn't canceled,' she told the New York Times. 'I was erased.' Griffin ended up apologizing for the Trump effigy, posting on Twitter that, 'I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people, it wasn't funny, I get it.' She financed and produced 'Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story,' a 2019 documentary about the Trump photo and how it changed her life. Meanwhile, her anxiety and chronic back pain triggered a pill addiction, which spiraled into severe depression and an attempt to end her life in 2020. Then in 2021, she was diagnosed with lung cancer, even though she never smoked. A surgery to remove half of her left lung damaged her vocal cords, causing her to undergo at least one more operation to improve her ability to speak. Griffin came forward on social media in 2023 to say that her cancer fight and years of Trump backlash contributed to extreme post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and caused severe anxiety attacks that at times had her writhing in bed for eight hours. She talked about the ordeal in a video posted to her TikTok account. She said at the time that she managed her anxiety partly by pushing herself to do daily tasks such as feeding her dog or taking walks. Griffin took small, but brisk steps on her recent trek in Malibu wearing a gray top, black leggings and designer purse. Such details are the kind of fodder she has used in her brand of caustic comedy aimed at everyone from Barbara Walters to the Octomom to Jesus Christ. Raised in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago, Kathleen Mary Griffin attended acting school and launched her acting and comedy career in Los Angeles in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her supporting role on the Brooke Shields sitcom Suddenly Susan and starring role in Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List — winner of two Emmys for Outstanding Reality Show — marked her big breaks on TV. She was a regular on late night talk shows, has performed in 20 stand-up comedy specials on HBO, Comedy Central and Bravo, and has appeared in 45 movies. Griffin finalized her divorce from marketing executive Randy Bick in January after four years of marriage.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Mum told she has 3 months to live after doctors missed easy-to-dismiss bowel cancer signs for two years
A mother-of-two has been told she has only a few months to live—after doctors took two years to spot bowel cancer that had left her in so much pain she could 'barely walk'. Julie Butler, 55, from Yorkshire, first began experiencing strange symptoms in early 2020, suffering pain in her gut and gaining two stone in weight despite not changing her diet or exercise routine. Her GP carried out a scan on her reproductive organs and concluded her symptoms were likely caused by fibroids—non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb. The grandmother was told she would need a hysterectomy to combat the pain, but due to Covid delays, an operation wasn't available for another two years. By which point, Ms Butler said, she could 'barely walk' and had developed extreme bloating. 'I was bloated all the time,' she said. 'It looked like I was nine months pregnant. 'But doctors couldn't put a finger on it.' The caterer underwent the surgery in July 2022, but the bloating persisted. During a meeting to see how Julie was doing since the hysterectomy, a scan revealed that she had a blockage in her bowel and she was sent for an operation to correct the problem. But during the operation doctors discovered two tumours in the grandmother's lower bowel. 'They said the tumours had gone into my lymph nodes, so they removed them too,' she said. 'Doctors told me it was cancer but sent the tumours off for a biopsy to double check.' The biopsy confirmed colon cancer, and doctors told them they were 95 per cent sure they had removed all the disease, but couldn't be certain. Doctors advised that Julie should start chemotherapy, but after two major operations, she was too ill to complete the treatment. A year later, Ms Butler started to feel ill again, so doctors referred her for an MRI, CT and PET scan in April 2023. The scans showed that the cancer had spread to her lung, liver and spleen, meaning her cancer was now stage four—when it is often considered incurable. Doctors delivered the devastating news that she likely had just three months to live. 'I have a granddaughter, and I was thinking about how I wanted to see her grow up,' she said. 'The day I got told I was stage four, I was worried I would never see her in her first school uniform.' Despite undergoing three different types of chemotherapy treatment since, her cancer is still continuing to grow. 'The NHS wants to try a fourth chemo,' said her husband Robert, a hedge cutter. 'But it is a catch-22 situation. Her liver is in serious trouble. If we carry on with the chemo and it doesn't work, she will end up with liver failure.' The couple are hoping to fly out to Germany so Ms Butler can undergo a specialist form of chemotherapy knownas Trans arterial chemoembolization (TACE). The treatment delivers chemotherapy directly into the blood vessels that feed a tumour, blocking the blood supply to the cancer. TACE is available on the NHS for the treatment of primary liver cancer, but Julie's liver cancer is secondary, meaning she is not eligible for the treatment. 