All about prostate cancer
A potentially killer disease - facts, figures and symptoms
Prostate cancer kills 1 man every hour in the UK - so don't be one of them - know the symptoms, and then report to your doctor!
One in twelve men in the UK will develop prostate cancer - but 60% of men don't know the symptoms of this potentially killer disease.
Symptoms of prostate cancer
One of the problems with prostate cancer is that in its early stages it often does not cause any obvious symptoms. When they do occur they may include any of the following:
- Needing to rush to the loo to wee.
- Passing urine more often, daytime and/or night-time
- Slow at getting the flow or urine started
- Weaker flow of urine
- Starting and stopping whilst passing urine
- Discomfort (pain or burning) whilst peeing
- Feeling of not having emptied the bladder fully
- Dribbling after you've finished peeing
- Blood in urine or semen
- Pain or stiffness in the back, hips or pelvis
Many of these symptoms can be due to just simple enlargement of the prostate, which occurs as men get older. This is not cancer and is called Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH) - 'benign' meaning non-cancerous, 'prostatic' meaning relating to the prostate, and 'hypertrophy' just means enlargement.
If you're a man over the age of 40 with any of the above symptoms, don't put it down to just getting older - tell your GP!
10 bizarre medical conditions
Imagine you were allergic to sex...
The human body is a complex machine in which the cogs sometimes break down, leading to unusual ailments and behaviours - so much so that they baffle both the patient and the doctor.
We've compiled a list of 10 very real, but unusual conditions below.
Fear of clowns
A clown
They can be riotously funny, mildly amusing, or just dull, but who would actually be afraid of a clown? Well, some people have what is called coulrophobia, or fear of clowns. Watching the grinning circus performers can lead to breathlessness, trembling, increased heartbeat, dizziness and a slew of other symptoms related to anxiety. As with many phobias, an early childhood experience may be behind the adult phobia. Contrary to popular opinion, many children don’t (whisper it) like clowns. A study carried out by the University of Sheffield concluded that clowns were “universally disliked by children,” and their images should not be used in decorating children's wards in hospitals. Speaking of clowns, actor Johnny Depp once said: "There always seemed to be a darkness lurking just under the surface, a potential for real evil. "I guess I am afraid of them because it's impossible — thanks to their painted-on smiles — to distinguish if they are happy or if they're about to bite your face off.''
Allergic to sex
Around 100 women in the UK have human seminal plasma hypersensitivity i.e. they are allergic to their partner’s semen, the fluid which carries sperm. This is because semen carries a number of proteins which can trigger an allergic reaction in susceptible women. Signs of a semen allergy usually include redness, burning and swelling soon after sex, wherever the semen has come into contact with the skin. This can be avoided by the man wearing a condom. However, if the couple want to start a family, sometimes the man’s sperm can be washed to rid it of semen, and the woman is impregnated artificially.
Constantly sea sick
Many people experience the feeling of still being at sea even after stepping off a boat. This usually lasts only a few minutes, but if you have Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS), the sensation can persist for days, weeks or even years. MdDS is more common in women than men and often occurs in people in their forties and fifties. The symptoms triggered after travelling on a boat or plane include the sensation of rocking, swaying, floating or tumbling. Strangely, the symptoms may disappear completely when the person is on the move, in a moving car or train. The cause of this debilitating condition is a mystery, and treatment usually involves advice on how to cope with the symptoms.
Pica
Most pregnant women experience food cravings during pregnancy, but some also crave substances other than food such as dirt, coal, chalk or paper - items without nutritional value. Although it’s often said that pica cravings are the body’s response to replenishing deficient vitamins and minerals, the reason for pica cravings is unknown. Some people have a craving to chew ice, which is often associated with iron deficient anaemia, though doing so has no nutritional value.
White coat syndrome
Unless it is managed, high blood pressure can be a real killer, which is why we are forever reminding you to visit you GP to get it measured. But for some people, the mere presence of a doctor can cause their blood pressure to rise, which is known as white coat syndrome. Around one in three people with mildly raised blood pressure will find it returns to a normal level once they leave the GPs surgery.
Foreign accent syndrome
This most unlikely condition occurs when, following a brain injury or trauma, the person starts speaking in what appears to be a foreign accent - in one instance, a woman from Newcastle with a Geordie accent started speaking with what sounded like a Jamaican accent. This is a very rare condition, with just 60 cases recorded in the last 70 years. Doctors believe it is caused when small areas of the brain linked with language, pitch and speech patters are damaged. As a consequence, the person suffering from the syndrome may draw out or clip vowels, which gives the impression they are speaking in a foreign accent. Indeed, recent evidence suggests that the foreign accent syndrome is a mechanical issue, as it is tied to the cerebellum, which controls motor function.
