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Health Check: Cancer Blood Test

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2018/01/24 GMT

Cancer Blood Test

BBC World Service - Health Check, Cancer Blood Test

Important step in cancer blood test “holy grail”

Cancer blood test; Indian hospital helps women overcome burn injuries and stigma; being in nature promotes positive body image

A new blood test designed to detect eight different types of cancer managed to pick up seven out of 10 cases in patients – creating the possibility of a routine test for cancer. In another study, researchers say that testing all women for the faulty BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes – which carry a higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer - would be cost-effective and could save lives. Professor Paul Pharoah from Cambridge University explains why all of this is important. 

In India there have been many well-documented cases of women who were deliberately burned by their husbands as part of dowry demands. The law has been changed to give women more protection during the first seven years of marriage. But women are still being burned. Now one hospital in the northern Indian city of Indore is helping these women to rebuild their lives. 

A lot of people find walking in the countryside relaxing – and it does have a positive effect on wellbeing. New research claims that spending time in nature – or even just looking at images of it – could even improve satisfaction with our bodies. 

(Photo:  DNA strand and Cancer Cell Oncology Research Concept 3D rendering © Getty Images)

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