Michael Douglas blames his throat cancer on HPV virus
Hollywood actor Michael Douglas has said his throat cancer was caused by a sexually transmitted disease.
Hollywood actor Michael Douglas has said his throat cancer was caused by a sexually transmitted disease.
Actress and campaigner Angelina Jolie has revealed she has undergone a preventative double mastectomy to reduce her risk of breast cancer.
Knowing which genes are mutated in particular cancers could allow researchers to target those genes with specialised treatment.
The 89-year-old said his condition was "mild" and that the cancer is very treatable.
Here is some more information on the illness:
What is the lymphatic system?
The lymphatic system is one of the body's natural defences against infection and also acts as a one-way drainage system transporting fluid from body tissues into the blood circulation.
The system is made up of lymph nodes which are found mainly in the neck, armpits, groin and abdomen.
What is Lymphoma?
Lymphoma is a cancer which starts in cells, the lymph nodes, and other tissues of the lymphatic system.
There are two types of cancer which can start in the lymph nodes - Hodgkin lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
What are the differences between the two?
The main difference between the two is the presence of a specific type of abnormal cell called a Reed Sternberg cell in Hodgkin's lymphoma.
The distinction is important as the outcomes and treatment for each type can be very different.
For more information on the condition go to the Macmillan Cancer support website.
Wishing Murray Walker a speedy recovery! Lovely gentleman with a legendary voice and a unbelievable knowledge of our sport! #GetWellSoon
From @maxchilton on Twitter:Our thoughts and best wishes go out to the legendary Murray Walker. Get well soon from all @williamsf1team #murraywalker
From @WilliamsF1Team on Twitter:Get Well Murray Walker! How about you all RT this & I'll email him tonight to tell him how much support is out there? http://t.co/qJvTVn0Z3J
From @mrjakehumphrey on Twitter:Former BBC Formula One presenter Jake Humphrey has wished Murray Walker well after the commentator revealed he has been diagnosed with cancer.
Humphrey tweeted, "Get Well Murray Walker! How about you all RT [retweet] this and I'll email him tonight to tell him how much support is out there?"
Just 30 minutes later he wrote, "I just emailed Murray to tell him how over 5,000 of you RTed [retweeted] my message in under an hour. I'll keep you all posted .... #GetWellSoonMurray".
Former Formula One commentator Murray Walker has been diagnosed with cancer.
The 89 year old told the BBC that he had been diagnosed with a form of lymphatic system cancer, but said that the condition was treatable.
"They've caught it incredibly early. It's treatable, the doctors say my condition is mild and I'm very hopeful", Walker said.
Walker, who was diagnosed with the illness during tests after breaking his pelvis in a fall last month, will undergo chemotherapy over the next few months.
His distinctive commentating style became synonymous with motor racing as he covered the sport for more than half a century, before his retirement in 2001.
Women who live in poor areas are less likely to have their breasts screened for signs of cancer, health officials have warned.
Public Health England (PHE) said that there is a lower uptake of breast screening in more deprived regions of the country.
Researchers found that only 59% of women who live in deprived neighbourhoods attended their first screening appointment, compared to 73% of those living in more affluent areas.
"It's worrying that breast cancer screening uptake is different depending on the deprivation of the area women live in," said lead author Ruth Jack, an epidemiologist at PHE London.
In response to the controversy surrounding breast screening, the Department of Health commissioned an review into the risks and benefits in 2011:
– Professor Sir Michael Marmot, who led the independent reviewEvidence suggested it offers a 20% relative risk reduction in mortality to women who were invited to participate in a 20-year screening programme. This equates to the prevention of around 1,300 deaths from the disease every year in the UK.
But research, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, contests the findings:
– Lead researcher Toqir MukhtarClinical trials have indicated that several years have to elapse between the start of screening and the emergence of a reduction in mortality. Yet our data shows that there is no evidence of an effect of mammographic screening on breast cancer mortality at the population level over an observation period of almost 40 years.
– Baroness Delyth Morgan, Breast Cancer Campaign chief executiveWhile research into breast screening is welcomed, conflicting findings from different studies can be confusing for women.
The most in-depth study of breast screening to date remains the recent independent breast screening review, which comprehensively looked at all available evidence. It concluded that screening does save lives by helping to detect breast cancers earlier.
The quicker women are diagnosed the better their treatment options so we encourage all women to continue to attend screening when invited to do so.
Breast cancer screening programmes have yet to show a reduction in the number of women who die from the disease, a new study has found.
Oxford University’s Department of Public Health studied mortality statistics from the Oxford region before and after the introduction of the NHS Breast Screening Programme in 1988.
They concluded that population-based mortality statistics for England do not show a past benefit of breast cancer screening.
While mortality rates for breast cancer have significantly declined since the 1980s, some critics have said that breast cancer screening programmes do more harm than good.
– Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust director Robert Music.Recent reports point to an increase in women having new partners' later in life and this will increase their risk of contracting HPV.
However, even if this is not the case, typically cervical cancer is a slow growing cancer which usually takes 10 to 15 years to develop, so women who have not been sexually active for some time may still be at risk.
Visit www.jostrust.org.uk for more information about cervical cancer