Authored by Jane McCredie, 30 July 2018 IN 2013, a 21-year-old Spanish physics student, Mario Rodríguez, died of leukaemia after refusing a second round of chemotherapy in favour of “natural” remedies recommended by his homeopath. In the wake of his son’s death, Mario’s grieving father, Julián Rodríguez, launched a legal action against the homeopath forRead more
By James Bullen, ABC, 29 Jun 2016 Doctors have called for the public to discuss end of life care with their loved ones after a study revealed one third of elderly patients with advanced or terminal illnesses receive unnecessary treatment in the last six months of their lives. The global analysis of 38 studies ofRead more
Jan. 2, 2016 Maggie Fox NBC News Researchers say they may have helped explain how sugar might fuel the growth of cancer, and say it boils down to one type of sugar in particular: fructose. Tests in mice show a possible mechanism for how it happens. The findings, published in the journal Cancer Research, supportRead more
For the Families of the Dying, Coaching as the Hours Wane By JANE GROSS Greg Torso’s death announced itself with a long exhale and then silence, as the breath literally left his body. His mother had been told to expect this, so she was not scared. Ms. Torso had worried that an undertaker would bargeRead more
Pet dogs often have a peaceful death that forestalls protracted suffering and pain. Why can’t we do the same for humans? Joseph Pierre is a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles and chief of the Hospital Psychiatry Division at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. He writes the PsychRead more
By Charlotte Hamlyn in Basel, Switzerland, and Briana Shepherd, updated 11 May 2018. David Goodall has fulfilled his final wish and taken his life through assisted suicide in a Swiss clinic, in a powerful statement in favour of voluntary euthanasia. The story of the 104-year-old Perth academic, who is one of the first AustraliansRead more
ABC Science, by Bianca Nogrady, 2 Mar 2016 Stress acts as a “fertiliser” for cancer, helping it to spread through the body’s lymphatic system, according to a study on mice. The research, led by Australian scientists, also showed that a well-known blood pressure drug may reduce the risk of the cancer spreading. In a paperRead more
ABC Radio Melbourne, by Nicole Mills, 19 Jun 2018. How do you tell a child their mother is dying? It’s a question Chris Martin had to confront when his late wife Renee was diagnosed with incurable kidney cancer. The couple decided not to use the term cancer to describe Renee’s illness in order to shieldRead more
By Rebecca Opie, ABC News, Jun 25, 2016 Exercise can help cancer patients overcome depression and anxiety, leading to benefits within six weeks, new research from a Western Australian university shows. Key points: Results more dramatic than researchers anticipated Positive effects felt within six weeks Just 2.5 hours moderate exercise per week enough to haveRead more
ABC Health & Wellbeing, 11th August, 2016 By Dr Ranjana Srivastava, with Ginger Gorman. When it comes to cancer, the media traditionally paints a picture of two extremes. It celebrates the outliers — like the person who defied death and went on to have long, successful life, or the unfortunate patient whose life andRead more