'We have no choice now, we need to try it,' said Mr Butler, who is hoping to raise £40,000 to fund the therapy. 'If we don't try this, Julie is going to die, we have to do it. 'The fact that people have been donating to help Julie shows that angels exist and there are good people out there.' It comes as a global study of disease in 50 countries found rates of bowel cancer in under 50 year-olds are rising in 27 of the 50 nations. England is averaging a 3.6 per cent rise every year—one of the highest rises. Researchers from the American Cancer Society, who led the research said the rise in early onset cancers is no longer limited to high-income Western countries but is now a 'global phenomenon'. Some US research has suggested ultra-processed foods are causing chronic inflammation in the gut, which can lead to the disease. They suggested switching foods such as cured meats, mass-produced bread and ice cream in favour of healthier alternative such as oily fish, fruit and vegetables is 'vital' to staving off the disease. Around 44,000 people of all ages are diagnosed with bowel cancer in the UK every year, according to charities.
SBS Australia
17-05-2025
- Health
- SBS Australia
Michelle's condition 'ruined' her. Treatment was life-changing, but it has a concerning label
Michelle Watts, 60, once suffered from heavy menstrual bleeding that made everything seem "impossible to do". Source: SBS News A $793 million investment into women's health has been celebrated, but there are concerns over a lack of specific reference to a condition affecting many women. is often excluded from discussions around women's health despite it being a disruptive, and sometimes crippling, condition. "I'd get out the door and I would flood to the point where I'd have to come back and change again," said Michelle Watts, as she recounted a ski trip — one of many occasions where she bled through layers of clothing. "And I'd literally just sit down and cry and think, 'I can't do this anymore', because it was ruining every aspect of my life," the 60-year-old said. For 18 months from 2021, Watts suffered from heavy menstrual bleeding, which the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC ) defines as excessive menstrual blood loss that interferes with a woman's quality of life. "I was about as sad as I could ever be because everything was impossible to do in my eyes by the end. I couldn't go swimming with my friends anymore, swimming became challenging, going to the gym became challenging," Watts said. "All those things that I loved to do, I just couldn't do." After many failed treatments, Michelle finally underwent a uterectomy, traditionally known as a hysterectomy. Dr Talat Uppal is a gynaecologist and director at Women's Health Road and is in the process of changing the language, which she says was inaccurately used to explain women's emotional and physical concerns. "Often when I'm using the word hysteroscopy or hysterectomy it brings back that association of centuries-old myth which is something that is important to defuse and re-word to a more anatomical one", Dr Talat said. Also in the push to change the medical language is the CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, which is responsible for updating global standards for clinical terminology. Katrina Ebril is the Interoperability Lead with the Australian e-Health research centre at the CSIRO and says this change is a first when it comes to women's bodies. "It's definitely time to change ... and we do this for other procedures," Ebril said. "It is a uterectomy, let's call it what it is, and start to use that much more positive language and much more language that aligns to what the actual procedure is." For women like Watts, removing taboos around menstruation is key to making treatment more accessible, and encouraging others to seek help. One in four people who menstruate suffer from heavy menstrual bleeding, according to the ACSQHC, and two thirds of those experience iron deficiency. Yet the commission notes less than half of women suffering from the condition visit a doctor. "Traditionally or historically, women have been left out of research, and sometimes even the animals in the labs were male animals," Uppal said. "And so this is a long historical background of disadvantage of not including women, and we really want to change that narrative when it comes to heavy bleeding." "I think it's just part of that silence around heavy menstrual bleeding ... and I don't think it's deliberate, I feel it's just a culture where it's not front of mind," she said. Watt believes a lack of awareness is why she struggled to receive adequate care for months. "It's just been so normalised ... and I don't think it should be, I don't think it's normal," Watt said. "And it's really hard to get any information because it's just taken as: 'Well, you're a woman, this is what happens.'" She can't imagine what her life would have looked like without undergoing the procedure, now relishing the active lifestyle she was once forced to sacrifice. "My ability to participate in skiing, running, swimming ... all of the things that I wanted to enjoy, that's all possible again, I never have to worry about that ever again, it's like an absolute new lease of life," she said.
