Saturday July 8 2017 <\/p>\n
Kenyans mark World Cancer Day on February 4, 2016 in Eldoret town. Tiny errors in DNA code can lead to cancer and other illnesses. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP <\/p>\n
A revolution in the search for cancer treatments has been proposed by Englands chief medical officer. <\/p>\n
Prof Sally Davies wants gene-testing to be introduced on a routine basis. <\/p>\n
I want the National Health Service to be offering genomic medicine, that means diagnosis of our genes, to patients where they can possibly benefit, she said. <\/p>\n
GENETIC TESTS Testing, she said, should be standard across cancer care as well as some other areas of medicine, including rare diseases and infections. <\/p>\n
Doctors are already using genetic tests to identify and better treat different strains of the infectious disease, tuberculosis. <\/p>\n
Humans have about 20,000 genes, bits of DNA code or instructions that control how our bodies work. <\/p>\n
Tiny errors in this code can lead to cancer and other illnesses. <\/p>\n
Gene-screening can reveal these errors by comparing tumour and normal DNA samples from the patient. <\/p>\n
Professor Davies says in about two-thirds of cases, this information can improve their diagnosis and care. <\/p>\n
Doctors can tailor treatments to the individual, picking the drugs most likely to be effective. <\/p>\n
Currently, genetic testing in England is done at 25 regional laboratories, as well as some other small centres. <\/p>\n
Professor Davies wants to centralise the service and set up a national network to ensure equal access to the testing across the country. <\/p>\n
She said one hurdle could be doctors themselves, who dont like change. <\/p>\n
Patients should persuade them to move from a local to a national service. *** Joe Furness was in Newcastle upon Tyne when he was invited to a party in London. <\/p>\n
A three-hour, one-way train trip would cost him 78.50 (Sh10,517) and a plane flight 106, but Joe, aged 21, is a poor student and didnt have much money. <\/p>\n
What he did have however was time. So Joe decided to take a detour via Spain. <\/p>\n
CAR HIRE Flying from Newcastle to the Spanish island of Menorca cost him 16.00. <\/p>\n
There he hired a car for 7.50 and spent the night in it, while sipping a 4.50 cocktail. <\/p>\n
Next morning he flew to London for 11.00, joined the party, then grabbed a lift home with a pal afterwards. <\/p>\n
Total cost of 39 was a saving of 39.50 on a train journey from Newcastle and 67 on a flight. <\/p>\n
Distance travelled was 2,350 miles, against 290 miles from the North to London. *** Bradley Lowery is a six-year-old boy who won the hearts of the nation by campaigning for his beloved Sunderland Football Club and for its top scorer, Jermaine Defoe. <\/p>\n
TV film of Defoe holding a smiling Bradley in his arms before a recent game appeared on nationwide television. <\/p>\n
What everyone knows, of course, is that Bradley is dying from the childhood cancer neuroblastoma. <\/p>\n
A fund-raising campaign raised money for him and will be used for other sick children when Bradley dies. <\/p>\n
Now it seems fraudsters have been setting up pages on the internet claiming to be collecting for the boys cause. <\/p>\n
His family have warned against them. Please be vigilant, they said in a message on Facebook. <\/p>\n
You have to wonder, how low can some people stoop? <\/p>\n
*** Some 400 plastic bottles are sold per second in this country and millions end up, along with other garbage, in the worlds oceans. <\/p>\n
In fact, scientists calculate that by 2050, the oceans will contain more plastic by weight than fish. <\/p>\n
The opposition Labour party is pressing for the introduction of a money-back return scheme, which has been introduced in many other countries and has proved successful in reducing the scale of littering. <\/p>\n
You pay a bit extra for your drink but you get it back if you return the bottle, which the drinks company then recycles. <\/p>\n
Coca-Cola, among others, is backing the idea. *** Famous one-liners: <\/p>\n
Doctors recommend eight glasses of water per day. Why does this seem impossible when eight glasses of beer is so easy? Anonymous. <\/p>\n
If you want to know what God thinks of money, look at the people he gave it to. American writer Dorothy Parker. <\/p>\n
The two most beautiful words in the English language are Cheque enclosed. Dorothy Parker. <\/p>\n
PLAGIARISM I asked God for a bike but I know He doesnt work that way, so I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness. Internet. <\/p>\n
I wouldnt say I was the best football manager in the business, but I was in the top one. Brian Clough, British football manager. <\/p>\n
To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research. Anonymous <\/p>\n
England and America are two countries separated by a common language. Irish writer George Bernard Shaw. <\/p>\n
If I agreed with you, then we would both be wrong. Internet. <\/p>\n
Scene of crime officers camp at CS's Karen home and Bomas of Kenya. <\/p>\n
Interior CS woke up and complained of a sharp chest pain before collapsing in his house. <\/p>\n
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Original post:<\/p>\n
UK's chief medical officer calls for gene testing revolution in cancer treatment - Daily Nation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Saturday July 8 2017 Kenyans mark World Cancer Day on February 4, 2016 in Eldoret town. Tiny errors in DNA code can lead to cancer and other illnesses. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP A revolution in the search for cancer treatments has been proposed by Englands chief medical officer Continue reading