EIGHT in ten women in the UK aren’t checking their breasts regularly and a third admit they never check themselves for signs of breast cancer, research by Estée Lauder found in 2022.

This is shocking as two-thirds of cases are detected in this way.

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I’m in my third year as an ambassador for its breast cancer campaign and we have been focusing on the groups that are least likely to check – including South Asian women, women under 40 and Black women.

Attending mammograms, women are invited between the ages of 50 and 71, is another way to spot breast cancer early. You can ask for mammograms after 71.

Aside from a lump in the breast, chest, collarbone or armpit, other signs to look and feel for are: changes to the skin or nipple, a rash, crusting or discharge around the nipple, or changes in size, shape or colour of the breasts.

See your GP for any changes so they can rule out cancer, or detect it as soon as possible.

Here is a selection of what readers have asked this week. . .   

SON’S REAR CONDITION

Q) CAN you please tell me anything about desmin myopathy?

My 51-year-old son has this condition but we are not being told anything about it and I am worried. It is awful to see him suffer in this way.

A) Desmin is a protein that helps maintain the structure and strength of muscles.

Think of it as scaffolding that helps hold muscle fibres together, keeping them aligned and all working properly.

Desmin myopathy (also known as myofibrillar myopathy) is a rare genetic condition that causes muscle weakness, typically in the legs first.

It can slowly spread to the body, neck, face, respiratory muscles and sometimes the heart muscle, causing cardiomyopathy.

The severity and progression of symptoms can vary greatly between individuals.

While this can be a genetic disease, it is not always inherited.

Sometimes the genetic mutation is sporadic, meaning it can arise in people without a family history of the disease.

It is very difficult to watch a loved one suffer, especially with a rare condition that isn’t well understood – the first case of desmin myopathy wasn’t identified until the late Nineties.

Does he have someone to attend hospital appointments with, and share the worry with?

Sometimes when we receive a diagnosis we try to shield our loved ones from information that might upset them. Letting your son know that you want to know everything so that you can help support him may help get some honest conversations started.

Think of ways in which you can offer support in the meantime – cooking meals, supporting childcare, shopping or housework if that is relevant.

I strongly recommend asking your son to engage with specialist nurses or therapists who are part of his healthcare team as they can provide more detailed care and support.

Physiotherapy, mobility aids, and respiratory monitoring are often used to manage this condition, and psychological support can be extremely helpful.

Please don’t hesitate to contact patient groups or charities, such as Muscular Dystrophy UK. They can offer valuable information and emotional support.

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Q) I AM a male, 67 years old, and for the past six months I have had pain in my left groin, particularly when walking or standing for a long time.

I have had four knee replacements on my right leg and have just finished radiotherapy for prostate cancer. I was previously very sporty. I am still playing golf regularly.

Many friends have mentioned this as a sign of needing a hip replacement.

Do you think it may be that, or could it be something else?

A) Osteoarthritis in the hip is a common cause of groin pain in men over 60 and could explain your symptoms.

For example, hip pain can sometimes worsen with walking or standing, and can even affect sleep when lying down.

The multiple knee surgeries may have chan-ged how you walk, putting extra strain on your hips, and potentially accelerating any wear and tear on the joint.

Radiotherapy itself is not linked to osteoarthritis, but the overall stress on your body from cancer treatments, such as hormonal therapy, could play a role in how you recover from or manage joint issues.

You mention having been sporty, and a lifetime of sports that involve high speeds, pivoting, kicking or high impact such as football, rugby, and running can increase the risk of hip osteoarthritis. Having said that, it is important to know that remaining active can help maintain the health of the joint now.

Furthermore, keeping the muscles strong can alleviate the pain.

In particular, lower-impact activities such as cycling, swimming and walking can be beneficial.

Being physically active has many other health benefits, so please do keep it up.

That said, the pain may not actually be coming from the hip joint at all.

Other causes should be considered, such as referred pain from the spine or pelvic region, or even lingering effects from radiotherapy.

An assessment by your GP or an orthopaedic specialist can help determine if this is a hip issue, or something else.

