medical

U.K's 40,000 BRAIN TUMOUR PATIENTS 'MISSING' FROM OFFICIAL STATISTICS EACH YEAR

By Lorraine Connolly, Community Newswire

HEALTH Tumour, 18 Mar 2009 - 11:28

A national charity has today released figures that show more than 40,000 people affected by brain tumours are missing from the UK's official statistics each year.

Brain Tumour UK forecasts that the brain will become "the primary battleground against cancer" in the future, as the treatment of other cancers advances.

In a new report, Register My Tumour, Recognise Me, published to mark Brain Tumour Awareness Month, the charity has warned that thousands of patients each year receive inadequate care because no budget or infrastructure exists to meet their needs, particularly at local level. Furthermore, research into brain tumours is woefully underfunded because they are perceived to be "rare".

Brain Tumour UK is calling on the governments and health services across the UK to ensure that all brain tumours are recorded in the official statistics by the end of 2009, so that effective care can be planned and delivered.

Jenny Baker OBE, Brain Tumour UK chief executive, said: "Brain tumours, by virtue of their dangerous location, can impact on every characteristic that defines us as human beings.

"It is scandalous that thousands of people, many of them suffering very substantial cognitive and physical impairments as a result of their tumour, are largely overlooked because health services have not recognised their existence and complex needs."

The report - supported by experts from around the UK - estimates that 48,000 people develop a primary or secondary brain tumour in the UK every year.

Dr David Levy, consultant oncologist at Weston Park Hospital, Sheffield, said: "There are probably around 1,500 patients with high grade brain tumours missing from the official statistics as well as thousands of patients with lower grade and benign tumours.

"Brain Tumour UK rightly makes the point that unless we record this 'lost' group of patients, we cannot ensure that they benefit from the minimum standards of care they should expect."

Although 8,000 primary brain tumour cases are recorded in the official Cancer Registry, studies have shown that half of all primary brain tumours are missing from the registry. Consequently, another 8,000 tumours are not recorded. Some are malignant, while others that are low grade or benign can nevertheless be as deadly as cancer.

Most surprising of all, secondary brain cancer is not recorded, even though for many cancer patients brain cancer may be the actual cause of death. Brain Tumour UK believes that around 32,000 people affected by secondary brain tumours are not properly recorded in the official statistics each year.

Secondary cancer in the brain is becoming increasingly common as advances are made in treating other primary cancers.

Ms Baker added: "In future, the brain is likely to be the primary battle ground against cancer... It is essential that our health services monitor this growing danger and prepare to fight it."

This article highlights the potential loss of mobile phone incidents re. these tumours as warned by scientists.JB,editor

Aspartame is in Diet Coke
  Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD), which researchers believe is heavily associated with aspartame consumption, is a leading cause of death which, according to the CDC, for example, killed 460,000 Americans in 1999 and the numbers keep rising

But, aspartame is not under criticism. Interesting as a footnote on Aspartame, G.D. Searle, the Chicago drugs company that held the patent on Aspartame was in danger of losing its license from the US Government Food & Drug Administration in the 1980’s until Donald Rumsfeld, out of Government, was named President of Searle.
 
Rumsfeld used his contacts in Washington to get the FDA to approve Aspartame despite known tests showing serious health effects on rats.
This sweetener is marketed under a number of trademark names, including Equal, NutraSweet, and Canderel, and is an ingredient of approximately 6,000 consumer foods and beverages sold worldwide. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number (additive code) E951. Aspartame is also one of the sugar substitutes used by people with diabetes.In the UK, foods that contain aspartame must list the chemical among the product's ingredients and carry the warning "Contains a source of phenylalanine" – this is usually at the foot of the list of ingredients.

State-Specific Mortality from Sudden Cardiac Death --- United States, 1999
(www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5106a3.htm)

Each year in the United States, 400,000--460,000 persons die of unexpected sudden cardiac death (SCD) in an emergency department (ED) or before reaching a hospital (1). Based on the latest U.S. mortality data, this report summarizes and analyzes 1999 national and state-specific SCD data. Reducing the proportion of out-of-hospital* SCDs would decrease the overall incidence of premature death in the United States. Heart attacks are the major cause of SCD; approximately 70% of SCDs are caused by coronary heart disease. National efforts are needed to increase public awareness of heart attack symptoms and signs and to reduce delay time to treatment.