Stendhal syndrome
Have you ever been overwhelmed by the beauty of a work of art, and became giddy and confused, your heart racing? If you did, you might have experienced Stendhal syndrome, a condition that occurs in some individuals when they are exposed to art of overwhelming beauty, like Michelangelo's David. An early victim, after whom the condition is named, was the French novelist Stendhal, who suffered an attack when visiting the museums of the Tuscan capital. While there is debate in the medical community about whether the condition really exists, some sufferers actually require treatment in hospital.
Trimethylaminuria
This condition, also known as fish odour syndrome, is a metabolic disorder which causes the sufferer to give off a strong, often fishy odour. It is caused by the body's inability to break down a compound called trimethylamine, which then builds up and is released in sweat, urine and breath.
Those affected by this rare disorder carry no other physical symptoms and are otherwise healthy. It appears to be a heritable condition. While no treatment exists, those affected can reduce the fishy odour by avoiding certain foods such as eggs, legumes, fish, meats, or by taking antibiotics.
Dr Strangelove syndrome
Named after the cult comedy's sinister scientist, who is affected by this condition, it manifests itself when a person's hand appears to develop a mind of its own, performing even complex tasks of its own accord. For this reason it is also known as the alien hand syndrome. It is a consequence of an rare neurological disorder which occurs when the two hemispheres of the brain are separated surgically to relieve extreme epilepsy cases, though it can also occur after a stroke or brain surgery.
Those affected have sensation in their arm or leg, but are generally unaware of what the limb is doing, unless it does something that draws attention. While there is no treatment for this condition, the hand can be distracted by giving it something to hold.
Delusional parasitosis
Do you ever get those tingling pins and needles in your limbs? Well, some who experience a variation of this sensation become convinced that bugs or insects are crawling under their skin, though no such thing is happening. This is a delusional condition which sometimes leads those who suffer from it to injure themselves in an attempt to remove the bugs. Those affected use the sensation - also known as formication - to confirm the belief that bugs are crawling under their skin.
This condition is a form of psychosis, and while those who suffer from it generally deny they are delusional, anti-psychotic medication may be effective in treating the condition.
Sleeping well 'helps weight loss'
Dieters can improve their chances of losing weight by ensuring they get a good night's sleep, according to the findings of new research.
Sleeping well 'helps weight loss'
An adequate night's sleep not only increases fat loss for a dieter but can help control feelings of hunger, a study has shown. The University of Chicago research, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, studied 10 people aged 35 to 49 years old ranging from overweight to obese who were placed on a calorie-restricted diet. The volunteers underwent a fortnight where they spent eight and a half hours in bed a night getting an average of seven hours and twenty five minutes of sleep. They also underwent a fortnight where they were given five and a half hours in bed, with an average of five hours and 14 minutes sleep a night. The study found that the dieters lost the same amount, 6.6lb, or around 3kg, during each 14-day session, if they had a full night's sleep or less. But when they got adequate sleep, more than half of the weight they lost was fat compared with only a quarter when they cut back on sleep. Getting adequate sleep also helped control the dieters' hunger, the study showed.
Average levels of ghrelin, a hormone that triggers hunger and reduces energy expenditure, did not change when dieters spent eight and a half hours in bed. When they spent five and a half hours in bed, ghrelin levels in the dieters rose over the two weeks. The volunteers followed a balanced diet with calories restricted to 90% of what each person needed to maintain his or her weight without exercise. The number of calories they consumed over both fortnights, about 1,450 per day, was kept the same and the volunteers spent their waking hours engaged in home or office-like work or leisure activities. Plamen Penev, study director and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, said: "If your goal is to lose fat, skipping sleep is like poking sticks in your bicycle wheels. Cutting back on sleep, a behaviour that is ubiquitous in modern society, appears to compromise efforts to lose fat through dieting. In our study it reduced fat loss by 55%."
Diaspora are upbeat with new laws
As history is made with the passage of the new constitution, some of the key beneficiaries will be Kenyans living abroad. Kenyans in the Diaspora are not only celebrating the passage of the new constitution for the country, but also the inclusion of dual citizenship and voting rights. This is exciting for Kenyans abroad because it empowers them with the right to participate in a General Election. Dual citizenship and voting rights was proposed and championed by a group of Kenyans in the Diaspora.
The Kenyan Community Abroad (KCA), an organisation based in Washington, DC, has branches in different countries worldwide. It debated on the issue on their online forum for several days before sending two representatives to Bomas, where a constitution review hosted by the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC) was going on.
