Prabodh Malhotra, 71, set a course from the MCG to Sydney via Canberra which took 52 days and saw him go through four pairs of shoes Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast After Prabodh Malhotra took his seat at the Sydney Cricket Ground, he could have been excused for taking his time to get up again. The retired Melbourne economist, 71, on Wednesday walked the final steps of a 1,000km, 52-day trek between the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the SCG to raise funds for the McGrath Foundation. Sign up fo ..read more

Exclusive: study is first to compare pioneering targeted treatment on difficult-to-treat tumours with standard radiotherapy Three breast cancer patients have undergone pioneering proton beam therapy for the first time on the NHS as part of a world-first trial. The hi-tech treatment targets tumours far more precisely than conventional radiotherapy, suiting patients with difficult-to-treat growths in critical areas. The NHS has previously used proton beam therapy to treat patients with tumours in and around their brain or spinal cord ..read more

Exclusive: Brighton and Sussex medical school found ‘misplaced beliefs’ led to lower surgery rates Doctors may be steering older women away from certain breast cancer treatments due to “well-meaning but misplaced beliefs” about their preferences and fitness to undergo surgery, a study suggests. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, with about 56,000 people diagnosed and 11,500 dying from it each year. Although survival rates have almost doubled over the past 40 years, the greatest gains have been in younger patients. Since the 1970s there has been a 44% reduction in 65- to 69-year ..read more

Women with triple negative breast cancer will gain access to pembrolizumab after deal with its manufacturer Women with a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer have been given access to a “potentially life-saving” drug after NHS bosses struck a deal with its manufacturer. Up to 1,600 women a year will be able to get pembrolizumab, which has the potential to leave some of those who take it completely free of cancer, NHS England said ..read more

Almost 10,000 patients referred by a GP to a cancer specialist had to wait more than double NHS recommended 14 days Patients with suspected skin and breast cancer have experienced the largest increase in waiting times of everyone urgently referred to a cancer specialist, with one in 20 patients now facing the longest waits, analysis of NHS England data shows. Almost 10,000 patients referred by a GP to a cancer specialist had to wait for more 28 days – double the supposed maximum 14-day waiting time – in July. Three-quarters of them were suspected of having skin, breast or lower gastrointestina ..read more

Experts say healthy lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking and eating more vegetables can lower risk More than 400 people are being diagnosed with preventable cases of cancer every day in the UK, analysis suggests, prompting health experts to urge people to adopt a healthier lifestyle. A total of 387,000 people were diagnosed with cancer in 2019-20, and 40% of those cases – about 155,000 – could have been avoided, according to analysis of the latest official data by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF ..read more

Distinguished epidemiologist who showed the pill was safe and shed light on many other health issues In 1970, Valerie Beral was a young doctor working in a London family planning clinic. The pill had been licensed in the UK for nearly a decade, but evidence on its use was far from complete and when patients asked about its effects she reluctantly had to say: “We don’t know.” This frustrating experience prompted Beral, who has died aged 76 after a year-long illness, to leave clinical medicine and study epidemiology to find the answers she felt women deserved. A gifted mathematician and exceptio ..read more

Former Labor minister celebrated as one of the state’s ‘most respected daughters’ Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates Get our free news app, morning email briefing or daily news podcast Victorian Labor MP Jane Garrett has been remembered as a courageous and principled politician and a doting mother of three during a memorial service in Melbourne. Family, friends and state and federal parliamentarians from across the political divide gathered at a state memorial at the Brunswick town hall – in the MP’s former electorate – on Friday morning to pay tribute to Garrett. Sig ..read more

Single yellow rose placed on former minister’s seat in upper house while family look on Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates Get our free news app, morning email briefing or daily news podcast The Victorian Liberal Tim Smith says a drink-driving crash that led to him announcing his retirement occurred on the day he discovered that his “best friend” – the Labor MP Jane Garret, who died last month – had a cancer recurrence. On Wednesday morning Smith and state MPs from across the political divide paid tribute to the former emergency services minister, who died from breast ..read more

Life-extending drugs Alpelisib and Trodelvy will benefit 3,500 women a year Thousands of breast cancer patients in England are to benefit from two new drugs available on the NHS following a U-turn by the health watchdog. About 3,500 women a year will benefit from life-extending drugs Alpelisib and Trodelvy, which have now been given the green light despite being rejected earlier this year by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice ..read more