Billy Joel shares first health update after brain disorder diagnosis: 'I feel fine'
The 76-year-old music icon discussed his condition for the first time in an interview with Bill Maher, stating that while doctors are still 'working on it', he feels 'fine' despite his balance being affected.
Joel described the condition, previously known as 'water on the brain', as making him feel 'like a boat', though he reiterated he feels 'good' despite the serious-sounding diagnosis.
NPH is a rare condition caused by excess cerebrospinal fluid, primarily affecting people over 60, and can lead to neurological symptoms including problems with walking, hearing, vision, and balance.
A statement from May confirmed Joel is undergoing physical therapy and is committed to prioritizing his health, with hopes to return to the stage in the future.
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Daily Mail
2 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
'I gave myself cancer': Wellness influencer battling the disease reveals the three factors she thinks triggered it - but experts say her claims are dangerous
Experts have today hit back at 'dangerous' claims that stress and mobile phones can cause breast cancer after a wellness influencer controversially said she gave herself the disease. Stephanie Weeks, from Mississippi in the US, was diagnosed with stage three triple negative breast cancer —one of the deadliest form of the disease—in February 2021 at the age of just 42. After undertaking gruelling rounds of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery as well as 'healing methods' including acupuncture and alkaline water, she was told she was cancer-free later that year. Now, in an Instagram video watched more than 750,000 times, she has claimed 'chronic stress', 'not taking sleep seriously enough' and putting her mobile phone in her bra for years 'contributed' to her diagnosis. But experts have labelled the claims 'absolute nonsense' and 'dangerous' and said there was a 'lack of evidence' to prove any of the claims. Studies have also long suggested there is no consistent evidence linking stress, mobile phones and poor sleep to an increased risk of breast cancer. In the Instagram video Ms Weeks said her 'aggressive' and 'invasive' stage three triple negative breast cancer diagnosis was 'devastating'. She added: 'I think there are several things that contributed, stress. The stress was chronic, it was for years and it was tremendous. 'The second thing was I did not take sleep seriously enough. Sometimes I would work all day, all night and go days without sleeping. 'I was really screwing up my circadian rhythm big time. 'Another thing was my cell phone in my bra for years. The tumour was right on the edge of the skin, right where the cell phone sat. 'So I'm saying these things to empower you and educate you so you can make better choices than I did.' But experts today said all three factors were 'absolute nonsense'. Liz O'Riordan, a retired breast surgeon and author of The Cancer Roadmap: Real science to guide your treatment path, told the Daily Mail: 'It's absolute nonsense. And bloody dangerous and very persuasive. 'Mobile phones and WiFi do not cause breast cancer. 'Whilst a stressful life and lack of sleep can lead to poor lifestyle choices, gaining weight, alcohol and no exercise stress and lack of sleep by themselves do not cause breast cancer. 'This is dangerous. If she did want to empower women she should be quoting the source she got this information from. 'There are some small studies that suggest they might be a factor but they've all been disproved due to lack of evidence.' Dr Mangesh Thorat, a consultant breast surgeon at Homerton University Hospital, added: 'Existing evidence does not show any association between breast cancer and stress, sleep deprivation or organ proximity to mobile phone signal. 'Avoiding or minimising stress and ensuring adequate sleep is however a common-sense advice that helps at least improve quality of life. 'Everyone should aim to achieve these objectives.' Indeed, studies have noted that some women wonder whether stress caused their breast cancer. But the evidence for this is poor. One of the largest study's to date by British researchers in 2016 did not show any consistent evidence that linked stress to breast cancer. Another European analysis published in the BMJ, which looked at 12 studies involving more than 100,000 people who were followed up for several years, did not find a link between stress at work and breast or colorectal, lung and prostate cancers. It can be harder to maintain a healthy lifestyle, such as not smoking and drinking, during stressful situations. These habits can lead to an increased cancer risk, warns Cancer Research UK. But the agency insists 'no evidence' shows 'those who are more stressed are more likely to get cancer'. While sleep deprivation can lead to various health issues, including inflammation and insulin resistance, The Institute of Cancer Research says there is direct link between lack of sleep and an increased risk of breast cancer. Studies, including a large meta-analysis from the Million Women Study, have found no significant association between sleep duration and breast cancer risk. Meanwhile, rumours that electromagnetic radiation or waves from mobile phones can cause cancer, have spread for decades. But researchers say there is no good evidence that this is the case, despite many fearing that keeping their phone close to their body will put them at risk. Mobiles work by sending and receiving electromagnetic waves to and from phone masts. While high energy radiation can cause cancer by damaging DNA, the version emitted by phones is so weak that it does not have this effect, says Cancer Research UK. The charity adds that although 4G and 5G networks rely on higher frequency radio waves to work in comparison to phones made a decade ago, it's still not enough energy to damage DNA. But, because the technology is still relatively new, scientists continue to monitor research in this field to track any potential long-term effects. One in seven women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime—around 56,000 a year—making it the most common cancer in the UK. The figure stands at roughly 300,000 annually in the US. Around 85 per cent of women diagnosed with breast cancer survive more than five years. However, triple negative breast cancer—which accounts for around 15 per cent of all breast cancers in the UK and US—is far more challenging. Typically, it grows and spreads faster than other breast cancer types and has fewer treatment options. It is also more difficult to treat because it doesn't interact with hormones such as oestrogen—for which there are targeted therapies. On average around 77 per cent of women with triple negative breast cancer will survive their cancer for five years or more after they are diagnosed, but depending on the stage this can fall as low as 12 per cent. This is compared to around 90 per cent of women with other forms of breast cancer who will survive for at least five years.
