New Cancer Jab

This was in Woman's Own magazine 12th October 2009. This is obviously great news and what's more great is that it is free for girls aged between 12-18 years. It is a shame though that the jabs are so expensive for over 18s and while yes you can't put a price on your life I don't think many people are gonna pay £405 for a prevention towards only 1 type of cancer, but you can definately say it's a step in the right direction.

Facts on Cervical Cancer

• Cervical cancer is the twelfth most common cancer in women in the UK and the third most common gynaecological cancer after uterus (womb) and ovary.
• There are around 2,800 new cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in the UK each year, that is around 55 women every week.
• More than half of all new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed in women under 50 years, that’s around 1,650 cases each year.
• Cervical cancer in girls under 25 is rare with only 50 cases reported a year.

• Overall, cervical cancer incidence rates in Britain have almost halved in the last 20 years.
• Cervical cancer accounts for 1 in ten cancers diagnosed in women worldwide.
• Cancer of the cervix is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in Southern Africa and Central America.
  • Around two thirds of women with cervical cancer survive their disease for five years or more.
  • Cervical cancer survival is higher in women diagnosed at a younger age. Women under 40 years of age have survival rates of more than 85%.
    • Around 940 women die from cervical cancer each year in the UK.
    • In the UK, it is rare for young women to die from cervical cancer; almost 80% of all cervical cancer deaths occur in women aged 45 and over.
    • Cervical cancer death rates have fallen almost two-thirds in the last 30 years.
    • Worldwide, cervical cancer accounts for almost 1 in ten female cancer deaths.
    • Infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main risk factor and a necessary cause of cervical cancer.
    • Women with HIV/AIDS are at significantly increased risk of cervical cancer.
      • Infection with the sexually transmitted diseases, herpes simplex virus-2 or Chlamydia trachomatis, may increase risk of cervical cancer.
      • Women with a sister or mother who has had cervical cancer are at increased risk of developing it themselves.
      • Smoking increases risk of cell cervical cancer.
      • Long term use of the oral contraceptive pill increases the risk of cervical cancer.
        • The NHS Cervical Screening Programme was set up in 1988 by the Department of Health.
        • Cervical screening can prevent around 75% of cancer cases in women who attend regularly.
        • HPV vaccination in schools was introduced into the national immunisation programme in 2008, for girls aged 12-13.

Artist Research

Nina Katchadourian cut out hundreds of Finlands unnamed Islands out of paper, they were placed in mircoscopic slides on aluminum sleeves.

Sketchbook Work

Artist Research

Pam Lostracco – a textile artist, produced these as part as a competition held by The Stem Cell Network.

Artist Research

Anniken Amunden is a textile artist who uses her cancer experience as inspiration for her textile pieces. Using textile manipulation processes Anniken recreates the cancer cells that were in her body, to form giant sculptural pieces. There is an irony in her designs as they look beautiful but are actually life threatening. 

Research for Module 4 Brain Receptors

A lack of specific brain receptors has been linked with schizophrenia in new research by scientists at Newcastle University.

In work published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team has found that NMDA receptors are essential in modifying brain oscillations – electrical wave patterns – which are altered in patients with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is one of the most common serious mental health conditions in the UK and can cause a range of different psychological symptoms, including hallucinations and delusions. One in 100 people will experience at least one episode of acute schizophrenia during their lifetime and it affects men and women equally. While its exact cause is unknown, most experts believe that the condition is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.