• Nursing Homes
• Chemists
• Chiropodists
• Dentists
• Alternative medicine
• Homoeopathy
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• www.active.org.uk   Aimed at making you think about your lifestyle, with a very impressive quiz with questions about your lifestyle, ending with suggestions as to how you might improve it.
• www.healthcentre.org.uk  Resources for both patients & medical staff. A very good guide to all the health resources available on-line.
• www.HealthAtoZ.com Excellent site containing a wide range of articles, and interesting features in a very entertaining manner.
• The International Food Council. Information concerning food, health, & nutrition, with sections for teachers, journalists, and the public.
• www.blooddonar.org.uk UK National Blood Service. Information on the nearest session near you, along with other facts about the service.
• www.reutershealth.com Consumer oriented medical news service. Around 15 easy to understand stories per day covered in a reasonable amount of detail.
• www.bbc.co.uk/education/health Sections include men's, women's, and children's health with a special kid's page, plus Watchdog Healthcheck and Heart Special.

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A site that has attracted a lot of attention is the former U.S. surgeon-general Dr C. Everett Koop's which has proved very popular. Another interesting and US based site is News Corporation's The Health Network. They pride themselves on providing live Internet medical events, such as the first live birth online and open - heart surgery as they happen. 

Many other sites use a similar format, where health questions are discussed by professionals who then tell you whether or not it would be advisable to seek the attention of a doctor in the flesh. There is also a lot of advice on how to stay healthy, diet, exercise, and so on. One of the best U.K. sites is Patient Information which aims to help non-medical people research health issues.

On a cautionary note, as always with the Internet, you ought to know exactly who is doing the talking and that they are actually qualified to give an opinion or advice. The people behind some health sites may not actually have any professional qualifications, while others may be funded by large pharmaceutical companies and as such possibly not give the best impartial advice. If you do submit a health query make sure you know whom you are consulting and their credentials.

One site where you can now be sure of getting impartial advice online is at the NHS Helpline site, an online version of the NHS phone helpline.

Another good piece of advice is to use our lists of local facilities, services, and practices to finally get what you want. Use the power of the Internet to research your query and then use the wide range of local services available to you where you can deal with the matter on a person to person basis or possibly buy what you want from a more local supplier.

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REQUEST FROM BIRMINGHAM FOCUS ON BLIND

On Thursday 19th of May Birmingham Focus on Blindness are hosting an Information & Sounds of the Times Day (1940’s), for their Multi-Disabled Services Users.
These are adults who have sight impairment and other disabilities.
We would like to hear from anyone who can come and share their experiences with us (we will be willing to arrange transport)!
We are also looking to loan any war memorabilia (ration books, identity cards, photographs, gas masks, old magazines etc). We only need it for the day and we would be very grateful.
Please contact Gill Fellows on 0121 478 5258, or Tom Cattell on 0121 478 5264.
 

UNIQUE STUDY TO PINPOINT CAUSES OF BREAST CANCER

Details of a unique, ambitious and decades-long investigation into the causes of breast cancer - The Breakthrough Generations Study - were revealed recently by Breakthrough Breast Cancer, the UK's leading breast cancer charity, and The Institute of Cancer Research, one of the world's leading cancer research organisations.

Currently, around 40,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year and around 13,000 women - 35 women per day - die from this disease in the UK. In addition, rates of occurrence of breast cancer in the UK have been rising for many years.

However, scientists believe that around half of these cases - at least twenty thousand a year - could, in principle, be prevented, if the causes of breast cancer were better understood.

The Breakthrough Generations Study aims to make this a reality by carrying out a unique, dedicated examination of the genetic, environmental, behavioural and hormonal factors thought to influence the risk of developing what is the UK's most common cancer in women.

Spanning nearly half a century, the study aims to enrol more than 100,000 UK women aged 18 and over from all walks of life to join the study. Any woman living in Britain can take part.

Each woman will be asked to fill in a questionnaire about themselves and their lifestyles and give a blood sample. The study will then keep in touch with them about their health and collect further information from them in the years to come, in order to relate future cancer risks to changes in lifestyle and to events occurring throughout a woman's life. The study aims to provide the most detailed information yet on what causes breast cancer and as a result, give an understanding of how the disease can be prevented in the first place.

Known as a cohort study, this type of study has given the main evidence for most of the causes of cancer we know, such as smoking and lung cancer, and asbestos and cancer of the pleura (lining of the lung).

Famous mothers and daughters including actresses Michelle Collins, Meera Syal, Angela Griffin, Jill Halfpenny, Pam St Clements; Michelle Ryan; British soprano Lesley Garrett, BBC newsreaders Fiona Bruce and Katie Derham; and TV presenters Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, Gail Porter, Jayne Middlemiss, Lowri Turner and Jenni Falconer are backing the study.

