diagnosed

A FORMER Premier League goalkeeper has been diagnosed with two terminal illnesses and is now receiving palliative care.

Russell Hoult’s family confirmed the ex-Derby County star is suffering with primary sclerosing cholangitis and stage four bile duct cancer.

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The 52-year-old footballer had spells at Leicester City, West Bromwich Albion, Derby County and Nottingham Forest during his 20-year career.

His starring role came for Derby in the mid-to-late 90s.

Hoult made 138 appearances for the Rams and played a big part in their 1996 promotion season back into the Premier League.

The dad-of-two went on to play 67 games in the top-flight across four years for Derby.

Hoult retired back in 2013 and

Hoult was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in September 2023, before the family was dealt another blow in August last year, when they received the “devastating” news that he also has stage four bile duct cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma).

THE early signs of cancer could be detected by listening to a patient’s voice, scientists say.

Using AI, subtle changes in the acoustics of a person’s voice helped pick up lesions in people diagnosed with voice box cancer.

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Researchers believe AI could be trained to hear these changes within a “couple of years”.

There are around 2,000 new cases of voice box (laryngeal) cancer in the UK each year.

A hoarse voice for more than three weeks can be a key symptom, and should be investigated by a GP.

Using AI for diagnosis could spell the end of uncomfortable tests currently used, such as a biopsy or nasendoscopy, in which a thin tube with a video camera is passed through the nose down the back of the throat.

The American team, part of the ‘Bridge2AI-Voice’ project, gathered voice recordings of 300 patients, some of whom had voice box cancer.

They studied at least six features of voice acoustics: the mean fundamental frequency (pitch); jitter, variation in pitch within speech; shimmer, variation of the amplitude; and the harmonic-to-noise ratio.

There were “marked” differences between men with and without cancer or a voice box disorder, such as nodules or polyps, specifically the harmonic-to-noise ratio, according to the findings published in the journal Frontiers in Digital Health.

It’s possible the same will be found for women with a larger dataset.

One of the study’s authors, Dr Phillip Jenkins, of Oregon Health & Science University, said: “To move from this study to an AI tool that recognises vocal fold lesions, we would train models using an even larger dataset of voice recordings, labelled by professionals.

“We then need to test the system to make sure it works equally well for women and men.

“Voice-based health tools are already being piloted.

“I estimate that with larger datasets and clinical validation, similar tools to detect vocal fold lesions might enter pilot testing in the next couple of years.”

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The symptoms of voice box cancer

Cancer Research UK have said there are four key symptoms of laryngeal cancer to look out for:

WASHINGTON — President Trump recently had a medical checkup after noticing “mild swelling” in his lower legs and was found to have a condition common in older adults that causes blood to pool in his veins, the White House said Thursday.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said tests by the White House medical unit showed that Trump has chronic venous insufficiency, which occurs when little valves inside the veins that normally help move blood against gravity gradually lose the ability to work properly.

Leavitt also addressed bruising on the back of Trump’s hand, seen in recent photos covered by makeup that was not an exact match to his skin tone. She said the bruising was “consistent” with irritation from his “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin.” Trump takes aspirin to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

She said during her briefing that her disclosure of Trump’s medical checkup was meant to dispel recent speculation about the 79-year-old president’s health. Nonetheless, the announcement was notable given that the Republican president has routinely kept secret basic facts about his health.

Trump in April had a comprehensive physical exam with more than a dozen medical specialists. The three-page report released then by the White House did not include a finding of chronic venous insufficiency. At the time, Trump’s doctor, Sean Barbabella, determined that the president’s joints and muscles had a full range of motion, with normal blood flow and no swelling.

Leavitt did not say when Trump first noticed the swelling in his lower legs. As part of the president’s routine medical care and out of an “abundance of caution,” she said he had a “comprehensive exam” that included vascular, lower extremity and ultrasound testing.

She noted that chronic venous insufficiency is a benign condition that is common in people older than 70.

She said the tests revealed no evidence of deep vein thrombosis, a more serious medical condition in which a blood clot forms in one or more of the deep veins in the body, usually in the legs. Nor was there any evidence of arterial disease, she said, reading a letter from Barbabella.

People often are advised to lose weight, walk for exercise and elevate their legs periodically, and some may be advised to wear compression stockings. Severe cases over time can lead to complications including lower leg sores called ulcers. Blood clots are one cause, but was ruled out, Leavitt said.

Leavitt said the condition wasn’t causing the president discomfort. She wouldn’t discuss how he was treating the condition and suggested those details would be in the doctor’s letter, which was released to the public. But the letter was the same as what she read, and it did not include additional details.

Dr. Anahita Dua, a vascular surgeon at Mass General Brigham who has never treated Trump, said there is no cure for chronic venous insufficiency.