John Maina, a KCA representative, flew from Washington, DC, armed with more than 3,000 signatures from Kenyans in the Diaspora petitioning their cause. Gichane Muraguri, who was at home, joined him at Bomas. The two presented their proposal and testimony before the Technical Bill of Rights and Citizenship committee headed by Runyenjes MP Cecily Mbarire. Recounting the experience, Mr Maina told The Standard in Boston Massachusetts: "The first day I was booed by hecklers who were not patient to hear my proposal. The second day I finished my testimony and answered a few questions to enlighten delegates and the media. On the third day, we visited CRCK Chairperson Yash Pal Ghai’s office at Bomas, and his secretary Patrick Lumumba. After discussions, they encouraged us to continue with our testimony." As that was going on, some KCA members abroad bought two pages in The Standard and Nation newspapers and outlined what the Bill entailed and its advantages. This civic education campaign helped inform the masses about dual citizenship, but made this issue become a common discussion topic in households and pubs.
On the fifth day, the Delegates of the Technical Committee on Bills of Rights and Citizenship took a vote, passed, and infused dual-citizenship and voting rights into the Bomas Constitution Review.
4,100 Students Prove ‘Small Is Better’ Rule Wrong
BROCKTON, Mass. — A decade ago, Brockton High School was a case study in failure. Teachers and administrators often voiced the unofficial school motto in hallway chitchat: students have a right to fail if they want. And many of them did — only a quarter of the students passed statewide exams. One in three dropped out.
Then Susan Szachowicz and a handful of fellow teachers decided to take action. They persuaded administrators to let them organize a schoolwide campaign that involved reading and writing lessons into every class in all subjects, including gym.
Their efforts paid off quickly. In 2001 testing, more students passed the state tests after failing the year before than at any other school in Massachusetts. The gains continued. This year and last, Brockton outperformed 90 percent of Massachusetts high schools. And its turnaround is getting new attention in a report, “How High Schools Become Exemplary,” published last month by Ronald F. Ferguson, an economist at Harvard who researches the minority achievement gap.
What makes Brockton High’s story surprising is that, with 4,100 students, it is an exception to what has become received wisdom in many educational circles — that small is almost always better.
That is why the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the last decade breaking down big schools into small academies (it has since switched strategies, focusing more on instruction).
The small-is-better orthodoxy remains powerful. A new movie, “Waiting for Superman,” for example, portrays five charter schools in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere — most with only a few hundred students — as the way forward for American schooling.
Brockton, by contrast, is the largest public school in Massachusetts, and one of the largest in the nation.
At education conferences, Dr. Szachowicz — who became Brockton’s principal in 2004 — still gets approached by small-school advocates who tell her they are skeptical that a 4,100-student school could offer a decent education.
“I tell them we’re a big school that works,“ said Dr. Szachowicz, whose booming voice makes her seem taller than 5-foot-6 as she walks the hallways, greeting students, walkie-talkie in hand.
She and other teachers took action in part because academic catastrophe seemed to be looming, Dr. Szachowicz and several of her colleagues said in interviews here. Massachusetts had instituted a new high school exit exam in 1993, and passing it would be required to graduate a decade later. Unless the school’s culture improved, some 750 seniors would be denied a diploma each year, starting in 2003.
Dr. Szachowicz and Paul Laurino, then the head of the English department — he has since retired — began meeting on Saturdays with any colleagues they could pull together to brainstorm strategies for improving the school.
Shame was an early motivator, especially after the release of the 1999 test scores.
“They were horrible,” Dr. Szachowicz recalled. She painted them in bold letters on poster paper in the group’s Saturday meeting room.
“Is this the best we can be?” she wrote underneath.
The group eventually became known as the school restructuring committee, and the administration did not stand in the way. The principal “just let it happen,” the Harvard report says.
The committee’s first big step was to go back to basics, and deem that reading, writing, speaking and reasoning were the most important skills to teach. They set out to recruit every educator in the building — not just English, but math, science, even guidance counselors — to teach those skills to students.
The committee put together a rubric to help teachers understand what good writing looks like, and began devoting faculty meetings to teaching department heads how to use it. The school’s 300 teachers were then trained in small groups.
Writing exercises took many forms, but encouraged students to think methodically. A science teacher, for example, had her students write out, step by step, how to make a sandwich, starting with opening the cupboard to fetch the peanut butter, through washing the knife once the sandwich was made. Other writing exercises, of course, were much more sophisticated.