Medscape
16-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Simple and Radical Hysterectomies Show Similar Survival
Long-term survival analysis reveals comparable outcomes between simple hysterectomy and modified radical hysterectomy (MRH) or radical hysterectomy (RH) in women with low-risk cervical carcinoma. METHODOLOGY: RH with bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy has historically been the recommended treatment for patients with cervical cancer not desiring fertility. This procedure, which involves removal of cervix, uterus, parametria, and upper vagina, has achieved overall survival rates up to 90%. Despite high survival rates, RH carries 10%-15% risk for postoperative complications including hemorrhage, bowel dysfunction, ureteral fistula, voiding dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, and reduced quality of life. The new analysis included women diagnosed between January 2010 and December 2017 with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2009 stage IA2 or IB1 squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, or adenosquamous carcinoma of the cervix (< 2 cm) and clinically negative lymph nodes. Participants comprised 2636 women (mean age, 45.4 ± 11.4 years) with median follow-up of 85 months, including 982 who underwent simple hysterectomy, 300 with MRH, 927 with traditional RH, and 427 with unspecified MRH or RH. Risk assessment involved two multivariable models — one adjusting for nine baseline factors and another extending to include four additional clinical factors including surgical margin, lymphovascular space invasion, pathologic lymph node metastasis, and adjuvant treatment. TAKEAWAY: Seven-year survival rates were comparable between groups: 93.9% (95% CI, 91.9%-95.4%) for simple hysterectomy vs 95.3% (95% CI, 94.0%-96.3%) ( P = .07) for MRH or RH. = .07) for MRH or RH. Propensity score–balanced analysis showed similar adjusted survival rates at 3 years (98.3% vs 97.6%), 5 years (95.9% vs 96.5%), 7 years (94.5% vs 95.1%), and 10 years (89.8% vs 91.7%) between simple hysterectomy and MRH or RH groups. Sensitivity analysis for patients diagnosed between 2010 and 2013 demonstrated similar 10-year restricted mean survival time following simple hysterectomy vs MRH or RH (mean difference, −1.33; 95% CI, −3.69 to 1.03; P = .27). IN PRACTICE: 'In this cohort study, long-term survival was similar following [simple hysterectomy] vs MRH or RH, supporting the use of [simple hysterectomy] in select patients with low-risk early-stage cervical carcinoma,' the authors of the study wrote. SOURCE: This study was led by Christopher M. Tarney, MD, and Kathleen M. Darcy, PhD, from the Gynecologic Cancer Center of Excellence, Department of Gynecologic Surgery and Obstetrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. It was published online on May 15 in JAMA Network Open . LIMITATIONS: Researchers could not perform central surgicopathologic review of cases or evaluate details regarding treatments or recurrence rates. This study design inherently involved possibilities for selection bias, confounding, and loss to follow-up. Additionally, investigators were unable to explain utilization rates of simple hysterectomy between 2010 and 2017, examine data on late complications (especially bladder complications), time to disease failure and sites of failure, or investigate quality of life. DISCLOSURES: This study received funding through awards from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences from the Defense Health Program to the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine Inc. Leslie M. Randall, MD, reported receiving grants from Merck, Genmab, Seagen, and the Gynecologic Oncology Group Foundation, along with personal fees from multiple pharmaceutical companies. John K. Chan, MD, disclosed receiving personal fees from various pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, Daiichi Sankyo, and GSK. Chad A. Hamilton, MD, reported receiving personal fees from GSK, AbbVie, Merck, and AstraZeneca. Kathleen N. Moore, MD, disclosed receiving personal fees from numerous pharmaceutical companies and serving in various organizational roles. Thomas P. Conrads, PhD, reported receiving personal fees from Thermo Fisher Scientific as a scientific advisory board member. Additional disclosures are noted in the original article.