“The vast majority of people, probably including our president, have a mild to moderate form of it,” Dua said.

People with the condition can reduce the swelling by wearing medical-grade compression socks or stockings, to help the blood circulate back to the heart, or by walking, she said.

The exam the White House disclosed Thursday included other testing that found no signs of heart failure, renal impairment or systemic illness in Trump, Leavitt said.

“The president remains in excellent health, which I think all of you witness on a daily basis here,” she told reporters.

Superville and Neergaard write for the Associated Press.

White House says Trump’s exam revealed a ‘benign and common condition’, no serious underlying issues found.

United States President Donald Trump has been diagnosed with “chronic venous insufficiency” after he was examined for leg swelling and bruising on his hands, according to the White House.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt called the malady a “benign and common condition” in which damaged veins prevent blood from flowing properly.

Reading a letter from Trump’s physician, Leavitt added that the condition has higher rates “in individuals over the age of 70”.

The 79-year-old Trump is the oldest person in US history to assume the presidency and made questions over former President Joe Biden’s age a defining issue in the 2024 election.

Biden, who is three years Trump’s senior, later dropped out of the race amid pressure from his own party, handing the Democratic candidacy to former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump months later. Nevertheless, the president has continued to attack Biden’s age and mental fitness.

On Thursday, Leavitt said there was “no evidence” of more serious issues like “deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease”.

She said all Trump’s test results “were within normal limits” and he had “normal cardiac structure and function, no signs of heart failure, renal impairment or systemic illness”.

The spokesperson also fielded questions over bruises on Trump’s hand, which had stoked online speculation over his health.

Leavitt said the bruises were “consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen”.

While not legally required, it has become common practice for US presidents to release annual physicals and details of their health.

During his 2015 campaign, Trump’s personal doctor, Harold Bornstein, released a letter saying he could “state unequivocally” that Trump “will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency”.

Bornstein later told CNN Trump had dictated the hyperbole-laced note.

Paramount Global chairwoman and controlling shareholder Shari Redstone is battling cancer as she tries to steer the media company through a turbulent sales process.

“Shari Redstone was diagnosed with thyroid cancer earlier this spring,” her spokeswoman Molly Morse said late Thursday. “While it has been a challenging period, she is maintaining all professional and philanthropic activities throughout her treatment, which is ongoing.

“She and her family are grateful that her prognosis is excellent,” Morse said.

The news comes nearly 11 months after Redstone agreed to sell Paramount to David Ellison’s Skydance Media in a deal that would end the family’s tenure as major Hollywood moguls after four decades.

However, the government’s review of the sale to Skydance hit a snag amid President Trump’s $20-billion lawsuit against Paramount and its subsidiary CBS over edits to an October “60 Minutes” broadcast.

Redstone, 71, told the New York Times that she underwent surgery last month after receiving the diagnosis about two months ago. Surgeons removed her thyroid gland but did not fully eradicate the cancer, which had spread to her vocal cords, the paper said.

She continues to be treated with radiation, the paper reported.

The Redstone family controls 77% of the voting shares of Paramount. Since Bob Bakish was ousted as chief executive last year, the company has been managed by a trio of executives who share the title of co-chief executive.

Her father, the late Sumner Redstone, built the company into a juggernaut but it has seen its standing slip in recent years. There have been management missteps and pressures brought on by consumers’ shift to streaming. The trend has crimped revenue to companies that own cable channels, including Paramount.

The COVID-19 pandemic followed by the 2023 writers and actors strikes also took a toll on Paramount and the Redstone family’s private firm, National Amusements Inc., which owns movie theaters.

Paramount cut its dividend to shareholders two years ago, leaving the family in a financial bind.

Financial pressures contributed to Redstone’s decision to entertain offers for Paramount and National Amusements, which holds the Paramount shares.

Nearly two years ago, Ellison and Redstone began talks that culminated last July with an agreement on a multi-phased $8-billion deal that would pass the torch to Ellison.

Redstone wants to close the deal. National Amusements would receive $2.4 billion, which would pay its debts and leave the family with more than $1.7 billion.

She has urged the company to settle the lawsuit Trump filed in October, weeks after “60 Minutes” interviewed then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump accused CBS of deceptively editing the interview to make Harris look smarter and improve her election chances, a charge that CBS has denied.

The dispute over the edits has sparked unrest within the company, prompted high-level departures and triggered a Federal Communications Commission examination of alleged news distortion.

The FCC’s review of the Skydance deal has become bogged down. If the agency does not approve the transfer of CBS television station licenses to the Ellison family, the deal could collapse.

The two companies must complete the merger by early October. If not, Paramount will owe a $400-million breakup fee to Skydance.

