A calculated choice
Computers are better than doctors at processing the large amounts of information involved in personalising treatments. But which decision-making tools can be relied on, and how can they best be used to help inform shared [more]
2013
Easing the cancer journey
Having to travel long distances or stay away from home while being treated for cancer takes its toll in anxiety, stress and isolation. Could more be done to ensure policies that centralise services dont make [more]
Radiotherapy capacity across Europe: What it should be, and what it is
Winning the argument for expanding and upgrading radiotherapy facilities is not easy in the present economic climate. How many radiotherapy mach-ines are there in each country in Europe? It might seem an easy question to [more]
New paradigms to explain metastasis
Understanding what drives cancer cells to break loose, travel around the body and seed new tumours and how to inhibit this process will be key to developing effective new therapies Metastasis – the [more]
Refusing treatment
People take treatment decisions on the basis of their personal perspectives as much as the medical pros and cons. Doctors need to be able to deal with this. This article was first published in The [more]
Secobarbital in Seattle – why lose sleep?
The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance has added physician-assisted suicide to its host of services for patients within the final six months of life. According to a recent report published in the New England Journal of [more]
My World – Clodagh McHugh
Clodagh McHugh works as an oncology nurse specialist with patients at every stage of their disease and with all types of cancer. Based at a leading teaching hospital in Dublin, she lectures on oncology nursing [more]
The right place for the right patient… at the right cost
Urology surgeon Nicola Nicolai proposes key criteria for sustainable services that provide each patient with access to the level of specialist services that they need. Debates about the benefits and drawbacks of centralising the planning [more]
Semir Beslija: the sky’s the limit in Sarajevo
Semir Beslija’s tenacious efforts have built the Sarajevo Oncology Institute from zero’ at the end of the war, to the regional centre of excellence and trusted trials centre it is today. The taxi driver who [more]
Exploiting a nano-sized breach in cancer’s defences
It’s long been the stuff of science fiction, but could the prospect of nanotechnology systems that deliver atomic bombs’ direct to cancer cells soon become reality? It’s a compelling vision: tiny particles, primed with a [more]
Stigma: breaking the vicious cycle
Stigma breeds silence, which fuels the fear and ignorance that feeds the stigma. Breaking this vicious circle not only makes life easier for people with cancer, but can also change public attitudes towards prevention and [more]
Personalised cancer care: where do we stand today?
Since the concept of personalised cancer therapies first emerged, the picture has become so much more complex and challenging. “If it were not for the great variability between individuals, medicine might as well be a [more]