Breast Cancer-The fight

Roche Drug Could Help Women In Earliest Stages of Breast Cancer

Big news in the fight against breast cancer.

The United States Food and Drug Administration has handed down a positive review of a new breast cancer drug that could become the first stop for doctors looking to treat the disease in its earliest stages.

The drug, Perjeta, is made by the pharmaceutical company Roche. Originally, it was used to treat aggressive breast cancer that had already spread. But based on new tests, the FDA found that women who took the drug during earlier stages of diagnosis ended up with fewer tumors than those who took older cocktails of drugs.

The findings have encouraged the FDA to fast track approval of the drug, a step only used for medications that are considered groundbreaking in the battle against life-threatening diseases.

How big of a deal is this? Roche is pushing to have the drug approved for use during the very earliest stages of cancer possible — right after diagnosis, but before surgery to remove existing tumors. In almost all forms of cancer, surgery to remove the tumor is the very first step in treatment. If approved, Perjeta would be the first pre-surgical cancer drug.

Drugs that target cancer during early stages are still pretty experimental, but doctors and researchers are all hoping that the early use of cancer drugs could potentially shrink tumors, making them easier to remove or even, fingers crossed, eliminate the need for surgery at all.

A panel will review a study of 417 women that will compare Perjeta combinations against older cancer treatments. When Perjeta was combined with another drug, Herceptin, and standard chemotherapy, 39 percent of women saw their cancer reduced to undetectable levels. For women who did not have Perjeta, that number was closer to 21 percent.

Breast cancer is the second-most deadly form of cancer for women in the U.S. and will kill an estimated 39,000 women this year. The news of a potential breakthrough in early treatment  also comes on the heels of new research about the importance of mammograms this week. A study by Harvard University concluded that for younger women, mammogram screenings could greatly help in the fight against cancer, while for older women, the benefits of frequent screenings were muted.

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PHOTO: Check Out Actress, Mercy Aigbe Looking Hot In Traditional Attire

Beautiful actress, Mercy Aigbe-Gentry posted a photo of herself on Instagram page rocking the traditional attire.

The mother of two definitely loves looking good as she is known for always posting different photos of herself online.

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Doctors, patients’ relations take over hospitals

 

 

Really, the recent strike embarked upon by other health professionals in the enlarged health sector nationwide minus the medical doctors during which time Nigerians noted the importance of those health professionals was a welcome development. It has clearly shown the world that no one cadre in the enlarged health sector can lay claim to being an Island in health matters.

 I commend my professional colleague, Ayuba Wabba, who is the Chairman of Joint Health Sector Union, and all his lieutenants for embarking on the strike. They have proved to the world  that not only the medical personnel serve patients in the hospital.

In Nigeria, all other health professionals have always been treated with contempt and ignominy by many of the Ministers of Health appointed so far. Apart from a few of them (such as Prof. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti), others had recognised and worked for the progress of the doctors only in the federal/state ministries of health. While the appointed ‘Ministers of Doctors’ and their professional colleagues continue to think about themselves only, they do next to nothing to remember other professionals in the enlarged health sector. They claim superiority always, and most of them appointed into health management and administration often advise governments wrongly on health matters, which is why Nigeria has continued to take the rear in health and human services indices all along, as these doctors continue to dictate the tunes in health sector and occupy every position available!

In the beginning, doctors embraced all other health professionals working with them. For example, Drs. Isaac Oluwole and Dalhatu Talfida founded Environmental Health profession in Nigeria and EHORECON that regulates the profession today in Nigeria respectively. But today’s doctors hold sway in the health sector, claiming that they are best for that mainly because of their training, even in Public Health establishments. It is important to remind all that while nearly all other health professionals were mere diploma holders in the past and, therefore, felt inferior before all the doctors who had graduated in MBBS baseline qualification, it is no longer like that today!..

