The Guardian Health

The Guardian view on cancer treatments: new hope for patients now and in the future | Editorial

A drug for pancreatic cancer shows immense promise, but we shouldn’t forget research in the field is a story of small victoriesIt is unlikely that we will ever declare a final victory over cancer. Governments have often promised it: from Nixon’s 1971 “war on cancer” to the 2016 Obama‑Biden plan to fight and cure it “once and for all” and Sajid Javid’s 2022 “war on cancer” initiative in the UK. But framing it this way can obscure how real progress is made: not in stu

health  Jun 7, 2026

The Guardian Health

Factors leading to failures in NHS maternity care | Letters

Readers respond to an article on the serious failings at the Nottingham university hospitals trustI am writing as someone who has been personally affected by failings in maternity services at Nottingham university hospitals NHS trust. Zoe Williams (Midwives want to make childbirth miraculous – so what went so wrong in Nottingham?, 1 June) correctly acknowledges the affect of austerity on maternity services (I can attest to that, having worked in the public sector), but it in no way excuses

health  Jun 7, 2026

The Guardian Health

‘Significant breakthrough’: NHS hospitals adopt faster, more accurate bladder cancer test

Five hospitals in England and Wales have switched to test taken at home, rather than invasive hospital procedureNHS hospitals are using a new way of diagnosing bladder cancer that is faster, more accurate and more convenient for patients than the existing test.Doctors said the Galeas bladder test is a major breakthrough because it involves a urine test taken at home rather than an invasive procedure done at hospital which is uncomfortable for patients. Continue reading...

health  Jun 7, 2026

The Guardian Health

If we are to counter medical misogyny, women can no longer be treated as unreliable witnesses of their own experience | Alison Downham Moore

The history of gynaecology fuses innovation, authority and violation – and radical surgery is not the unavoidable answer to sufferingUntil just a few weeks ago, Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome was reduced to ovarian cysts, much to the frustration and confusion of many patients with this systemic endocrine condition. The struggles of people with endometriosis to access patient-centred and appropriate care continue in many countries.These are examples of the despair many patients report w

health  Jun 6, 2026

The Guardian Health

New study casts doubt on reliability of mental health diagnosis interviews

Diagnostic interviews seen as ‘gold standard’ vary in reliability from condition to condition, study saysDiagnostic interviews – the most common way to diagnose substance use and mental disorders including depression, anxiety, bipolar and personality disorders – vary in reliability from condition to condition, according to a new study in Jama Network Open.Laura Duncan, a psychiatry professor at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, and one of the study’s authors, said diagnostic interviews are

health  Jun 6, 2026

The Guardian Health

Removing ‘invisibility cloaks’ and safely skipping chemo: new weapons in war on cancer shared at US conference

Drug that stops cancer cells hiding and a breakthrough for pancreatic cancer among highlights from Asco conference – but there were also notes of cautionDoctors, scientists and researchers shared new research about ways to tackle cancer at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco) annual meeting, the world’s largest cancer conference.The event in Chicago, attended by 40,000 health professionals, featured more than 200 sessions and 2,700 poster presentations on this year’s theme, “the

health  Jun 6, 2026

The Guardian Health

Ebola spread in central Africa could match 2014 record outbreak, US health officials say

Modelling from US CDC shows Ebola spread could be on ‘dangerous trajectory’, but experts warn outbreaks can be very hard to predictCentral Africa’s Ebola outbreak could spread to be similar in scale to the worst outbreak in history, west Africa’s 2014-2016 outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people, according to a new analysis by US health officials.The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday published a range of scenarios generated by computer models, from 10,000 cases t

health  Jun 6, 2026

The Guardian Health

How to prevent older people from having fatal falls | Letters

Jules Robinson outlines the targeted support needed to prevent accidental deaths, and Sara Hazzard urges investment in rehabilitation and the physiotherapy workforceDenis Campbell’s article (GPs in England too ‘overloaded’ to help older people at risk of falling, say MPs, 3 June) draws welcome attention to a severe but often overlooked health crisis. Research by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) shows that falls are the leading cause of accidental death in the UK, killing

health  Jun 5, 2026

The Guardian Health

The right’s culture war over prostate cancer screening is damaging trust in medicine | Polly Toynbee

The decision not to test all men and only screen the most at risk, including black men, is fact-based. Yet it’s been called ‘two-tier’ – and labelled as misandryIf the country seems to be slipping away from reason and trust in science, blame usually falls on modern phenomena such as social media and its fantastical influencers. Or on the US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s bizarre anti-vaccine, anti-fluoride, anti-evidence lunacy. But campaigns against the UK national screening committee’s

health  Jun 5, 2026

WHO News

Africa CDC and WHO launch joint continental Ebola response plan

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) today launched a joint continental preparedness and response plan on the ongoing Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus. The plan aims to raise US$ 518 million to support African countries together with partners to prepare for, rapidly detect and respond to the outbreak.The six-month plan, covering June to November 2026, brings together governments, partners and communities

