'Horrific' illness spreading with symptoms that last up to six weeks
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Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
Veteran broadcaster James Whale shares emotional terminal cancer update as he moves into hospice
James Whale, who has been battling his terminal cancer diagnosis for five years, has now moved into a hospice for end of life care. Veteran broadcaster James Whale has provided an emotional update in his terminal cancer journey after moving into a hospice as he prepares for end of life care. The 74-year-old, who has been battling terminal kidney cancer for five years, was recently told he has just twelve weeks to live. James' cancer has now sadly spread to over 20 tumours in his spine, brain and lungs. The Celebrity Big Brother star, who initially rose to fame in the 1980s as the host of The James Whale Radio Show, moved into a quiet eight-bed hospice near his home in Kent with his wife Nadine Lamont-Brown, earlier this week. James, whose impressive career spans over five decades, first beat kidney cancer in 2000 after being given a 50% chance of survival, but revealed five years ago that the disease had sadly returned. Now into week seven of his life expectancy prognosis, the star has heartbreakingly said: "I'm not me anymore." Speaking on his podcast Tales of the Whales alongside his co-presenter wife Nadine, the pair candidly spoke about James' deteriorating health. The beloved TV personality said he is finding it difficult to breathe, think or talk and added that his hearing is also going downhill. He revealed that his speech has been affected too and that he can be very forgetful while also suffering with the pain of sore pressure sores. During the emotional recording, he told listeners: "I can't breathe, I can't think, I can't talk. "Anyway. Good morning. Welcome to Tales of the Whales, our weekly podcast. I have terminal 5 cancer. Can you get 5?" Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. He continued: "Could I thank everybody for getting in touch and wanting to meet up. "I'm not being rude when I make it difficult to get touched up. I mean... in touch." Nadine replied:'You're getting quite tired, so from next week, we're restricting visitors to just very close friends and family." He added: 'The most tiring thing I found… I still can't hear very well, which is more frustrating than anything else. "I've become very slow in my speech and then forgetful and everything else." Talking about his pressure sores, he said: 'I'm tootling along, which is all you can do really, trying to get my breathing sorted and the mark on my bum.' Humble as ever, he asked: "People have to go through a lot worse, don't they? Do they?" James concluded: "Anyway. I don't feel I can go on much more... The other thing is, my energy levels have gone completely. "So I wish everybody well, and let us hope we go through these phases as quickly as we can." The dad-of-two recently celebrated what is thought to be his last birthday, surrounded by his loved ones. The Talk TV host revealed his long-running programme could soon be coming to an end back in May as he reaches the final stages of his cancer battle. As one of the country's most admired radio personalities, James has had a remarkable career. In 2023 he received the first ever TRIC Recognition Award for his outstanding work and last year he was made an OBE for services to broadcasting and charity. He's also helped countless others too, having launched the James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer in 2006, now known as Kidney Cancer UK, which is the nation's leading specialist charity of its kind.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Gut bacteria could help diagnose long Covid and chronic fatigue syndrome, researchers find
Bacteria in the gut could help diagnose long Covid and chronic fatigue syndrome, researchers have found. The debilitating condition, which can cause extreme tiredness, sleep problems, dizziness and brain fog, is often overlooked as there is no specific test to diagnose it. This means doctors have to simply rule out other illnesses. But research published in the journal Nature Medicine has looked at gut bacteria, immune responses and metabolism to find a way of diagnosing the condition. The findings, potentially relevant to long Covid due to its similarity with chronic fatigue syndrome, come from data on 249 individuals analysed using a new artificial intelligence (AI) platform that identifies disease biomarkers from stool, blood, and other routine lab tests. 'Our study achieved 90 per cent accuracy in distinguishing individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome, which is significant because doctors currently lack reliable biomarkers for diagnosis,' said study author Dr Derya Unutmaz, professor in immunology at the Jackson Laboratory in the US. 'Some physicians doubt it as a real disease due to the absence of clear laboratory markers, sometimes attributing it to psychological factors.' It is estimated that 404,000 people in the UK have chronic fatigue syndrome or ME, according to Action for ME. About half of the 1.9 million people in the UK with long Covid are also thought to have symptoms that are similar to ME. Although it is not yet known what causes chronic fatigue syndrome, there is evidence that certain infections, including but not limited to viruses, can trigger the illness. This new research, led by Dr Julia Oh, formerly at the Jackson Laboratory and now a microbiologist and professor at Duke University in North Carolina, investigates how the gut microbiome – the bacteria in your gut – and immune system interact in a patient with chronic fatigue syndrome. To conduct the study, researchers used data collected from the Bateman Horne Center, a leading ME/CFS, long Covid and fibromyalgia research centre in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dr Ruoyun Xiong, also a lead author on the study, developed a research tool called BioMapAI. This tool helped to compare gut bacteria, immune cells, blood test data, and clinical symptoms from 153 patients and 96 healthy participants over four years. Researchers found analysing immune cells proved the most accurate in predicting how severe the participants' symptoms were, but found data from gut bacteria helped predict participants' emotional symptoms and sleep disturbances. They found those with chronic fatigue had lower levels of butyrate, a beneficial fatty acid produced in the gut, along with other nutrients essential for metabolism, inflammation control, and energy. 'Despite diverse data collection methods, common disease signatures emerged in fatty acids, immune markers, and metabolites,' Dr Oh said. 'That tells us this is not random. This is real biological dysregulation. 'Our goal is to build a detailed map of how the immune system interacts with gut bacteria and the chemicals they produce. By connecting these dots, we can start to understand what's driving the disease and pave the way for genuinely precise medicine that has long been out of reach.'
