Women’s Health Information

South Dakota lawmakers passed a bill on Friday that will ban almost all abortions in the state. The only grounds now for a legal abortion is if the ongoing pregnancy threatens the health of the mother.

Under the new law abortions are not even permitted in the case of pregnancies arising out of rape or incest. The House passed the bill 50-18 and is now preparing for a lengthy legal fight to have the law upheld by the US Supreme Court.

South Dakota is even prepared to accept donations to support the legal battle to uphold the law and they already have a pledge of $1 million dollars

For further details and some very good reasons why pregnancies arising from rape and incest should not be covered by this law see the report here

Sheryl Crow undergoes breast cancer surgery

Grammy winner Sheryl Crow has announced she has had surgery for breast cancer and has postponed a North American tour scheduled to start next month.

The singer’s website says she underwent successful surgery on Wednesday and described the procedure as “minimally invasive”.

Doctors said her prognosis was excellent and she would have radiation treatments as a precaution.

“I am joining the more than 200,000 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year,” Crow said.

“We are a testament to the importance of early detection and new treatments … I am inspired by the brave women who have faced this battle before me and grateful for the support of family and friends.”

Last month, Crow, 44, and Lance Armstrong, seven-time winner of the Tour de France cycling race and a survivor of testicular, brain and lung cancer, announced they were breaking up, after a two-year relationship.

Crow is calling off her March-April tour but intends to reschedule as much of it as possible.

The Missouri native was a school teacher before starting a singing career that led to a job as a backup singer to Michael Jackson and later to nine Grammy Awards.

Her hits include All I Wanna Do, Everyday Is a Winding Road, If It Makes You Happy and Soak Up the Sun.

- Reuters

RU486 available ‘within a year’

One of the co-sponsors of the private members’ bill on RU486 has predicted the abortion drug will be available in Australia within a year.

The new legislation will strip Health Minister Tony Abbott of his right to ban RU486 and give control of the drug to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

The Parliament has passed the bill and it will soon become law.

Supporters of the bill now think pharmaceutical companies will apply to the TGA to supply the abortion drug in Australia.

Democrats leader and co-sponsor Lyn Allison thinks it will be available to women within 12 months.

“I would think that women in this country can expect to join their colleagues in 35 countries around the world certainly within a year,” she said.

The bill was sponsored by a cross-party group of female senators, including Liberal MP Judith Troeth, who says she is elated at the result.

“That we have actually managed, against quite considerable odds, to get this through and with such a good working relationship,” she said.

“For me it’s been a first and I would like to think that it hasn’t stopped here.”

Family First Senator Steve Fielding says it is a sad day for Australia.

“All you’re doing is adding another method to abortion,” he said.

The Health Minister has had the veto power since 1996.

Thursday February 16th ABC Radio

Breast cancer survivors fatigued: study

Approximately one-third of women treated for breast cancer experience fatigue for the first five years after treatment.

For about two thirds of those, the fatigue will persist, the results of a long-term study indicate.

“The message is that most women are going to be doing very well but for those who have persistent fatigue, we think there is an underlying biological syndrome,” co-investigator Dr Patricia A Ganz told Reuters Health.

Dr Ganz from the University of California and her associates previously reported that 35 per cent of 1,957 women who were diagnosed with early-stage breast carcinoma between 1994 and 1997 experienced fatigue for the first five years after treatment.

For their current study, published online in the medical journal Cancer, they recontacted the same women in 1998 who were at least five years post-diagnosis.

A total of 763 women who remained cancer-free completed the second set of questionnaires.

The results showed that 34 per cent were classified as being fatigued.

Among those classified as fatigued during the first survey, 63 per cent continued to score in the fatigued range.

Further analyses indicated that depression, pain and heart disease were significant long-term predictors of fatigue, as was treatment with combined radiation and chemotherapy compared with either treatment alone.