Redstone, through National Amusements, also owes nearly $400 million to a Chicago banker who loaned the family money in 2023 and tech titan Larry Ellison, who is helping bankroll the buyout of Paramount and National Amusements.

Last week, Paramount nominated three new directors to serve on the company’s board following its July 2 investor meeting.

In a proxy filing, Paramount asked shareholders to expand the board to seven directors, including Redstone and three recruits: attorney Mary Boies (a member of the firm led by her husband David Boies); Silicon Valley venture capital executive Charles E. Ryan; and former Massachusetts trial court judge Roanne Sragow Licht.

They would join longtime board members Linda M. Griego, Susan Schuman and Barbara M. Byrne.

Statement from Biden’s office comes after US President Donald Trump expressed doubt over timing of diagnosis.

Former United States President Joe Biden was not diagnosed with prostate cancer before last week, and received his “last known” blood test for the disease more than a decade ago, his office has said.

The Biden camp’s statement on Tuesday came as critics, including current President Donald Trump, stoked scepticism over the timing of the diagnosis, which has reanimated questions about whether the former president misled the public about his health while in office.

“President Biden’s last known PSA was in 2014,” Biden’s office said in the brief statement, referring to the prostate-specific antigen test used to detect prostate cancer.

“Prior to Friday, President Biden had never been diagnosed with prostate cancer.”

On Monday, Trump said he was “surprised” that the public had not been notified about Biden’s diagnosis “a long time ago”.

“Why did it take so long? This takes a long time. It can take years to get this level of danger,” Trump told reporters at the White House, referring to the advanced nature of Biden’s cancer.

“Somebody is not telling the facts, and that’s a big problem,” Trump said.

Biden’s office said on Sunday that the former president had, two days earlier, been diagnosed with prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.

Biden’s office said his cancer had score of 9 under the Gleason classification system, which grades prostate cancer from 6 to 10, indicating it is among the most aggressive kinds.

While some doctors have expressed doubt that Biden, 82, was not diagnosed earlier given his access to the best medical care, others have noted that screening is generally not recommended for men of his age and that some cancers do not show up in tests.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other medical bodies do not recommend regular screening for prostate cancer for men over 70 due to the quality of life issues that can result from unnecessary treatment.

“It is entirely reasonable, albeit sad, that even a person of President Biden’s position may present with a new diagnosis of prostate cancer that is metastatic at his age,” Adam Weiner, an urologic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, told Al Jazeera.

“Since President Biden is now 82, it is entirely possible he was screened for prostate cancer up to the recommended age and his newly diagnosed prostate cancer first occurred sometime since then,” Weiner said.

Nick James, an expert in prostate cancer at The Institute of Cancer Research in London, said the Biden camp’s account of the diagnosis was “plausible even if a bit unusual”, as certain cancers with a low PSA production can be missed in blood tests.

“It’s one of the drawbacks of PSA testing is that it can miss such tumours. Likewise, prostate MRI, the other test he might have had, also has a false negative rate,” James told Al Jazeera.

Biden’s age and health were major concerns for voters during his presidency and re-election campaign, which the former president abandoned following a disastrous debate performance against Trump in June.

Critics have accused Biden and his team of covering up the extent of his mental and physical decline while in office.

On Tuesday, CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios correspondent Alex Thompson released a new book, Original Sin, detailing the Biden camp’s alleged efforts to conceal his deterioration.

The book includes numerous accounts of Biden’s alleged decline, including an incident in which the then-president was said to have not been able to recognise Hollywood actor George Clooney at a 2024 fundraiser.

Former US President Joe Biden, 82, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, a statement from his office said on Sunday.

Biden, who left office in January, was diagnosed on Friday after he saw a doctor last week for urinary symptoms.

The cancer is a more aggressive form of the disease, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 out of 10. This means his illness is classified as “high-grade” and the cancer cells could spread quickly, according to Cancer Research UK.

Biden and his family are said to be reviewing treatment options. His office added that the cancer was hormone-sensitive, meaning it could likely be managed.

In Sunday’s statement, Biden’s office said: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.

“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.

“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.”

After news broke of his diagnosis, the former president received support from both sides of the aisle.

President Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that he and First Lady Melania Trump “are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis.”

“We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family,” he said, referring to former First Lady Jill Biden. “We wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”

Former Vice-President Kamala Harris, who served under Biden, wrote on X that she and her husband Doug Emhoff are keeping the Biden family in their prayers.

“Joe is a fighter – and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership,” Harris said.

In a post on X, Barack Obama – who served as president from 2009 to 2017 with Joe Biden as his deputy – said that he and his wife Michelle were “thinking of the entire Biden family”.

“Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe, and I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace. We pray for a fast and full recovery,” Obama said. In 2016, the former president launched a “Cancer Moonshot” programme and announced that Biden would lead it.

