Daily digest August 27 2015

Blood test predicts if breast cancer will return

A simple and inexpensive blood test that could transform breast cancer treatment has been developed by British scientists, Mail Online has reported.

Using four teaspoonfuls of blood, it can tell patients who have had breast cancer whether the disease will return, and it can detect cancer that has not been cured eight months before the patient feels a lump or a fresh tumour shows up on a scan.

It is hoped this extra time could be used to delay or even prevent the cancer’s return, with the chance for improving and saving lives.

Read more on the Mail Online website

Cards and flowers cost almost twice as much in hospital shops as on high street

Cards and flowers can be almost twice as expensive in hospital shops run by WH Smith and Marks & Spencer as in the retailers' nearest high street branches, the Daily Telegraph has reported.

Both companies admit they make mark-ups to account for higher rents and covering staff wages during longer opening hours.

But Labour MP Paula Sherriff, a former NHS manager, accused the retailers of taking advantage of a ‘captive’ clientele.

Read more on the Telegraph website

Laser detects brain tumour cells during surgery

Surgeons in London have used lasers to diagnose abnormal tissue during an operation to remove a brain tumour for the first time in Europe.

The non-invasive technique measures light reflected off tissue to determine whether it is cancerous or healthy.

The patient, Reuben Hill, 22, is making a good recovery after the operation at Charing Cross Hospital, the BBC has reported.

Until now the technique has only been tried in Montreal, Canada. It is hoped it could make this kind of delicate surgery faster and more accurate.

Read more on the BBC website

Labour has duty to resolve 'mess' of hospital PFI deals, says Jeremy Corbyn

Labour should take responsibility for resolving ‘the mess’ left behind by private finance initiative (PFI) deals used to fund the building of hospitals under the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown governments, Jeremy Corbyn MP has said.

In an article for the Guardian, the Labour leadership frontrunner said the NHS is now paying the price for New Labour having been ‘cowed by the press, and duped by the money men’ when it used private finance for building health projects.

‘Labour has a duty to remove the PFI burden from the NHS – this really was our mess, and we have to clear it up,’ Mr Corbyn said.

Read more on The Guardian website