If surgery is a concern, non-surgical options like physiotherapy and pain management can help, and some lifestyle adjustments such as weight loss may also provide relief.

STOPPING MEDS WRECKED MY HAIR

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Q) I USED to be on vitamin D and alendronic acid for osteoporosis but after about six years, my doctor advised me to stop them.

Within a few months, most of my hair (body and head) fell out and now my fingernails are so brittle. If I mention any of my worries to my doctors they make me feel like a hypochondriac.

I’m not accepting “old age” and my once thick, healthy, shiny hair and lovely nails are gone.

A) I’d be interested to know why you were told to stop taking your treatment.

Most likely it’s the alendronic acid that’s been stopped, due to side effects including heartburn, swallowing difficulty or other issues with the gullet. It may also be stopped if your kidney function goes below a certain threshold.

I would guess that the vitamin D is fine to continue and you should check if it’s OK to restart this. Vitamin D is something we should all be supplementing with from October to March anyway, and for someone with osteoporosis, I would advise supplementing all year round.

Vitamin D deficiency can affect both hair and nail health. Iron, B12, folate, zinc and magnesium deficiency should be ruled out too. If you wanted to have this assessed further and have the funds to do so, you could see a hair and scalp specialist (trichologist).

They will use a special camera to look at the hair follicles and give you bespoke advice about supplements, hair products and lifestyle to optimise your hair health.

I can understand you may feel fobbed off by your GP. It can be very difficult to give patients additional time when we are so limited if the issue is raised at the end of an appointment.

Our hair and nails do change as we age, but it should not be assumed to be all age-related, especially if there was a rapid change when you stopped taking the medication.

A YOUNG woman died after a hospital ran out of oxygen while trying to save her, an inquest heard.

Florence Stewart, 27, was admitted as a voluntary patient to a mental health unit, the Campbell Centre in Milton Keynes in January.

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She attempted to take her own life and died in hospital three days later.

Tom Osborne, a senior coroner for Milton Keynes, wrote she had not been monitored by staff properly, which meant she was not discovered quickly after her attempt.

Once she was found, defibrillator pads used to resuscitate her were placed on her incorrectly.

She was also given oxygen but the bottle ran out of oxygen while they tried to save her.

The Central North West London NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the site, offered its condolences to Ms Stewart’s family and said it was reviewing the case.

In a written conclusion to the inquest, which took place last week, the coroner said Ms Stewart died from “suicide whilst suffering from mental illness”.

She was detained under the Mental Health Act following an incident on January 18 when she was assaulted, the coroner said.

She attempted to take her life on January 20 and died three days later at Milton Keynes University Hospital.

She had suffered an hypoxic brain injury, which is when the brain is completely deprived of oxygen.

Following the inquest, Mr Osborne wrote a prevention of future deaths report to the NHS trust, outlining “matters giving rise to concern”.

His concerns were: “Firstly that the system of high level intermittent observations failed to prevent Florence’s suicide and needs a fundamental review.

“Secondly, that the oxygen bottle used during resuscitation ran out of oxygen.”

He said: “In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths.”

The trust has until December 5 to respond to the report, detailing what action it is taking.

A spokesperson for the trust said: “While we are reviewing all aspects of this particular case, the findings of the inquest and the coroner’s comments will help us learn and make improvements to our service.

“The safety and wellbeing of our patients will always be our top priority.”

KIDS are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes after Covid-19, more so than any other common cold bug.

The findings come as the UK faces a rise in Covid cases, with one in 10 in England and Wales caused by the new XEC strain.

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There is no evidence so far the strain is more deadly, but data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows Covid hospital admissions are rising in England.

Researchers studied more than 600,000 children in the US aged between 10 and 19 years old who had either had Covid-19 or another respiratory infection in the first three years of the pandemic. 

The risk of a new diagnosis of type 2 diabetes was significantly higher in the Covid-19 group from one month after infection.

They had around a 50 per cent higher chance of diagnosis one to three months after infection, jumping to 58 per cent at six months.