“When we intensively studied the biological mechanisms of fatigue in smaller groups, we found that women with persistent fatigue have abnormalities in markers of inflammation,” Dr Ganz said.

“So it appears they may have some underlying predisposing inflammatory condition causing the fatigue that is triggered or exacerbated when they develop cancer.

“Like any other subjective complaint we have to believe the patient when she complains of fatigue. Then look for medical problems that may be amenable to intervention, such as anaemia or a thyroid condition. If they are on a blood pressure medication, try to put them on meds that don’t contribute to fatigue.

“And clearly a careful assessment of depression and management of pain are very important.

“If we can get that under control their energy may improve.”

- Reuters

Ovarian cancer therapy boosts survival
Leigh Dayton, Science writer
January 06, 2006

THE prestigious US National Cancer Institute has backed research showing that a 40-year-old method of treating deadly ovarian cancer increases survival by more than a year.

The NCI’s endorsement of the technique - which delivers cancer-killing drugs directly to the abdomen - came yesterday as the seven-year study of 429 women with advanced ovarian cancer was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“The National Cancer Institute wants to make certain the results of clinical research are rapidly disseminated to healthcare providers and patients, to ensure life-enhancing cancer treatments are widely available,” said NCI director Andrew von Eschenbach.

The reason for haste is that ovarian cancer is the most deadly of all women’s cancers, with only 45per cent surviving five years after being diagnosed. This is because there are no symptoms until the cancer has spread and no reliable screening tests.

But a team of US investigators - led by oncologist Deborah Armstrong of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Centre in Baltimore, Maryland - found women receiving the treatment, called intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy, lived an average of 65.6 months after surgery, 25per cent longer than those receiving standard drug therapy.

“There’s been a prejudice against IP therapy in ovarian cancer because it’s an old idea, it requires skill and experience … and it’s more complicated than (standard) chemotherapy,” Associate Professor Armstrong said.

The side-effects of IP therapy, including suppressed blood counts and neurological problems, are initially worse than those for standard chemotherapy.

But Associate Professor Armstrong’s team found that a year after treatment, patients who had received IP chemotherapy were on a par with those receiving conventional chemotherapy.

Specialist Peter Grant, of Melbourne’s Mercy Hospital for Women, welcomed the findings.

“This is very good news,” said Dr Grant, an expert with the National Breast Cancer Centre’s ovarian cancer program.

“Within the clinical setting in Australia this treatment will become a standard treatment offered to many women.”

The advantage of IP therapy is that it bathes the abdomen with a high concentration of potent anti-cancer medication, killing any cancer cells lingering after the tumour has been removed. Conventional chemotherapy works outside the abdomen.

Dr Grant said the new data confirmed the belief of many cancer specialists that a combination of surgery followed by IP and conventional chemotherapy would help most women with advanced ovarian cancer.

In the Courier Mail there was a story that I believe has touched the hearts of many people. It is a story of sadness, happiness and an unbelievable amount of courage and one of survival…

Many people who live in Queensland will remember the horrifying and fatal accident that finally sparked a Main Roads investigation into the stretch of road at Federal that eventually saw the overtaking lane resurfaced…

After a long fight, determination and courage, Mrs. Leto has given birth to the baby she was meant to have. Mrs. Leto found out that she was pregnant the same day she lost her husband in that horrendous crash…

Click here to read more about a mother and her child her defied all odds and survived…

Finally the Prime Minister has made one decision that I believe many women will be happy with. I believe that many women would love to have the freedom to make their own choices when it comes to their health.

You see just like men have the right to choose, then women should be allowed to do that too. We moved past the dark ages many years ago so surely those who don’t believe that women should have a right should think back to when life changed for everyone.

I hope the vote goes the right way… I hope everyone makes the right decision because we do not want to go back to an era when women or young girls are forced into homes due to unwanted pregnancies… surely the Government and the organisations involved should consider what happened in the past before making that conscience vote…

Toni

Abortion pill vote rules ‘a win for women’

Democrats Leader Lyn Allison has welcomed a decision by Prime Minister John Howard to allow a conscience vote on the abortion pill RU-486 early next year.