Scotsman
32 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Professional leaders are human beings too
Employers must focus on the mental health of senior staff, says Chris Phillips Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... According to the Health & Safety Executive, work-related ill health has been on a long-term decline since the 1990s. This trend reflects real progress in how we manage occupational health and safety, particularly in reducing incidents of musculoskeletal disorders that were once widespread in physically demanding roles. However, this overall positive trajectory masks more complex and concerning patterns, notably the sharp rise in stress, depression, and anxiety, especially in the years following the Covid-19 pandemic. The mental and emotional pressures facing today's workforce are becoming more visible, more frequently. The effects of pressure in the workplace were brought into sharp focus when the TV cameras captured the sight of the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, becoming visibly emotional. Whether or not this was a personal matter, there is surely little doubt that the unrelenting demands of one of the highest-pressure jobs in the country will be a contributing factor to her very public strain. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Although MPs are not employees in a conventional sense, there is a more general principle at stake here, which is that employers are accountable for managing and mitigating the pressures on their staff, regardless of seniority. Admitting vulnerability can be seen as a professional risk, says Chris Phillips We talk often about the importance of stress management and the responsibilities of organisations to protect the wellbeing of their people, and many forward-thinking workplaces have made meaningful strides in providing mental health resources, flexibility, and support systems. But even workplaces that champion mental health often overlook their own leadership. The wellbeing of leaders directly affects team morale, strategic clarity and organisational resilience. Senior leadership roles, whether in politics, business or public service, are demanding by design. The holders are expected to remain calm under pressure, make difficult decisions and absorb the stress of their teams. However, the emotional cost of this responsibility is often underestimated. Unlike those starting out in their career, senior leaders often feel they have no safe space to acknowledge emotional strain. Admitting vulnerability can be seen as a professional risk, despite growing awareness about mental health. When I first wrote about stress in the workplace nearly 25 years ago, it was on the rise and replacing physical conditions such as low back pain and other musculoskeletal issues as the main source of work-related absence. Then, it seemed to reflect the move away from physically demanding heavy industry being a major source of employment and the growing awareness of mental health and wellbeing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The challenge on employers is understanding the pressures on all staff, both mental and physical. For leadership teams, this can be especially hard. I would urge all organisations to take an active role in normalising vulnerability in leadership through open conversations and relaying personal experiences – especially difficult ones. Organisations can also offer mental health support such as executive coaching and confidential therapy, and encourage peer support, where employees can speak candidly without fear of judgment. What happened in the House of Commons might have, temporarily, humanised the role of leadership. It may have even taken one small step towards dismantling the myth that strength means suppressing emotion. But to truly move forward, we must challenge deeply-embedded cultural expectations that continue to define professionalism as stoicism and emotional detachment, particularly at the top. While strength, decisiveness, and resilience are important qualities in leadership, so too are empathy, self-awareness, and the ability to acknowledge one's limits. In fact, these so-called 'soft' skills are increasingly critical to sustainable and human-centred leadership.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
The sick note culture threatening to bankrupt Europe
Sick leave is on the rise in Europe – and governments are counting the cost. The average worker in Germany now takes 15 days off sick per year. Meanwhile, in Norway – where workers call in sick more than anywhere in the OECD – 7pc of work days are lost to illness, the highest level in 15 years. France's sick pay bill rose 28pc between 2019 and 2023, according to the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM), due to an ageing population, inflation and the rise in workers taking time off for ill health. Some politicians have decided enough is enough. Last month, the French prime minister, François Bayrou, announced he was cracking down on sick leave in order to cut the country's ballooning deficit. Mr Bayrou vowed to 'reconcile the French with work'. He said inspectors had found that workers off sick for over 18 months had no justification in half of cases, which he described as 'unacceptable'. Since the pandemic, several countries have seen a spike in the number of sick days taken by the labour force. Nicolas Ziebarth, of the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, says this is partly because of shifting attitudes following the outbreak of Covid-19. 