Actress, Michelle Collins, says: "News of The Breakthrough Generations Study is extremely exciting. As a woman and mother to Mia, I worry about breast cancer - not only for myself, but also for my family and friends. By taking part in the study we can do something really positive and move one step closer to finding out exactly what causes breast cancer - and eventually how we can stop it happening in the first place. That would be an amazing achievement."

Enid Bond, aged 70, a Breakthrough Generations Study participant, says: "Taking part in The Breakthrough Generations Study is important to me - to get closer to answering the many questions I have about the disease and to help my daughter and grand daughter understand what they could do to stop breast cancer affecting them in the future."

A unique study, The Breakthrough Generations Study, will be led by two of the country's leading medical scientists - Professor Anthony Swerdlow, Head of Epidemiology at The Institute of Cancer Research, and breast cancer expert Professor Alan Ashworth, Director of the Breakthrough Toby Robins Breast Cancer Research Centre at The Institute.

Professor Swerdlow says: "Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in this country and sadly it leads to many thousands of deaths each year. It is important that we find its causes so that future cases can be prevented. The causation of breast cancer is complicated, however, and to help to unravel these complexities the study will therefore need to include very large numbers of women and to continue over many years."

Professor Ashworth adds: "There have been real improvements in breast cancer treatment and diagnosis over the last decade but what's absolutely vital for the future is to prevent the disease occurring in the first place. To do this we first need to pinpoint and understand the causes of breast cancer - an area of research that has not received enough attention to date."

"Within a few years, we can expect the first results of the study to emerge, giving us a unique insight into the causes of breast cancer and, eventually, allowing us to work out methods to prevent it occurring in the first place."

Baroness Delyth Morgan, Chief Executive of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, says: "Women tell Breakthrough that breast cancer is their number one health concern and yet we still can't tell women what they desperately want to know - how they, their mothers, sisters, daughters and grand daughters can reduce their chances of developing this devastating disease.

"Breakthrough's vision is a future free from the fear of breast cancer and I hope that by signing up to join the study, I am doing my bit to help make this vision a reality for future generations."

Professor Peter Rigby, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, said: "We are delighted to be a partner in this exciting study. We are confident that this partnership will lead to our scientists knowing much more about what causes breast cancer which will help us to prevent many women from suffering from this terrible disease."

This unique study into the causes of breast cancer keeps Breakthrough and The Institute of Cancer Research at the forefront of research into the disease, and will complement the work already underway at The Breakthrough Toby Robins Breast Cancer Research Centre - the UK's first dedicated breast cancer research facility, based at The Institute of Cancer Research.

Women aged 18 and over from any background living in Britain who are interested in taking part in The Breakthrough Generations Study can visit http://www.breakthroughgenerations.org.uk  or telephone 0870 242 4485 to request further information.

For more information about Breakthrough, breast cancer or to make a donation, visit www.breakthrough.org.uk  or call 08 080 100 200. For more information about The Institute visit http://www.icr.ac.uk  or call 0800 731 9468.

RCGP IN CALL FOR MORE RESEARCH INTO CHILD FLU VACCINES
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has welcomed the Government's winter flu policy but would like more research into vaccinating young children.
Dr Douglas Fleming, Director of the RCGP Birmingham Flu Research Unit, feels that the Government's emphasis on people with diseases such as asthma and diabetes, as well as elderly people, is the right approach. However, he also urged the Government to consider further research into vaccination of young children and pregnant women. Dr Fleming said “In the USA, pregnant women are also included in the vaccine target group, vaccination is also recommended for people over 50 years of age and there is increasing interest in vaccination of young children. These are areas that call for further research in the UK.”
Recent research published in the British Journal of General Practice1 suggested that flu transmission rates in families could be reduced by up to a third if children were vaccinated. Last year saw the main outbreak of flu hit earlier than usual, in November, resulting in severe illness and several deaths.
Dr Fleming said that on present figures he could not predict whether we will face a bad outbreak of Flu this winter. He added “Flu is highly variable from one winter to the next, both in its appearance and its impact on different age groups. All we can do is try and be prepared. People in the recognised risk groups who are uncertain should contact their GP surgery.”