health  Jun 5, 2026

The Guardian Health

A disease of deforestation: how Ebola is linked to the smartphone in your pocket

As demand for cobalt, gold and other minerals grows, mining is accelerating deforestation in the Congo basin – and increasing the risk of deadly Ebola outbreaksFor decades after the discovery of Ebolavirus in 1976, outbreaks of the disease were relatively small and contained, affecting a few hundred people at most.Not any more. In recent years, outbreaks of Ebola have been much larger, affecting thousands and even tens of thousands of people across multiple countries. The 2014 outbreak of Ebola

health  Jun 5, 2026

The Guardian Health

Experience: I sat under an oak tree every day for a year

After a period of burnout, I realised that nature knows what you need, and is always ready to offer it – you just have to be quiet enough to receive itIn 2022 I moved to Clevedon, near Bristol. As soon as I saw the oak tree behind my flat, I started sitting under it. It’s not in some beautiful, remote place – it’s on an urban hill surrounded by grassland – but as a solitary tree on the side of a hill, it drew my attention. I was burned out. For 10 years, I had run a nonprofit

health  Jun 5, 2026

The Guardian Health

Girl, 5, traumatised after GP assistant wrongly prescribed vaginal pessary, report finds

Mother, who thought daughter was being examined by GP, says girl began to bleed and scream in pain after device was insertedA five-year-old was left traumatised, bleeding and in severe pain after a physician associate wrongly prescribed her a vaginal pessary, according to a damning report by the health ombudsman.The parliamentary and health service ombudsman said there were “multiple failures” in the care of the girl, who saw a physician associate (PA) at a GP practice in the East Midlands after

health  Jun 4, 2026

The Guardian Health

The Guardian view on NHS records: patients are not raw material for big tech | Editorial

Ministers should end Palantir’s contract before medical confidentiality is sacrificed to Silicon Valley’s appetite for public dataAlarm bells ought to have rung when it emerged last month that Palantir engineers could gain “unlimited access” to identifiable NHS patient data. Such sensitive medical information was only supposed to be available either to someone involved in a patient’s care or with the patient’s informed consent. NHS England’s new position appears to have changed that, extending a

health  Jun 4, 2026

The Guardian Health

Why is Andy Burnham talking about fixing England’s social care system?

Prospective MP and potential Labour leader has said tackling the issue is a priority. But why is the system in crisis and what can be done about it?‘I wouldn’t flinch’: Burnham on social care, markets, Brexit – and the prospect of a general electionAndy Burnham has signalled he would overhaul England’s social care system this year if he became prime minister, the biggest indication yet of what his main priorities would be.Work is already under way on updating the social care system under Keir St

health  Jun 4, 2026

The Guardian Health

Reassurance for bladder cancer patients | Letters

Gail Cartmail offers a positive outlook to those facing life-changing bladder surgery, based on her own experienceThe report of treatment being trialled that could potentially spare bladder cancer patients life-changing surgery is welcome news (Doctors hail drug that spares bladder cancer patients ‘life-changing’ surgery, 2 June). Yet readers currently facing surgery that includes removing their bladder are likely to be concerned about the here and now.Like Tracey Emin, I was diagnosed with blad

health  Jun 4, 2026

The Guardian Health

Three studies used by RFK Jr and allies to justify controversial vaccine policies changes facing new scrutiny

Scientists praise moves to investigate, retract or remove controversial studies. The authors stand by their workThree scientific papers that raised questions about vaccine safety and were used by the Trump administration to justify controversial changes to US vaccine policies have over the last two months been removed, retracted or placed under investigation by the journals that published them.In some cases, the actions occurred years after scientists first raised alarms about the studies’ scie

health  Jun 4, 2026

The Guardian Health

'I've lost my butt': how rapid weight loss can leave you with less muscle and more fat

GLP-1 drugs such as Mounjaro are helping millions of people rapidly lose weight. But the changes happening inside the body go far beyond the number on the scale.Neelam Tailor investigates the growing debate around the possible risks of rapid weight loss from jabs and yo-yo dieting, which include loss of lean mass and consequences in older age. Experts say the debate isn’t just about weight-loss drugs, but about how modern dieting culture has shaped our bodies for decades Continue reading...

health  Jun 4, 2026

The Guardian Health

The race to combat Ebola: what vaccines and treatments are being developed and how long will it take?

With the Bundibugyo strain of the disease spreading across the DRC and Uganda, scientists and researchers are trying to find rapid solutionsThere is no vaccine or treatment available for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola that is spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, but this week three vaccine developers were awarded $60m (£45m) in emergency funding as the race to halt the outbreak ramps up.Security issues in the affected region of the DRC, where conflict has displaced

health  Jun 4, 2026

The Guardian Health

Hospitals in England ranking highly for empathy ‘have better patient outcomes’

Research suggests NHS trusts with higher empathy ratings also benefit financially and have improved staff wellbeingPatients and staff fare better at hospitals that rank highly on empathy, research suggests, with institutions also benefiting financially by spending less on agency staff, locums and consultants.The finding comes from the first study to rate NHS trusts in England according to an empathy score that is drawn from information on the organisation’s culture, leadership behaviour and prac

health  Jun 3, 2026