The risk doubled in children classed as overweight or obese, according to the findings published in the journal JAMA Network Open. 

Whether the odds of a new diagnosis persist for longer than six months was not studied by the team at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Ohio.

The researchers said type 2 diabetes was already reported as increasing among children – largely due to the obesity epidemic.

Parents have also anecdotally talked of their suspicions that their children’s brush with Covid let to their type 2 diabetes developing.

Type 2 diabetes is often referred to as a ‘silent killer’ because symptoms – such as going to the toilet more often or feeling tired – can often be assumed as common ailments.

It does not directly kill those who have it but can lead to conditions such as heart disease and stroke, as well as problems with vision, kidneys, and nerve damage.

More often than not, the condition is triggered by poor lifestyle habits like eating too much unhealthy food or not exercising.

Several research teams have shown that adults face an increased risk of diabetes diagnosis after contracting Covid-19.

For example, Canadian scientists said that those who have had Covid are more likely to develop new-onset type 2 diabetes.

However, a study of Brits by King’s College London suggested that after three months, the risk declined back to baseline levels. 

Diabetes diagnoses were increased by 81 per cent in acute Covid-19 and remained elevated by 27 per cent from four to 12 weeks after infection, according to findings published in PLOS Medicine.

The researchers couldn’t say whether the short-term increase in risk is directly because of Covid infection or if there were undiagnosed cases among those who had Covid.

It comes as research last week suggested Covid “doubles risk of heart attack, stroke or dying up to three years later”.

Data from more than 10,000 Brits aged over 50 years revealed the danger is even higher among people with blood types A, B or AB compared to those with type O.

None of the participants were vaccinated at the time of infection because Covid-19 jabs were not yet available.

THE risk of bird flu merging with seasonal flu to create a dangerous mutant strain is now very high, experts have warned.

They fear the new bug could be as lethal as bird flu and as transmissible as regular flu, giving it the potential to cause a pandemic.

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When two viruses infect someone at the same time, they can mix and create a new, possibly more harmful variant, through a process called reassortment.

The risk of bird flu reassorting this winter will be five times higher in the winter, compared with the summer, according to preliminary modelling by analytics firm Airfinity.

Bird flu, specifically the H5N1 strain, has been spreading through cattle herds and poultry this year.

At least 17 people have been infected with H5N1 strain in the US this year – almost all of them poultry or dairy workers who had direct contact with sick animals.

Bird flu has a high mortality rate, but currently spreads ineffectively between humans, making it less of a threat.

But if it were to reassort with a more transmissible flu variant like seasonal flu it could become better at spreading among people, which might cause major outbreaks, experts at the data firm warn.

The likelihood of dairy and poultry workers also being infected with seasonal flu rises in winter, when flu cases rise natually.

Infections always surge in colder months largely due to colder temperatures, indoor crowding, and weakened immune systems. 

On top of this, early data from the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) suggests the effectiveness of the 2024 flu vaccine to be as low as 35 per cent.

Coupled with a low uptake of the jab, which would leave more people at risk, these factors raise the likelihood of reassortment taking place, said Connor Browne, a biorisk consultant. 

“The combination of a lower-than-expected efficacy for this year’s flu vaccine and the likelihood that uptake of the vaccine could well be lower than in previous years increases the chances of a H5N1 reassortment event occurring through coinfection,” he said on X, formally Twitter.

Reassortment has been behind most, if not all, historical flu pandemics, including the 2009 ‘swine flu‘ pandemic.

This particualr strain, called H1N1, was a combination of avian, swine, and human influenza viruses, which led to a new variant which was able to spread rapidly.

It led to the deaths of an estimated quarter of a million people and infected up to 21 per cent of the global population. 

Bird flu is already on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) list of diseases with pandemic potenital, along with Ebola, Dengue and the black death.

Dr Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organisation, told a press conference on Thursday that the US needs to focus on “access to testing, getting vaccines to people with high-risk occupational exposure, and answer some of the basic science questions – like how the virus is being transmitted between cows”.