Thanks to Dr. Suzanne Garland and her efforts to further the education of HPV.
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The Women’s in the News
Cervical cancer could be eliminated in Australia within 40 years, experts say
Multiple media: Further media coverage of the International Papillomavirus Society statement that the elimination of cervical cancer was in sight. Weekend Sunrise, Weekend Today (no mention), Weekend Today (no mention). BbC World.
Herald Sun, ABC Online, The Guardian, The Australian, Nine news online, ABC TV News, ABC Radio News, ABC RN with Fran Kelly, Ten News, Nine News, Seven News, SBS News, SBS online, 3AW, Courier Mail, NT News, AFP, Brisbane Times, Yahoo 7, MSN, Mamamia, New Daily, The Independent, SHEMagazine, NewstalkZB
AfR: http://www.afr.com/news/cervical-cancer-set-to-be-eliminated-in-australia-before-anywhere-else-in-world-20180304-h0wza0
In other news
New DIY alternative to pap smears will save lives and it’s easy as putting a tampon in, doctors say
ABC Online: A new do-it-yourself option for pap smears is being rolled out across the nation for women over 30 who are uncomfortable with the process and have either never been tested, or are two years overdue. “We’ve moved away from pap smears. We now have HPV testing,” said Deborah Bateson, the medical director at Family Planning NSW. The latest procedure is only required once every five years, down from the previous two. It can be done by your doctor, but self-collection is also available. Read more here
Eliminating cervical cancer globally is within reach if governments act
The Guardian Opinion: We have the unique opportunity to wipe out a cancer that kills 250,000 women worldwide each year, writes Ian Fraser, the co-inventor of the technology behind the HPV vaccines and research director of the Translational Research Institute in Brisbane. Read more here
Endometriosis research allocated $2.5 million in Government funding
ABC: The Government will allocate $2.5 million to endometriosis research, as part of the first-ever national plan to address the disease that affects one in 10 women. Read more here
Julia Gillard on the Project
The Project: Julia Gillard was Australia’s 27th PM and the first woman to hold the top job. But with her leadership mired in sexist attacks, has the ‘Me Too’ movement given her hope for change? Lisa Wilkinson sits down with the former PM. Watch here
3AW Rumour File: hospital vibrations
3AW Breakfast: Caller says a hospital has put the govt on notice for a compensation claim due to having send patients to other hospitals as vibrations from tunnel works impact machines; rumour is this will open the floodgates. Listen here
Public hospitals to cut private billing
The Australian: Public hospitals will be allowed to continue billing patients’ health insurers for treatment costs but the practice is likely to be restricted through political reforms and new rules imposed by insurers. Under a heads of agreement put forward by the federal government last month, and so far signed by NSW and Western Australia, governments are asked to note the long-diminished Medicare principle that only public patients treated free of charge are prioritised according to clinical need. Read more here
GP visits saving bucks
Herald Sun: Victorians visited their GP on almost 17 million occasions without paying a cent in the second half of last year as new figures revealed record high bulk billing rates. New Medicare data, to be released today, shows the bulk-billing rate increased to 85.8 per cent in the first half of the 2017-18 financial year. The July to December period figures are the highest rate on record and included more than 750,000 fully bulk billed GP services in Victoria than the previous year. More than 65.9 million bulk billed GP visits were provided to patients over this period. Read more here
Putting genetics on the menu
The Australian: Someday you may be able to take a blood test to determine the diet that will work best for you What if you could take a blood test to determine the best diet for you? Read more here
Understanding the mental health history of the homeless
ABC Health Report: To better service the health of populations of homeless people, it’s important to understand their demographic makeup and medical and mental health histories. That’s what a new study of inner Sydney homeless hostels has sought to do. Listen here
Could a tummy tuck fix urinary incontinence?
ABC Health Report: People usually get tummy tucks for cosmetic reasons — often to reduce a sagging belly after weight loss — but new research suggests it could help with urinary incontinence and back pain too. The prospective study found that an abdominoplasty, which includes the repair of muscles in the abdomen, led to self-reported improvements in incontinence and back pain symptoms. Listen here
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