Some teachers dragged their feet. Michael Thomas, now the district’s operations director but who led the school’s physical education department at the time, recalled that several of his teachers told him, “This is gym; we shouldn’t have to teach writing.” Mr. Thomas said he replied, “If you want to work at Brockton High, it’s your job.”
Fear held some teachers back — fear of wasting time on what could be just another faddish reform, fear of a heavier workload — and committee members tried to help them surmount it.
“Let me help you,” was a response committee members said they often offered to reluctant colleagues who argued that some requests were too difficult. More....
Pope Benedict Makes His First UK State Visit
Pope Benedictus XVI, left, and the Cathedral of St. Peter (San Pietro) which is the largest and most famous Roman Catholic church in the world, right.
Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Scotland today to begin his four-day tour of Britain hoping to improve strained links between Catholics and Anglicans but facing anger from victims of paedophile priests.
It is the first state visit by a Pontiff to Britain since Pope John Paul II made a pastoral visit in 1982.
But it has been overshadowed by the withdrawal of Cardinal Walter Kasper, a key member of the entourage, just days after he labelled Britain a 'Third World country' - as well as the ongoing child abuse scandal. Pope Benedict will receive a state welcome from the Queen in Holyroodhouse Palace in the Scottish capital before travelling by Popemobile to the official residence of Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh. The Pope will travel to Glasgow later to day where he is scheduled to preside over a giant open air Mass at Bellahouston Park.
Thousands of people are expected to line the routes in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the Pope during his four-day trip to Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Birmingham starting. The Pope is scheduled to celebrate Masses, host a prayer vigil and beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman, the 19th century convert to Roman Catholicism in an open-air Mass in Cofton Park, Birmingham. His visit will include trips by "Popemobile" - in Edinburgh, London and Birmingham - which are expected to attract thousands of onlookers.The Pontiff will fly to London to spend two days in the capital where he will meet schoolchildren and representatives of different faiths at St Mary's University College, Twickenham.
He will meet Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams at Lambeth Palace before travelling by Popemobile to deliver an address at Westminster Hall attended by an audience including all four living former prime ministers.
The Pope will also participate in a service of evening prayer at Westminster Abbey and celebrate a Mass at Westminster Cathedral, the mother church of Catholics in England and Wales. The Pope's stay in London will include meetings with Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and the acting leader of the Opposition Harriet Harman. He will visit a residential home for older people in Vauxhall, south London, before travelling by Popemobile to a prayer vigil in Hyde Park, London, currently estimated to be attended by 80,000 people.
The culmination of the visit will be at Cofton Park, Birmingham, on Sunday when the Pope will beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman, bringing him a step closer to becoming England's first non-martyred saint since before the Reformation.
Police say they are ready for the challenge of getting up to 85 thousand people to and from Bellahouston Park safely and on time. Extra officers will be on hand to help people as they make their way to celebrate mass with Pope Benedict the 16th. Chief Superintendent Ellie Bird says they're trying to make sure things run smoothly for everyone. Road closures are already starting to take place ahead of the event on bellahouston park.
Organisers are getting ready to turn part of the M77 into a carpark and preparing the diversion route.
Executive Director of Land Services at the City Council, Robert Booth, says it's a chance to show how well Glasgow can cope with major events. Meanwhile, the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland says he accepts there will be protests against the Pope's visit to the UK. Cardinal Keith O'Brien says he understands people's anger at the church.
Israel retaliates after Gaza mortar attack
Israeli aircraft struck two sites in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for rocket and mortar fire from the territory on southern Israel, the military said.
Palestinian civilian defense officers survey a Hamas security site following Israeli air raid in Gaza City on Sept. 9, 2010
Security officials with the ruling militant Hamas movement and Palestinian residents reported that four sites were hit. Hamas officials reported five people were wounded in an attack on a training base for security forces of Gaza's militant ruling Hamas movement. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known. The military said aircraft also struck southern Gaza, where Palestinians operate underground tunnels to smuggle weapons and other contraband from Egypt.
An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the air raids on Gaza City and Rafah, saying that the "operations came in response to a mortar shell firing following rocket attacks against Israel."
In the 48 hours preceding the strikes, three rockets and mortars fired from Gaza landed in Israel, the military said. No injuries were reported in those attacks. Rocket and mortar fire from Gaza were a near-daily event for years before Israel launched a bruising war in Gaza in the winter of 2008. Attacks and border clashes continue, but on a much-reduced scale.
Protesters Shot Dead In Koran Burning Row
Three protesters demonstrating against plans by a US pastor to burn copies of the Koran have been shot dead outside a Nato base in Afghanistan, an official has said.