The Sun
12-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Inside the million-pound machine that will soon be performing keyhole surgery on Brits
IT is 10am, surgeon Jeffrey Ahmed has just finished his first operation of the day. His patient will go home to recover in her own bed within hours. 6 6 Her hysterectomy, a major surgery, only took 40 minutes thanks to the million-pound robot used by Mr Ahmed and his team at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London. Done by hand, the same procedure would have taken two hours or more, involved an overnight stay on the ward and could have cost an extra £2,000. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has told Sun Health that robot- assisted surgery is the 'future of the health service' as our figures show its use is skyrocketing. Robotic assistance was used in 70,000 procedures on the NHS in England last year. That was double the 35,000 two years earlier in 2022, and a ten-fold increase on the 6,600 performed in 2014. The machines, which are operated by surgeons, are capable of increasingly complex and major operations. They benefit doctors, patients and the health service. An NHS report last week said the adoption of robots is now 'in the exponential phase', meaning it is rapidly increasing. Officials say it will soon take over the majority of keyhole surgeries — such as gallbladder or appendix removal — and an increasing number of orthopaedic operations. Mr Ahmed conducts the hysterectomy — the removal of the womb — from a console in the corner of the operating room, where he sits with his shoes off and dance music playing in the background. He uses hand controls as if he is playing on a Nintendo Wii to manoeuvre the Da Vinci Xi Robotic Surgical System. Tiny mechanical forceps and scissors slice the womb free from the bladder a millimetre at a time, cauterising the flesh as they go to prevent internal bleeding. The robot's instruments are more compact than a surgeon's, so incisions are smaller, reducing infection risk, scarring and bleeding. 'Blood loss is way less now,' Mr Ahmed tells Sun Health. 'It's about 25ml, so the patients lose more from the blood tests beforehand than the operation itself.' A thin camera shows the inside of the body, and Mr Ahmed, the anaesthetist and nurses who are standing close to the patient to keep her safe watch the procedure on TV screens. Mr Ahmed, 40, says: 'This is the future and I don't think there's any way of going back. The benefits have been so profound that we can't not do it. 'We're doing about 1.5 times the amount of cases we were able to do with traditional keyhole surgery, and the patient outcomes are better, so our patients are staying in hospital for a shorter time.' Not only does this mean people can recover at home and resume their daily life quicker — it also frees up vital beds in hospitals. And patients need less anaesthetic because the operation is shorter — another risk reduction. Mr Ahmen said: 'Previously, their average length of stay was 1.8 days, but our patient will go home today after a cup of tea and a sandwich in the recovery room. We've finished that case at 10 o'clock in the morning and, across the UK, there are a lot of surgeons who still don't have their first patient on the table.' The first robot-assisted operation in the NHS was carried out in the year 2000. Now, there are more than 140 machines in use across the country. Health spending watchdog the National Institute For Health And Care Excellence last month gave the green light for hospitals to choose from 11 robotic systems. This signals top-ranking officials believe they are worth the money. Robo ops first took off in men's urology, operating on prostates and the pelvis, and are now increasingly used in gynaecology. 6 6 6 It is particularly beneficial here because unwanted damage or mistakes can have devastating effects on patients' lives, leaving them with sexual dysfunction, fertility issues or incontinence. Urological surgeon Ben Challacombe is the head of robotic surgery at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS trust in London. He operated on TV legend Stephen Fry's prostate cancer using a robot and has also treated film director Steve McQueen. He says: 'In some hospitals, you'll get an experienced surgeon doing operations with a robot but in other hospitals, they won't even have the robot yet. 'We need to democratise it because it's a postcode lottery. The NHS should negotiate to buy them at a national level to level up.' New departments are getting the help of robots all the time. They are now capable of heart surgery, mouth and throat operations, cancer treatment, hernia repair and even hip and knee replacements. 'Postcode lottery' Mr Challacombe says: 'The next generation will be single port robots where everything can go through one incision and cause even fewer side effects. 'In the future I think we will be able to train robots to do parts of the tasks automatically. 