MR AVERAGE HAS A BEER BELLY

THE average British man is now sporting a beer belly and men in the north west have the biggest, according to a recent survey.
Research among 38,000 adults found the average man is now an "apple" shape - meaning they carry excess fat on their waist.
The finding is a concern because people with an apple figure are at higher risk of developing conditions such as coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Women have generally retained a "pear" shape - with fat concentrated on the hips.
However the survey, by health and fitness website www.DailyDietTracker.co.uk   discovered the average woman in Northern Ireland, North East England, East Anglia and Wales has developed an apple figure.
The website looked at the waist and hip measurements provided by 38,000 of its users.
It defined apple shapes - typified by a beer belly - as a waist to hip ratio of 0.95 and above for a man and 0.85 and over for a woman.
The ratio is calculated by dividing the waist measurement - whether in centimetres or inches - by the hip measurement.
The average man in the survey had a 37.4in waist and 38.5in hips - giving a ratio of 0.97.
The survey also highlights regional differences:-
North west men had the highest ratio - 1.02 - based on an average 37in waist and 36.2in hips.
Close behind - with a ratio of 1.01 - were men in the Midlands, where the average waist size was 39.3in and hips 38.9in.
Despite the smaller measurements, men from the north west were considered at greater risk because of where they carried the fat on their body.
Men in Scotland, north east England, Wales, south west England, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, and Northern Ireland all had an average ratio of above 0.95 and were therefore apple shaped.
Most women in the www.DailyDietTracker.co.uk  survey were a pear shape. The average waist measurement was 30.7in and hips 40.5in - giving a ratio of 0.76.
Women in Northern Ireland are most likely to be apple-shaped. The average 28.7in waist and 32.6in hips in the survey gave a ratio of 0.88.
The research also revealed women in north-east England, East Anglia and Wales to be apple-shaped.
Jacqueline Hewitt, dietician at DailyDietTracker.co.uk said: "Whether it's a beer belly for men or a tummy on women, both sexes know that uncomfortable feeling of carrying extra weight round the middle.
"But now with the known associated health risks there's an extra reason to shift that weight.
"Increasing exercise levels is the best method to reduce waist to hip ratio.
"Try aerobics, yoga, pilates, and exercises such as sit-ups and curls to convert your apple into a pear."
 

REVOLUTIONARY CARDIAC MONITORING COULD PREVENT OVER 1/4 MILLION HEART ATTACKS

It is a shocking fact that one person suffers a heart attack every two minutes in the UK. To combat this, Broomwell HealthWatch has launched the UK's first cardiac home-monitoring service, which could potentially save the 160,000 lives that are claimed by heart attacks every year.
Many people fail to spot the symptoms of a heart attack, and this delay can lead to irreversible damage of the delicate 'myocardial' tissue in survivors. Studies have shown that the average time from onset of symptoms to a call for help is between two and six hours.
The HealthWatch TeleMedical service spots vital symptoms within minutes, so the patient can receive rapid diagnosis from a specialist cardiac nurse if they are worried about the onset of an attack. It monitors heart patterns from the comfort of a patient's home, helping to diagnose life-threatening changes to heart activity within minutes, dramatically reducing the possibility of heart damage.
This groundbreaking service provides peace of mind to anyone whose family has a history of heart disease, or who suffers from heart problems or hypertension (high blood pressure). It works through state-of-the-art monitoring devices that forward information about blood pressure, breathing rate, pulse, heart rate and ECG (1 or 12 leads) to a team of specialist cardiac nurses.
The HealthWatch monitoring centre is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so that subscribers can talk directly to cardiac experts at any time. Being in touch with a monitoring centre provides them with peace of mind, calmness and a sense of security. The centre can call an ambulance if there's an emergency, and forward medical information to the hospital (where the hospitals have the facility to receive such information) before the patient arrives, saving, yet more, critical time.
Users pay a one-off fee for a monitoring device, and a subscription fee, starting from just £29.99 per month, for the HealthWatch service.
The service has been launched with two types of devices:
Mini-Clinic
This ingenious 'reassurance' device is the size of a watch, contains a panic alarm and transmits data i.e. breathing rate, heart rate, temperature and heart rhythm (1 lead ECG) to the HealthWatch centre. Subscribers dial into the centre's cardiac experts, and within just two to three minutes, they have a diagnosis. This one ECG device is particularly good for people suffering from heart palpitations and arrhythmia and for general and routine cardiac monitoring.
12 Lead ECG
This compact hand held device provides a far more comprehensive reading of the heart. It can even be used in clinics and hospitals, as the device is much quicker and easier to use than those generally available. It takes only forty-five seconds to record information, and around forty-five seconds to send it via any landline phone, so that a specialist cardiac nurse or doctor can provide rapid diagnosis.

Dr David Lipkin, Consultant Cardiologist at Royal Free Hospital in London says 'This is very clever technology that will hopefully make a big difference to patient health care and save lives. I'm very excited by the whole concept - it allows us to detect problems earlier to avoid irreversible damage to the heart and detect changes in heart rhythms that only happen at interim periods, not always while a patient is in Casualty.'
If you would like more information about the TeleMedical Monitoring Service, contact Broomwell HealthWatch on Tel: 0161 236 0141, or visit the website www.broomwellhealthwatch.com .