National and state mortality statistics for this report were based on data from death certificates filed in state vital statistics offices and were compiled by CDC (2). Demographic data (e.g., age and race/ethnicity) listed on death certificates were reported by funeral directors usually from information provided by the family of the decedent. Causes of death on death certificates were reported by a physician, medical examiner, or coroner. Cardiac disease death was defined as one for which the underlying cause of death was classified and coded using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), Tenth Revision, for diseases of the heart (codes I00-I09, I11, I13, and I20-I51) or congenital malformations of the heart (Q20-Q24^†). SCD was defined for this report as a death from cardiac disease that occurred out-of-hospital or in an ED or one in which the decedent was reported to be "dead on arrival" at a hospital. Populations at risk were defined on the basis of U.S. census bureau estimates of resident populations; age-adjusted death rates were standardized by the direct method to the 2000 projected U.S. population (3). ..................................................................................

.....................................The age-adjusted SCD rate was 47.0% higher among men than women (206.5 and 140.7 per 100,000 population, respectively). Blacks had the highest age-adjusted rates (253.6 in men and 175.3 in women) followed by whites (204.5 in men and 138.4 in women), American Indians/Alaska Natives (132.7 in men and 76.6 in women), and Asians/Pacific Islanders (111.5 in men and 66.5 in women). Non-Hispanics (217.8 in men and 147.3 in women) had higher age-adjusted SCD rates than Hispanics (118.5 in men and 147.3 in women).

Despite advances in the prevention and treatment of heart disease and improvements in emergency transport, the proportion of cardiac deaths classified as "sudden" remains high, probably because of the unexpected nature of SCD and the failure to recognize early warning symptoms and signs of heart disease. The age-adjusted SCD rates and the state-specific variation in the proportion of SCDs suggest a need for increased public awareness of heart attack symptoms and signs. The finding that cardiac deaths out-of-hospital were more likely to occur among women than men is consistent with findings that women more often delay seeking help for heart attack symptoms (4). Early recognition of heart symptoms and signs leads to earlier artery opening treatment or defibrillation that results in less heart damage and deaths. Education and media efforts should inform the public about heart disease symptoms and signs, particularly women and young adults who might dismiss heart disease as a problem of men and the elderly (5). Health-care providers should be alert for atypical symptoms of heart disease among female and young adult patients (6).

The findings in this report are subject to at least three limitations. First, the cause of death information reported on the death certificate by the certifier is not always validated by a medical record or autopsy verification. The reliability and accuracy of the underlying cause of death also depend on the information reported by the certifier and on the state and national nosologists who determine the codes and the underlying causes. Second, because time of onset of disease symptoms and time of death are not available for analysis, the suddenness of death is determined arbitrarily and needs to be validated on the basis of clinical criteria on time frames. Third, data are subject to misclassification of race/ethnicity on death certificates, which might result in underestimating the number of deaths among American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics and overestimating the number of deaths among blacks and whites (7).

The proportion of SCDs that occur out-of-hospital has increased since 1989 (1). Death and disability from a heart attack can be reduced if persons having a heart attack can immediately recognize its symptoms (8) and call 9-1-1 for emergency care. These symptoms are chest discomfort or pain; pain or discomfort in one or both arms or in the back, neck, jaw, or stomach; and shortness of breath. Other symptoms are breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, and light headedness (9). Prevention of the first cardiac event through risk factor reduction (e.g., tobacco control, weight management, physical activity, and control of high blood pressure and cholesterol intake) should continue to be the focus of public health efforts to reduce the number of deaths from heart disease. Education and systems support to promote physician adherence to clinical practice guidelines and more timely access to emergency cardiac care also are important to the prevention and early treatment of a heart attack. Prehospital emergency medical service systems can assist in reducing SCD rates by dispatching appropriately trained and properly equipped response personnel as rapidly as possible in the event of cardiac emergencies. However, national efforts are needed to increase the proportion of the public that can recognize and respond to symptoms and can intervene when someone is having a heart attack, including calling 9-1-1, attempting cardiac resuscitation, and using automated external defibrillators until emergency personnel arrive.

Reported by: ZJ Zheng, MD, JB Croft, PhD, WH Giles, MD, CI Ayala, PhD, KJ Greenlund, PhD, NL Keenan, PhD, L Neff, PhD, WA Wattigney, M.Stat, GA Mensah, MD, Div of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC.  
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5106a3.htm