The drug has been effectively banned in Australia since 1996 although it is available in other countries, such as the United States and Britain.

The vote will decide whether the Health Minister should maintain the right to determine the availability of the drug or whether the decision should be left to the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Opponents of RU-486 say it is dangerous, while supporters of the drug say it is a safe alternative to surgical abortion.

Labor has already announced it will allow MPs a free vote on the issue.

Senator Allison expects the restriction on the drug to be removed when the vote takes place in February.

“This is a very big win for women and I’m very pleased that the outcome at last is in sight and we’ve got I think much to be grateful for in turning this around,” she said.

“So I am pleased with the Prime Minister’s decision and I am very confident it will be successful.”

ABC News Australia

Singapore tells spouses of patients’ HIV status

Singapore’s Health Ministry has started informing spouses of HIV-positive patients directly about their partners’ disease in order to curb the spread of AIDS.

Senior Minister of State for Health Balaji Sadasivan says letters have been hand-delivered to 41 women since July informing them that their husbands are HIV-positive.

“Previously, some wives were not aware of their spouse’s HIV status and so they were at risk of the HIV infection,” said text of the speech posted on the website.

“Since July this year, we have informed the wife when the infected husband had not informed her of his positive HIV status.

“Marriage and the women’s own fidelity are not enough to protect them against HIV infection. Most have been infected despite staying faithful to their partners.”

The letters advise spouses to get screened for HIV and give them information about counselling services available at the Communicable Disease Centre.

The ministry says two of the women who received the notifications have since tested positive for the virus.

In July the Singapore Government scrapped a law that required the patient’s consent to inform their spouse.

The move to sanction breaching patient confidentiality is part of a raft of measures introduced to fight the spread of AIDS.

Although the wealthy South-East Asian city-state has one of Asia’s lowest levels of HIV infection, it has said it is tightening defences due to an increase in cases.

Singapore has recorded a total of 2,584 HIV infections to date, of whom 954 have died, 631 have full-blown AIDS and 999 show no symptoms.

From January to October this year, 198 people were diagnosed with HIV, less than 10 per cent of them women.

In July, the ministry introduced HIV testing as part of the antenatal screening routine for pregnant women.

A pilot project to distribute HIV self-test kits at locations where homosexuals socialise will be soon be launched.

Controversial legislative measures, such as compulsory HIV testing for couples about to marry and criminalising the act of spreading the HIV virus with or without intent, have also been considered but have not been implemented.

- Reuters

Woman receives world’s first face transplant: surgeon

The world’s first partial face transplant has been performed on a 38-year-old French woman, whose lips and nose were ripped off in a dog attack, the surgeon who carried out the operation told AFP.

Professor Jean-Michel Dubernard, the French surgeon who performed the world’s first hand transplant in 1998, confirmed news reports that the transplant had taken place, without giving further details.

French news magazine Le Point says a team of surgeons led by Professor Dubernard and Professor Bernard Devauchelle carried out the operation on Sunday and Monday in the northern French town of Amiens.

In the high-risk operation, a triangle formed by the nose and mouth was grafted on to the patient, from the northern French town of Valenciennes, who was admitted to hospital in May, the weekly said.

The facial tissues, muscles, arteries and veins needed for the transplant were taken on Sunday from a donor in the northern city of Lille, who was in a brain-dead condition, Le Point reports.

Professor Dubernard, a surgeon at the Edouard Herriot hospital in Lyon and a French deputy, performed the world’s first hand transplant in September 1998, followed by the first double hand and forearm transplant in January 2000.

Professor Devauchelle is a facial surgery specialist from the CHU university hospital in Amiens.

- AFP

ABC News Online (AEDT)