US Pastor Terry Jones (left) had threatened to burn copies of the Koran (right) on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks
The death came amid confusion over whether Terry Jones would go ahead with his controversial plan tomorrow to mark the anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks. A government pokesman in the Afghan province of Badakhshan said a crowd of protesters had hurled rocks at a Nato base run by German troops. The spokesman, Amin Sohail, said troops opened fire and killed one protester.
It was later reported that a total of three protesters had been killed. Mr Jones had agreed to call off the book-burning following alleged promises that a proposed mosque in the American city would be moved away from the site of the 2001 terror attacks. But later, outside his Florida church, Mr Jones claimed he was "lied to" after Imam Muhammad Musri and the leader of the New York mosque said there was no such deal. Mr Musri, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, said there was only an agreement for him and Mr Jones to travel to New York to meet the imam overseeing plans to build the mosque. "I told the pastor that I personally believe the mosque should not be there, and I will do everything in my power to make sure it is moved," Mr Musri said. "But there is not any offer from there (New York) that it will be moved. All we have agreed to is a meeting, and I think we would all like to see a peaceful resolution." In response, Mr Jones, leader of the 50-member Dove World Outreach Centre, in Gainesville, said he was now putting the protest on hold instead of cancelling it. "Given what we are now hearing, we are forced to rethink our decision. So as of right now, we are not cancelling the event, but we are suspending it," he said.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague was among those who condemned Mr Jones, describing his plan as "selfish and provocative in the extreme".
The White House, the Vatican, the commander of international forces in Afghanistan General David Petraeus and former UK prime minister Tony Blair all urged the pastor to call off his protest. Until Thursday night, Mr Jones said he was going ahead with the stunt despite receiving more than 100 death threats. In a statement, Mr Hague said: "The burning of the Koran would be offensive not just to Muslims but to all supporters of religious freedom and tolerance worldwide. "Eid is a time of celebration, charitable giving and family gathering. "To seek to mar it in this calculated way would be selfish and provocative in the extreme."
US President Barack Obama said the pastor's plans were a "recruitment bonanza for al Qaeda".
In an interview with ABC television, Mr Obama said the book-burning was "completely contrary to our values as Americans. This country has been built on the notion of freedom and religious tolerance". More..
Boy And His Broom An Inspiration To Invention
A "Double Broom" created by a five-year-old boy is one of the most ingenious inventions of the last decade, according to the British Library.
Boy And His Broom Boy and his broom An Inspiration To Invention to inention
Sam Houghton came up with the idea at the age of three while watching his father struggling to sweep up garden leaves. Inspired by his heroes Wallace & Gromit, he decided to tie two brooms together using a rubber band, creating what he called the "Improved Broom". Sam has since been granted an official patent for his creation. The Double Broom is designed to collect large debris and fine dust simultaneously. Experts have now termed the product one of the "most inspiring" inventions of the last 10 years. It forms part of an exhibition called Inventing the 21st Century which opens Monday at The British Library.
Steve Van Dulken, British Library's patent expert, said: "Sam is an inspiration to all of us so I was adamant throughout the selection of inventions that we include him and his broom.
"We need to encourage more children to get excited about inventing, and provide more emphasis on engineering and invention in our schools." Other inventions which will be featured at the exhibition are Dyson's Bladeless Fan, the Road Refresher Dog Bowl and the All Terrain Trendy Trekinetic Wheelchair.
15-year-old maths genius to become youngest Cambridge undergraduate
Celebrations: 15-year-old Arran Fernandez is off to Cambridge
Arran Fernandez, who recently sailed through his A-levels, said he was not fazed by the step up and was ‘excited about starting the course and advancing my knowledge of maths’.Although the Surrey teenager is too young to join in some of the more traditional student pastimes, he said: ‘Even if I was 18, I wouldn’t want to go out drinking.’ Read on..
Mayor of London's, Sunday 5th, Sky Ride attracts the stars
Model and actor Kelly Brook, track superstar Sir Chris Hoy, Team Sky's Edvald Boasson Hagen, BMX world champion Shanaze Reade and Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Romero are just some of the star riders turning up for Sunday's Mayor of London's Sky Ride.
Tens of thousands of cyclists are expected to join Mayor of London Boris Johnson in the free ride around the capital on Sunday, September 5. Boasson Hagen joins Sky team-mates Serge Pauwels, CJ Sutton, Morris Possoni and Davide Vigano on the ride. This year's route has been extended to incorporate 15km of traffic-free roads, passing many of London's iconic landmarks, including the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and St Paul's Cathedral.
In addition to the ride, there is a full programme of entertainment centred in St James Park, including live music, cycling display, test track and much more.
To take part, riders must pre-register via the event's official website.
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