Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) arise from neuroendocrine cells, which release hormones and peptides into the bloodstream and control different organs. The tumours can start almost anywhere in the body. PRRT treatment involves attaching a radioactive medicine to a special protein and injecting it into the bloodstream, where it delivers a high-dose of radiation to the cancer’s cells. Most patients have four doses, although some need only two. The treatment takes between four and six hours to administer, and is not suitable for all patients.
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May Leaoseve travelled to Melbourne for PRRT treatment last year. Sending patients to Melbourne for PRRT became difficult as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions, so a small, interim service had been operating in Auckland since September, for the 12 most urgent patients only.
NET cancer patients relieved treatment will be permanently offered in NZ
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Burnt-out nurses told to rely on each other as counselling services full
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More than 250,000 doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine will expire before they are used. The Government announced a $40 million year-long measles vaccination catch-up campaign past July, when it said roughly 300,000 young adults aged between 15 and 30 were not immune to measles, as their immunisation rate is too low to prevent an outbreak. It followed the worst measles outbreak seen in two decades in March 2019, after a cluster of cases in Canterbury. More than 2000 people caught the disease, and nearly 800 were hospitalised. A review of the response found issues with vaccine distribution and public messaging, and suggested action should have been taken “much earlier”.