Daily Record
4 hours ago
- Daily Record
Woman discovered dead in bed after dementia patient 'visited room 100 times'
The 95-year-old had advanced dementia and physical limitations in the nursing home. An elderly woman was tragically discovered dead in bed with a duvet over her head after being visited over 100 times that day by another dementia patient, an inquest heard. Marcella O'Sullivan was found deceased in her bedroom at Brid Haven Nursing Home in Mallow, Co Cork, shortly after 8pm on April 13, 2022. The 95-year-old had advanced dementia and physical limitations and died from aspiration of vomit. An inquest in Mallow on June 24 heard from medical staff at the home that another patient, who also had severe dementia, was in the room when they entered at 8.03pm that night. Coroner Frank O'Connell was told that the other woman was a "roamer" who entered the room of other patients and picked up items. CCTV footage analysed by gardai indicated that she went to the room of Mrs O'Sullivan over 100 times on the day she died. The vast majority of her visits lasted a few seconds. The evidence was that the duvet was not over the head of Mrs O'Sullivan when she was last seen by staff shortly after 5pm. Mr O'Connell said that it was accepted that Marcella was physically unable to lift the duvet herself. Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, carried out a post-mortem on the deceased. She said that the case was complex in nature, reported the Mirror. Dr Bolster said it was her opinion, and those of her colleagues, that Mrs O'Sullivan died after her airways were covered by the duvet leading to an aspiration of her gastric contents. She said that there was a a history of dysphagia (difficulty of swallowing) which meant that the pensioner was on a liquid diet. Dr Bolster noted that the duvet cover was "less breathable" as it was water proofed. She said that the deceased had a bruise on her tongue. There was also a large amount of vomit. Mrs O'Sullivan had been fed by staff at around 5pm that day. She was comfortable, had her eyes open and the duvet was at her waist. She wasn't checked again by staff until 8.03pm when she was found dead. A decision was made to contact gardai arising out of the circumstances in which Mrs O'Sullivan was found dead. A file was prepared for the DPP. Det Insp John O'Connell said that the woman who was in the room when Mrs O'Suillivan was found dead was assessed by an expert geriatrician. He deemed her not capable of recalling the evening in which Mrs O'Sullivan died. This woman has also since passed away. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Det Insp O'Connell said that the DPP directed that no criminal prosecution be made in the case. He said they were left with two possible explanations. The first scenario was that Mrs O'Sullivan vomited and died with the duvet then being placed over her head by the other patient. Det Insp O'Connell said that the second scenario involved the other dementia patient putting the duvet over Mrs O'Sullivan's head and her aspirating her gastric contents, and dying. Det Insp O'Connell said that there was "no clear evidence" forensic or otherwise to suggest that the other woman intended to cause harm to Mrs O'Sullivan. He said that the other woman "had no history of aggression." The six-person jury recorded an open verdict. The foreman said that they were all of the belief that a third party put the duvet over the head of Mrs O'Sulllivan. However, they couldn't say who that person was or whether it occurred before or after she died. Coroner Frank O'Connell offered his heartfelt condolences to the family of Mrs O'Sullivan whom he said had passed "on to her reward." He thanked the O'Sullivan family for the enormous dignity they had shown during the inquest. He said that it was unfortunate that both families had been put in an "awful position" arising out of the controversy that had occurred. Barrister Christian Douglas, BL, apologised to the family of Mrs O'Sullivan on behalf of Brid Haven nursing home. "Brid Haven nursing home wishes to express our deepest and most sincere apologies...(for) the failings identified. We understand the pain and distress this has caused."
