What's New

The Staight Practice Golf Day - Friday 2 July 2010

15 players assembled for the 3rd practice golf day to be held at the Royal Mid Surrey Golf Club.

There were a number of injuries and the field was somewhat depleted but the team competition was closely contested and eventually won by Martin Wickens, Gisela Burg, James Stafford and Jammie Hoare.

The longest drive was won by Mark Hall who hit an enormous drive into the wind on the 9th hole and nearest the pin, albeit the only one who hit the green was Brian Watt.

David Hoare won the Stableford points prize with a score of 39 points and Harry Staight won the cup for the lowest gross score, shooting 10 over, although managed, somehow, to not hit a fairway in the first 11 holes.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vaccination Against Cancer Of The Cervix

The peak age for cancer of the cervix is 35-40, and 1000 women die from this each year in the UK. Worldwide, about 250,000 women die each year

Since the launch of cervical screening, the incidence of cervical cancer has more than halved with the mortality rate falling from 90 per 100,000 women in1950 to 30 per 100,000 women in 2000.

HPV plays a major role in cervical cancer and is present in 99% of cervical cancers. There are over 100 genotypes of which about 20 infect the cervix. It is transmitted by exfoliation, and sexual intercourse is one of the main modes of transmission.

Approximately 80% of women will at some stage in their lives have HPV, most will develop immunity and kill the virus but in a minority where the HPV infection persists, mild, moderate or severe cervical precancer develops
(CIN 1, 2 or 3).

The vaccine Gardasil protects against CIN disease and cancer of the cervix caused by types 16 and 18. These account for 70% of such cases in the UK. Gardasil also protects against HPV types 6 and 11 which cause 90% of genital warts.

The vaccine is highly effective and immunity at the moment has been shown to last for at least five years. It is not yet known if booster injections will be necessary. It has not been possible to establish minimum antibody levels that protect against clinical disease caused by HPV 6, 11, 16 and 18.

It is particularly useful for girls and young women who have never had intercourse. Having said that, many doctors are now giving the vaccine to women who have had intercourse or it can be accompanied by screening for the virus also.

It is important to remember that anyone who has had the Gardasil vaccine should continue to have regular smears in the future.

The vaccine consists of 3 vaccinations, spaced out over 6 months, and involves a simple injection into the muscle of either the leg or the upper arm.

If you would like further information, please contact Dr Staight or Dr Bealing regarding this.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prevention of Gout

Gout is a very painful condition caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood which then crystallise out into joints, leading to intense pain.

New research has shown a link between fructose and attacks of gout.

Fructose is a type of sugar present in sugar-sweetened soft drinks and fruit juices. In people who suffer with gout, the higher the intake of fructose, the higher the chance of experiencing attacks of gout. Diet soft drinks are not associated with the risk of gout in men.

Other measures can also help:

Losing weight
Drinking 2 litres of water per day
Reducing alcohol intake as alcohol raises the level of uric acid in the blood, especially beer and spirits.
Restricting purine-rich foods which lead to uric acid production which can be difficult but dietary advice is available from: The UK Gout Society (www.ukgoutsociety.org)

High purine foods include meat, game, seafood and foods containing yeast, eg Marmite and beer.

The main treatment involves anti-inflammatories to reduce the pain and if attacks are recurrent, regular medication with allopurinol can prevent attacks completely.

Guy Staight