'The main explanation is that this is a post-Covid bump because employees are now more likely to call in sick with mild infectious diseases,' Mr Zierbarth says. This is not necessarily a bad thing, he says, as it reduces the spread of infections in the workplace. But a high number of workers off sick comes with a clear economic cost. In Germany, the cost of sick pay for employers soared from €36.9bn (£32bn) to €76.7bn (£67bn) between 2010 and 2023, according to a study by the German Economic Institute. Mr Ziebarth says: '[Rising absenteeism] is a problem as it increases labour costs for employers and leads to lost revenue, disruptions to work flow and spillovers to coworkers who have to pick up the slack.' Unsurprisingly, research has found a direct link between the generosity of a country's sick leave and the amount of time workers take off sick. Both Germany and Norway offer some of the best sick pay in the world. German workers get full pay for the first six weeks of sick leave. In Norway, the first 16 days are paid by the employer, and after that, the National Insurance scheme covers 100pc of the worker's salary for up to a year. By comparison, British workers receive just £118.75 per week for up to 28 weeks. According to data from the Office for National Statistics, the average worker took just 4.4 days of sick leave in 2024. Countries are under pressure to scale back their generous benefits. In Norway, public spending on sickness and disability benefits accounted for 8pc of GDP in 2022, far higher than the OECD average of 2pc. The International Monetary Fund has urged Norway to cut these benefits in order to 'reduce work disincentives, increase labour force participation, and contain long-term fiscal costs'. France has now taken the plunge. One of the new measures announced by the prime minister is a two-week cap on sick leave prescribed by GPs. Mr Bayrou also wants to let GPs, and not just occupational physicians, deem workers fit for work. Currently, workers who have been off sick for more than 30 days cannot go back to work without the advice of specialists who are in short supply. The prime minister said this 'absurd' situation prevented tens of thousands from returning to the workforce. France also wants to put a stop to workers abusing the system. It is estimated that fake sick notes cost the French economy more than €30m (£26m) in 2024, up from around €8m (£7m) in 2023. The government has rolled out a new sick leave certificate for doctors that is designed to be harder to forge. Mr Bayrou is aiming to cut €43.8bn (£38bn) from France's budget in order to get debt under control. Mr Ziebarth says sick leave policies that replace 100pc of a worker's salary are probably too generous. 'Something between 60-90pc is probably the economically 'optimal' replacement rate,' he says. Is Britain heading in a similar direction? The number of days lost to sickness in Britain has risen since 2019, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). However, overall workers take relatively few days off per year compared to other countries, in part because the country's sick pay is low by international standards. But Sebastian Rees, of the IPPR, says that workers' reluctance to take time off work comes at a price. 'We have a big presenteeism issue in the UK. Statutory sick pay is lower than in other countries, so there is a strong incentive to work while you're ill. But this means that workers dealing with health issues don't take enough time to recover and also aren't as productive.' Lost productivity due to sickness could be costing the economy billions. Data issues make it difficult to say for certain how ill health has impacted the UK workforce. The ONS' Labour Force Survey is a key source of data on economic inactivity, but economists have called its findings into question since it has suffered a significant drop in responses. However, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates that the cost of working-age ill health has more than doubled in six years to between £240bn and £330bn. Of this, about £120bn can be attributed to economic inactivity. A wide range of evidence suggests that health-related inactivity is on the rise in the UK, driven mainly by a surge in mental health conditions. Spending on health-related benefits has jumped by £16bn since the pandemic. Today, a third (37pc) of new disability benefit claims are for mental health, up from 28pc before the pandemic. No other comparable country has seen as big a post-pandemic increase in spending on health-related benefits, according to research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Eduin Latimer, of the think tank, says: 'Lots of countries are struggling with the long-term health consequences of the pandemic, but it's particularly coming out in health-related benefits here and we're not seeing that elsewhere.' Mr Latimer adds: 'That's a significant chunk of money. For context, if you were to raise the basic rate of income tax, you would raise about £6bn to £7bn, and forecasts suggest it will become even more fiscally challenging as spending on benefits increases.' Under the current trajectory, 13pc of the working-age population could be claiming health-related benefits by 2028-29, according to the IFS. Former prime minister, Rishi Sunak, promised to tackle a 'sick note culture' in Britain before his government was defeated in last year's election. Sir Keir Starmer had planned to cut sickness and disability benefits, but he watered down the reforms in the face of a major rebellion by backbench MPs. The Government wants to get more people back to work in order to rein in the welfare bill. The NHS issued over 11 million sick notes last year, 93pc of which deemed workers 'not fit for work'. Health secretary, Wes Streeting, has said the country 'simply can't afford to keep writing people off', and recently unveiled a pilot scheme where GP surgeries direct workers to career coaches, occupational therapists and gyms rather than just signing them off work. Beyond cutting benefits and restricting eligibility, Mr Latimer says the Government's other option is to invest in health and improve employer behaviour.