'They're a long way off being able to do an entire operation but we expect that sort of step up.' Orthopaedic surgeon Al-Amin Kassam is trialling robotic hip replacements at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. He uses a machine to create 3D scans before a robotic arm implants the new hip socket. The physical bone work is done manually by surgeons. Mr Kassam said: 'The robot essentially works like a spirit level. 'During a manual implant, we put the replacement cup where our eyesight tells us to, but human eyes have a margin of error. It also means you have to open up the area more, cutting through more muscle and tendon so you can see. 'With the robot, you don't need the full view, so where most surgeons would cut three tendons at the back of the hip, we only need to cut one. It should improve patient recovery and get them back to activity and to work earlier.' The NHS also needs patients' co-operation before robotic surgery becomes standard. Many may still have visions of rogue Terminator-style cyborgs at the operating table. But this could not be further from the truth, and the machines are not yet automatic. They can make only tiny movements controlled by qualified expert surgeons. Mr Kassam says: 'Some patients are scared to begin with because they think the surgeon is going to be in the coffee room while it's happening.' One patient who has been under the robotic knife is Ella Lacson, a 27-year-old from London. She has had the same endometriosis operation twice — once with a robot and once without. Endometriosis is a painful condition and causes the abnormal growth of womb tissue in other parts of the pelvis area. In severe cases, surgery is needed. Client accountant Ella says: 'It felt like barbed wire in my pelvis and got so bad I couldn't go out with my friends or into the office. Smash waiting lists 'I first had the surgery in 2012 which was really uncomfortable for a few weeks and I was off school for months. But after my second surgery with the robot in December 2024, the recovery was so quick. 'I went home the same day, managed the pain by myself for about two weeks and then I was back to normal. I've started doing dance classes again, which I couldn't do before. 'I didn't feel like there were any downsides. I'd 100 per cent recommend it to someone in the same position as me.' There are still some drawbacks, however, as machines typically cost upwards of £1million to buy and may initially disrupt efficiency. Mr Challacombe says: 'I'm very pro-robot but the downsides are the cost, and people get less efficient before they get more efficient. 'If the consultants are learning, the trainee surgeons can't learn from them. There is also some danger to operating a machine that is away from you, extending the time it takes to spot potential problems.' I'm very pro-robot but the downsides are the cost, and people get less efficient before they get more efficient Ben Challacombe He says reaction times with a camera view may not be as instant as up-close manual surgery. But most procedures go smoothly and, once theatres are fully up and running, the benefits are clear. The ops are less physically taxing for surgeons, which could let them extend their careers, as many suffer back or shoulder problems. Their speed and ease of use mean the machines can be used for high-intensity sessions when surgeons ramp up procedures at the weekend to help slash waiting lists. England has millions of patients waiting for 7.4million procedures. Mr Ahmed's team in Fulham last year took part in a 'super surgery weekend', when two departments at the hospital operated on 59 patients in two days. Professor Naeem Soomro, from the Royal College of Surgeons, said: 'Robot-assisted surgery is here to stay. 'Used well and for the right patients, it has the potential to bring benefits including greater precision, fewer blood transfusions, increased patient satisfaction and a faster return to work and family. 'To get the most out of these tools, it is essential to make sure that staff receive consistent, high-quality training to use them.' David Marante, vice president of Intuitive UK & Ireland, makers of Da Vinci robots, said: 'Innovative initiatives are bringing down waiting lists and improving productivity, helping save bed days, optimise staffing and improve efficiency.' HEALTH Secretary Wes Streeting is keen on robotic surgery after it saved his life. He said: 'I know from first-hand experience how technological advances in the health service can benefit patients. 'After I was diagnosed with kidney cancer, the NHS saved my life with an operation led by a world-class surgeon being helped by a robot. 'Innovation like robot-assisted surgery isn't science fiction, it's the future of the health service. 'Through our Plan for Change, we are taking the NHS into the digital age and arming it with the high-tech kit it needs to slash waiting lists and get patients treated on time again.'
