Sweet poison was first published in 2008 and is probably more relevant now than when David first wrote it. The book contains a great deal of well-researched information and would be a good recommendation to patients eager to learn how a relatively simple dietary choice may turn around emerging health issues.

In an earlier episode, we reviewed the principles of radiation therapy from a general perspective. This field of medicine unifies the management of cancer, by harnessing the therapeutic benefits of radiation, utilising ionising radiation. A specific form of this treatment is stereotactic radiotherapy, which administers radiotherapy from different angles around the body, with the focus of ionisation meeting at the targeted tumour to be treated. This allows the focussed delivery of high-dose radiation to the tumour, whilst nearby tissues receive a much lower and thus less damaging dose - lowering the risk of side effects.

Urinary tract infections are one of the top twenty reasons patients present, for primary care. According to Kidney Health Australia, 1 in 2 women and 1 in 20 men will develop a urinary tract infection in their lifetime. Approximately 4 in 10 women who develop a UTI will have at least one more infection in the next 6 months. Furthermore, 4% of patients in residential care develop recurrent UTIs, which is defined as 3 infections in a 12-month period or 2 or more in a 6-month period (including cystitis and pyelonephritis).

A patient approaching a doctor expects medical treatment with all the knowledge and skill that the doctor possesses, to bring relief to his or her medical problem. The relationship takes the shape of a contract. Equally, a doctor owes certain duties to his patient and a breach of any of these duties gives a cause of action for negligence against the doctor. As doctors, we have a duty to obtain prior informed consent from the patient, before carrying out diagnostic tests and therapeutic management. We also need to clearly document our conversations, investigations, and procedures. Communication, consent, and documentation are the big three issues that tend to permeate most medical claims.

The term Multiple Myeloma was introduced in 1873 by von Rustizky when at autopsy he found 8 separate tumours of the bone marrow in a patient described as soft in consistency and reddish in colour and thence called “Multiple Myeloma”.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease has emerged as one of the more important clinical problems being faced by primary care clinicians and hepatologists and is estimated to affect 20-30% of our population. Closely linked to metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and diabetes, an increasing prevalence of this condition mirrors the rising average BMI of western societies.

Functional hands and fingers are taken for granted until they are damaged by disease or injury. The hand is an incredibly complex structure tasked with fine motor skills as well as the power of grip. Its incredible sensory connections communicate to us the beauty of touch, and the importance of temperature and texture and serve as a vital link in our relationship with the world.

Musculoskeletal disorders are a common cause of long-term disability and are estimated to make up about 15% of the workload of general practitioners. Joint pain specifically is also extremely common, especially as one ages. In one national survey, one-third of adults reported having joint pain within the past 30 days. Knee pain was the most common complaint followed by shoulder and hip pain.

Musculoskeletal disorders are a common cause of long-term disability and are estimated to make up about 15% of the workload of general practitioners. Joint pain specifically is also extremely common, especially as one ages. In one national survey, one third of adults reported having joint pain within the past 30 days. Knee pain was the most common complaint followed by shoulder and hip pain.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in Australia with about 15,500 cases reported last year accounting for 10% of all new cancer diagnoses. Death from colorectal cancer at about 5300 yearly ranks only second behind lung cancer and accounts for about 10% of all cancer deaths in Australia highlighting the importance of its early detection and treatment.

Recognising these critical statistics the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) was conceived and commenced in 2006 and by 2019 all Australians aged between 50 and 74 years were invited to participate in biennial faecal occult blood test screening for human haemoglobin using an immunochemical methodology as a surrogate marker of more serious internal colonic disease.

In the last 12 months, 121,000 Australians were diagnosed with diabetes, this statistic represents a 7% increase from the preceding year. There are now over 1.236 million Australians with type 2 diabetes and over 129,000 with type 1 diabetes and about 50,000 Australians have gestational diabetes each year -these staggering figures mean that 332 new diagnoses occur each day, about one new case every 5 minutes.

In respect to type 2 diabetes, the metabolic syndrome secondary to the obesity epidemic would appear to be a major contributor to new diagnoses. Australia ranks 6th highest amongst OECD countries (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) in relation to its overweight and obese citizen with 67% characterised as overweight or obese (36% overweight, 31% obese).

In the last 12 months, 121,000 Australians were diagnosed with diabetes, this statistic represents a 7% increase from the preceding year. There are now over 1.236 million Australians with type 2 diabetes and over 129,000 with type 1 diabetes and about 50,000 Australians have gestational diabetes each year -these staggering figures mean that 332 new diagnoses occur each day, about one new case every 5 minutes.

With respect to type 2 diabetes, the metabolic syndrome secondary to the obesity epidemic would appear to be a major contributor to new diagnoses. Australia ranks 6th highest amongst OECD countries (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) in relation to its overweight and obese citizen with 67% characterised as overweight or obese (36% overweight, 31% obese).

The provision of healthcare to our indigenous population provides both a privilege and a challenge for administrators, doctors, nurses and allied healthcare workers. For most of us living far away in metropolitan centres, comfortably ignorant and sheltered from these very real challenges we can only begin to imagine the cultural sensitivities, demands and clinical problems at hand.