Category: Uncategorized

Cascade testing: testing family members after a cancer-related gene mutation is identified in a relative. Done well, it catches at-risk individuals before cancer develops, enabling earlier surveillance and better outcomes.

Studies suggest the problem isn’t that patients won’t share results, it’s that sharing doesn’t reliably lead to relatives testing.

Studies found that genetic counsellor involvement improved outcomes, whether measured by patient communication or actual testing.

Takeaway: Across both studies, cascade testing fails less because people don’t want to test, and more because the system doesn’t support the “last mile,” turning a patient’s willingness to share results into a relative’s completed test. Closing that gap, especially for underserved populations, will likely require more structured clinician involvement and better tools for ongoing family communication.

https://www.cgaigc.com/post/hereditary-cancer-awareness-week-2026-what-we-re-learning-about-cascade-testing

I kept thinking about how many people are diagnosed with cancer every single day, and how many of them are sitting there wondering:
“Who do I talk to?”
“Who understands what I’m going through?”
“Where are the people who just get it?”

That’s why I created Someone Like Me: a cancer community that connects people who understand because they’ve been there too. Whether you’re newly diagnosed, living with cancer, in remission, supporting someone you love.

And it’s free for patients and families. Because support and connection shouldn’t depend on what you can afford.

https://lnkd.in/p/datURMfA

Approximately 5%–10% of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases are due to known Mendelian syndromes genetic conditions caused by a mutation in a single gene that follow predictable patterns of inheritance

This study aimed to report the diagnostic yield of constitutional genetic testing, alongside clinicopathological factors for hereditary CRC, within a specialised National Bowel Hospital, and outside traditional genetics referral pathways.

Conclusion

Genetic testing performed by our specialist unit provides patients with a high-yield, and effective genetic diagnosis, directly indicating comprehensive lifelong care, outside the context of a traditional genetics service.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/codi.70640

Lack of initiation becomes interpreted as lack of attraction.

Avoidance becomes interpreted as emotional withdrawal.

Difficulty communicating becomes interpreted as indifference.

Meanwhile, both people are likely carrying experiences they deeply wish the other person understood.

Many people notice changes in intimacy, communication, or how they feel in their body after treatment.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cancer-intimacy-may-2026-why-fails-couples-when-language-rumore-xqmkc/?trackingId=W0B7UNZySLqHdZaojs6I0w%3D%3D

Being told you are cancer free doesn’t mean the consequences of treatment disappear.

The fatigue, digestive issues, pain, anxiety and the daily adjustments nobody sees, the world moves on, and you’re expected to be happy because you’re still here, but what happens when the treatment ends, and the real work of living with its consequences begins?

What does good cancer care look like after treatment? or more importantly my question is – Why does our healthcare system measure the success of cancer treatment by survival, but so rarely measure the social, physical and emotional consequences of living beyond cancer?

https://lnkd.in/p/eBd-eHF7

There are many forms of patient participation (also referred to as patient engagement, patient involvement, patient partnership, PPI, PPEI) and each method can bring something valuable. But these methods are not all the same, and we have to look carefully what a specific PPI setup actually can and cannot provide.

That question (what type of ‘patient input’ a specific PPI set up provides) should be answered not just by the research team organising the ‘patient input’, but also by the patients who are involved (and maybe even by patients who were NOT involved!). Their answers are likely to differ.

The bar for calling something ‘patient participation’ can be remarkably low.

If every form of consultation is labelled ‘patient participation’, the term stretches until it covers everything and distinguishes nothing.

As part of defensive practice, many doctors intervene with surgery or medications – that way they can say that they tried their best.

Surgeries and medicines with limited potential benefit add significantly to the cost of healthcare.

It’s a sad reality of clinical practice where time spent with a patient is a KPI, that it is quicker and easier to prescribe a medicine or book a patient for surgery.

Are many surgical interventions are little better than placebo?

https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2026/09/23/many-surgical-interventions-are-little-better-than-placebo

Uterine cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer in many high-income countries. In lower-income countries, cervical cancer continues to carry the greatest gynecologic cancer burden—and the global community is working toward changing that.

But wherever you live, one message matters: unexpected or abnormal bleeding needs a proper medical work-up.

Bleeding after menopause is never normal. Before menopause, bleeding that is unusually heavy, prolonged, between periods, or otherwise different from what is normal for you should be discussed with a healthcare professional.

Don’t simply “wait and see.” Don’t assume it’s just menopause, hormones, or your period. Get it checked.

There is no routine screening test for uterine cancer, so recognizing symptoms and seeking appropriate evaluation matters.

The DETECT study – as it is known – was designed to assess whether these simple, non-invasive tests could accurately identify women at risk while safely reassuring others.

Postmenopausal bleeding currently triggers urgent investigations for possible cancer, often involving a series of uncomfortable, invasive and costly tests, despite only 5 – 10% of these women receiving a cancer diagnosis. 
 
🏥 The study of more than 1,800 women attending Greater Manchester hospitals with postmenopausal bleeding showed that the test, which checks vaginal fluid and urine samples, detected womb cancer with high accuracy.

The findings suggest the approach could become a valuable triage tool, helping clinicians decide which women need urgent invasive investigations while providing reassurance for many others.

Simple test could take the pain out of womb cancer check