Brit J Hosp Med
-
Breast cancer is the most common global malignancy and the leading cause of cancer deaths. Despite this, undergraduate and postgraduate exposure to breast cancer is limited, impacting on the ability of clinicians to accurately recognise, assess and refer appropriate patients. This article provides a comprehensive review of the pathology, epidemiology, clinical presentation, referral pathways and management of breast cancer in the UK. It also describes how to conduct a thorough clinical breast examination.
-
The specialised foundation programme, previously known as the academic foundation programme, is an alternate foundation training pathway for doctors that are interested in research, medical education and leadership. The programme is highly competitive, with competition ratios rising to 1:5 in some units of application. A series of courses is held each year out of goodwill to assist students with the application process, but little has been published with respect to evidence-based approaches to both the application process and interviews. This article provides a series of frameworks to simplify the challenges posed by the application process and the academic, personal and clinical interviews.
-
Rotator cuff repair is increasingly being performed, and this is likely to continue to given the ageing population. An improvement in functional outcome can be achieved, with the best results noted in those tendons that go on to heal. ⋯ Several operative strategies have been described, but careful evaluation is required to determine the most suitable option. This review describes the decision-making strategies and treatment options available during management of a failed rotator cuff repair.
-
Extra-mammary Paget's disease is a rare cancer affecting the anogenital region and can present with a myriad of symptoms. In women, the diagnosis of Paget's disease can be challenging as it mimics several other vulval conditions. It is important to promptly recognise this disease because of its potential association with synchronous tumours, such as colorectal adenocarcinoma. ⋯ There is growing evidence to move away from traditional surgical excision to using topical therapy, such as imiquimod, as surgery can often be extensive and disfiguring with a prolonged recovery time. There is considerable psychosexual and physical morbidity associated with Paget's disease, largely owing to multiple surgical recurrences. As recurrences can occur several years after the initial presentation, long-term follow up of patients is recommended.