As technology changes, so does medical diagnosis
It’s here where modern imaging is coming into its own. For hard-to-find diseases like prostate cancer, MRI scans help ensure a correct diagnosis, explains Mercy Radiology’s Medical Director Dr Remy Lim, who specialises in interpreting prostate MRI scans. ‘‘It’s the only way you can have a really good look at the prostate itself and pick up lymph nodes and possible cancers.’’ Because of its hard-to-reach location, traditional prostate biopsies could miss certain areas and provide false reassurance. Previously, patients diagnosed with low grade cancer on biopsy who opted for ‘active surveillance’ had to rely on MRI to confirm no aggressive lesions had been missed. However, with the improvement of MRI, there’s a growing international trend to scan first. As Dr Lim notes, this gives the urologist a ‘‘roadmap’’ to find the cancer and can also potentially help patients avoid unneeded biopsies.
‘‘A landmark study in The Lancet (medical journal) last year estimates that 27 per cent of men could avoid having a biopsy altogether.’’ In more serious cases, it’s equally useful for getting a correct diagnosis. Dr Lim recalls one case where a patient was referred for an MRI and a potentially aggressive lesion was detected. A biopsy was performed with a normal result, but because of the worrying MRI result, they decided to perform a prostate cancer PET-CT scan.
For this patient, his PET-CT result confirmed the MRI. This meant a repeat biopsy was needed, from which the cancer was eventually confirmed. ‘‘If we had performed just a biopsy without the MRI, the cancer would have remained undiagnosed, would have grown and potentially killed the patient.’’ Because of its invaluable services, access to MRI is critical. To meet this need, Mercy Radiology recently installed a new MRI scanner in Silverdale, serving a growing community between Albany and Whangarei who would have previously had to travel far to get scanned. ‘‘Instead of getting people to come into the city, we wanted to have the technology come to them,’’ Dr Lim says. ‘‘It fits our ambition to ensure we’re focusing on what patients need.’’
See Mercy Radiology at Silverdale Medical Centre, 7 Polarity Rise.
Phone 0800 497297 or visit www.radiology.co.nz.
Poll: How do you feel about dogs being allowed indoors in cafes?
For most of us, seeing a friendly doggo while out and about instantly brings a smile to our faces. But how do you feel about cafes welcoming pups inside?
Cast a vote and share your thoughts below.
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27.6% I love it!
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31.3% Only in designated areas
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41.1% No, it should be outdoors only.
What should the rules be for alcohol in public?
We have some proposed amendments to the Alcohol Control Bylaw, and we want to know what you think:
🍷 Have your say on the Alcohol Control Bylaw
The bylaw allows us to ban alcohol completely from specific locations, during certain times of the day, or during certain times of the year. The bans need to reflect the times and places where alcohol causes problems, and can be enforced by police. Only public places are affected by these rules, not homes or licensed premises.
In the new proposal, the city centre alcohol ban would be expanded to include the carparks at Okara Shopping Centre, Cobham Oval and under Te Matau a Pohe bridge. An alcohol ban would also be introduced at Tarewa Park.
We also propose to lift the existing blanket coastal ban that applies to public places within 300m of the mean low tide mark, and narrow the alcohol bans at Oakura, Whananaki North, Whananaki South, Matapōuri/Whale Bay and Pataua North and South - changing the ban from 24 hours a day to just at night time (between 7:00pm and 7:00am).
We appreciate your input to choose appropriate new rules!
Happy Tuesday, neighbours, can you figure out today's riddle rush 🏃♂️
A bus driver goes the wrong way down a one-way street. He passes the cops, but they don’t stop him. Why?
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