Today, the story is totally different and the earlier the doctors note this, the better for them. As it takes five credits in English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology for someone to read Medicine in the university, ditto others who apply to read Pharmacy, Nursing, Medical Lab, Environmental Health, Human Nutrition, etc; and as a doctor in any health institution rises to the peak of his profession (may be, to become a director in his field of study in his department), so do all other degree-holding health professionals in the enlarged health sector today! It is because of this that no degree-holding health professional should feel inferior to any other health professional who has a degree as himself, whether medical or otherwise! Let me advise the federal government to stop appointing only medical doctors as ministers of health.

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U.S. State To Adopt Rules For Legal, Recreational Marijuana

On Monday, Colorado officially became the first state in the country to finalize and adopt the rules for recreational marijuana sales.
The 136-page report released by the Colorado Department of Revenue outlines the rules for the state’s new recreational marijuana industry and covers everything retail marijuana store signage, product labeling, cultivation, testing and warehousing.
The first recreational marijuana retail shops in Colorado are expected to open around Jan. 1, 2014.
According to the report, existing medical marijuana businesses that are “in good standing” can apply for a retail marijuana business license beginning Oct. 1, 2013. According to state law, for the first nine months, only existing medical marijuana dispensaries will be able apply for the recreational sales license. Some cities, like Denver, which has opted-in on recreational marijuana sales, has recommended a two-year moratorium on new marijuana business licenses.
For the first nine months of 2014, a retail marijuana business can only sell marijuana that it has grown in its commonly-owned cultivation facility, with some exceptions. A recreational pot dispensary can purchase up to 30 percent of its total inventory and can also sell an additional 30 percent of its total inventory to other marijuana dispensaries.
All retail marijuana shops must use the Marijuana Inventory Tracking Solution (MITS) to ensure its inventories are identified and tracked from the point they are transferred from a cultivation or manufacturing facility through the point of sale.
All edible marijuana products may include no more than a total of 100 milligrams of active THC, the chemical in marijuana which causes the “high” sensation.
Retail marijuana dispensaries must prohibit the consumption of marijuana or marijuana products on the premises.
Marijuana must be placed in special child-resistant packages, designed to be significantly difficult for children under five years of age to open, before it is removed from the dispensary. The packaging must also be opaque “so that the product cannot be seen from the outside of the packaging” and labeled properly.
Retail marijuana shops cannot advertise where minors are likely to see the ads on television, radio or newspapers unless “no more than 30 percent of the audience” is “reasonably expected to be under the age of 21.”
The retail marijuana rules do not limit the ability for local law enforcement to investigate unlawful activity in relation to the marijuana shop.
Colorado adults, 21 and over, will be limited to purchasing up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational use from specialty licensed retail shops that can also sell pot-related items such as pipes and accessories. Coloradans can also grow up to six plants — with only three flowering at a given time — in their home for personal use.
Adults can possess up to an ounce of marijuana legally.
The United States government took a historic step back from its long-running drug war in August, when Attorney General Eric Holder informed the governors of Washington and Colorado that the Department of Justice would allow the states to create a regime that would regulate and implement the ballot initiatives that legalized the use of marijuana for adults.
On Tuesday, the DOJ’s Deputy Attorney General James Cole told Congress that financial institutions will be able to conduct business with the legitimate marijuana industry without fear of prosecution.

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SHOCKING: Bianca Got Pregnant Twice While Dating Fani-Kayode – Kemi Olunloyo

Ms Kemi Olunloyo, the controversial daughter of a former Governor of Oyo State, has declared her resolve to expose dirty secrets of the alleged relationship between Femi Fani-Kayode and Bianca Ojukwu because Bianca is saying that she never had any intimate relationship of any kind with him.

Here are the controversial things Kemi had to say :
“Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain Mrs Bianca Ojukwu lost two babies for Femi Fani Kayode during our days in UK.
They planned to wed. “Ask their parents, some in the heavens above. At least Govenor Onoh and his wife Caroline were happy at the time.
The first baby was miscarried (Act of God) and the second she #ABORTED! This is what really broke them up.
Femi wanted his BABY and he left HER! “I will keep telling the truth as Bianca needs to STOP saying she NEVER MET him!!!”
Ms Kemi Olunloyo.

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