INTERVIEWS

Overview:

• A special technique developed to keep breast cancer cells alive to assist in the advancement of research has been pioneered by Adelaide scientists.

• Public health experts Doctor Thomas Astell-Burt from the University of Western Sydney and Professor Glen Maberly at Blacktown and Mt Druitt Hospitals have begun mapping Australia’s so-called ‘food deserts’ and are finding the consequences for the people who live in them are extremely serious.

• The Heart of Australia program’s founder Dr Rolf Gomes, a Queensland cardiologist is asking the Federal Government to support a health service that has saved at least 50 lives in rural areas.

Guest: Professor John Boyages
Presenter: Wayne Bucklar
Guest Bio: Professor John Boyages is a cancer specialist with over 30 years experience in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. He leads the Advanced Lymphoedema Translational Research Program at Macquarie University which has already achieved world recognition. He has published more than 140 research and clinical articles. Since April of this year, he is now the Professor of Breast Oncology and Associate Dean (International and Engagement) at the new Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Macquarie University.

Segment overview: For our Health Academy Series today, we welcome Professor John Boyages – Director of the Lymphoedema Research, Education and Treatment Program of Macquarie University. He is here to impart his knowledge on the topic of Lymphoedema. Learn who is at risk of lymphoedema, how common it occurs, what women can do in order to reduce the risk as well as the latest update on treatment and research for this condition. Professor John Boyages is a radiation oncologist and author of the “Taking Control” series of books for patients: Breast Cancer Taking Control, DCIS of the Breast and Male Breast Cancer.

Overview:

• Health Protection NSW director Dr. Jeremy McAnulty urged the New South Wales public not to be concerned after a man was diagnosed with an extremely rare and fatal condition called “Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)” which caused by an abnormality in the brain and was not mad cow disease, which can be caught from eating infected meat.

• Adelaide University researchers have been working on breath analysis using an optical frequency comb A laser device as sensitive as a dog’s nose might be able to detect disease, including cancer, from a simple breath test in the future.

• Tasmanians are coming down with the flu at more than twice the five-year average, with 169 cases confirmed in 2015 up to early July according to new statistics released by Federal Health Minister Sussan Ley.

Overview:

• The Hobart District Nursing Service that had threatened to pull out of the Tasman Peninsula after a dispute over the use of local doctors, will continue operating there for at least another year.

• Significant levels of strong painkillers and anti-depressants have been found in tests conducted samples of marine water from 30 sites adjacent to stormwater outlets across the entire Sydney estuary.

• The world’s oldest living person Susannah Mushatt Jones, the daughter of sharecroppers and granddaughter of slaves, has celebrated her 116th birthday in New York.

Overview:

• The Philippines has confirmed its second case of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus. A 36-year-old foreigner who showed symptoms of the disease after arriving in Manila from Dubai was admitted to a government hospital and was under observation, Health Ministry spokesman Lyndon Lee-suy said.

• Drinking moderate levels of alcohol significantly increases a person’s risk of developing mouth and throat cancer, new data has revealed, prompting calls for people to limit themselves to two standard drinks per day according to researchers from Cancer Council and the University of Melbourne.

• Australian medicine wholesaler Symbion has urged parents to check any children’s medicine they have recently purchased, with concerns three products present a choking hazard sold under the brand names Pharmacy Choice and Chemmart.

Overview:

• There is no “silver bullet” to get rid of the drug ice from Australia, Ken Lay the head of the Prime Minister’s National Ice Taskforce has warned the public that it might not be possible.

• Five hikers, all blind or partially-sighted, crossed a mountain range in eastern France last week with the help of a GPS system that developers hope can help millions of people with vision problems.

• AMA President, Professor Brian Owler, said that the ongoing indexation freeze of Medicare patient rebates is placing further pressure on the viability of many medical practices, especially general practices, and forcing patients to pay higher out-of-pocket costs for their health care.

Guest: Michael Peachey
Presenter: Wayne Bucklar
Guest Bio: Michael completed a Bachelor of Physiotherapy at the University of South Australia in 2001. Since then he has worked in numerous private, public and not-for-profit clinical settings (including rehabilitation, outpatients, hospital, domiciliary care, and residential aged care). Michael has been a committee member of the APA Gerontology Group since 2011, an auditor for the Education Advisory Sub-Committee (EASC), and is a member of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) expert reference group for the aged care node. Michael completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2013, and is currently the CEO of W&L Aged Care Services, Australia’s largest mobile allied health care provider.

Segment overview: In today’s Health Supplier Segment, W&L Aged Care Services CEO Michael Peachey is here to talk about the various services that they offer. Wellness & Lifestyles Australia Services provides mobile health care services which include physiotherapy, podiatry, speech pathology, dietetics & occupational therapy as well as providing aged care education and ACFI consultancy. They offer a ‘one stop shop’ for allied health & nursing services for their clients and focus on providing a ‘work-life’ balance for their team. Their core business is aged-focused allied health & nursing services.