The news comes nearly a year after the former president was forced to drop out of the 2024 US presidential election over concerns about his health and age. He is the oldest person to have held the office in US history.

Biden, then the Democratic nominee vying for re-election, faced mounting criticism of his poor performance in a June televised debate against Republican nominee and current president Donald Trump. He was replaced as the Democratic candidate by his vice-president, Kamala Harris.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer affecting men, behind skin cancer, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that 13 out of every 100 men will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives.

Age is the most common risk factor, the CDC says.

Dr William Dahut, the Chief Scientific Officer at the American Cancer Society and a trained prostate cancer physician, told the BBC that the cancer is more aggressive in nature, based on the publicly-available information on Biden’s diagnosis.

“In general, if cancer has spread to the bones, we don’t think it is considered a curable cancer,” Dr Dahut said.

He noted, however, that most patients tend to respond well to initial treatment, “and people can live many years with the diagnosis”.

Dr Dahut said that someone with the former president’s diagnosis will likely be offered hormonal therapies to mitigate symptoms and to slow the growth of cancerous cells.

Biden had largely retreated from the public eye since leaving the White House and he has made few public appearances.

The former president delivered a keynote speech in April at a Chicago conference held by the Advocates, Counselors, and Representatives for the Disabled, a US-based advocacy group for people with disabilities.

In May, he sat down for an interview with the BBC – his first since leaving the White House – where he admitted that the decision to step down from the 2024 race was “difficult”.

Biden has faced questions about the status of his health in recent months.

In an appearance on The View programme that also took place in May, Biden denied claims that he had been experiencing cognitive decline in his final year at the White House. “There is nothing to sustain that,” he said.

For many years, the president had advocated for cancer research.

In 2022, he and Mrs Biden relaunched the Cancer Moonshot initiative with the goal of mobilising research efforts to prevent more than four million cancer deaths by the year 2047.

Biden himself lost his eldest son, Beau, to brain cancer in 2015.

Doctors discovered the cancer in Joe Biden last week after urinary symptoms and the detection of a prostate nodule.

Former United States President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with “aggressive” prostate cancer, his office has said in a statement.

Biden was seen last week by doctors after urinary symptoms developed and a prostate nodule was found. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone, the statement released on Sunday said.

“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management,” his office said.

“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians”, it added.

The health of the 82-year-old Biden was a key concern among US voters during his time as president and became more so during the 2024 campaign.

After a calamitous debate performance in June 2024, Biden abandoned his bid for a second term. Then-Vice President Kamala Harris became the nominee and lost to Donald Trump, who returned to the White House after a four-year hiatus.

Trump, a longtime political opponent, who has lambasted Biden and continues to blame him for wars and economic ills, posted on social media that he was saddened by the news and “we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery”.

Pete Buttigieg, who was Biden’s transportation secretary, called the former president “a man of deep faith and extraordinary resilience”.

Biden, a self-proclaimed Zionist, was heavily criticised in some quarters at home and overseas for his unconditional support for Israel in its punishing Gaza war after the Hamas-led October 7 attack, and for not using Washington’s leverage to rein in US ally Israel, as death and devastation wracked Palestinians in Gaza.

In recent days, Biden rejected concerns about his age despite reporting in the new book Original Sin that aides had shielded the public from the extent of his cognitive decline while he served as president.

Some prominent Democratic politicians have recently acknowledged that it was a mistake to advance Biden as the nominee, one that likely cost them the White House, given the growing concerns among voters about his age, even though Trump was in his late 70s.

A Reuters/Ipsos polls, some time before the debate, showed a majority of Americans, including most Democrats, believed Biden was too old to serve a second term.

“It was a mistake for Democrats to not listen to the voters earlier,” Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Murphy told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning, before Biden’s diagnosis was announced.

Prostate cancers are given a ranking called a Gleason score that measures, on a scale of 1 to 10, how the cancerous cells look compared with normal cells. Biden’s score of 9 suggests his cancer is among the most aggressive.

When prostate cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it often spreads to the bones. Metastasised cancer is much harder to treat than localised cancer because it can be hard for drugs to reach all the tumours and completely root out the disease.

Biden lost a son, Beau Biden, in 2015, to brain cancer.

WASHINGTON — Former President Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer, his office said Sunday.

Biden was seen last week by doctors after urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule was found. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone. His office said he has Stage 9 cancer.

“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” his office said in a statement. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

Prostate cancers are given a rating called a Gleason score that measures, on a scale of 1 to 10, how the cancerous cells look compared with normal cells. Biden’s score of 9 suggests his cancer is among the most aggressive.

When prostate cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it often spreads to the bones. Metastasized cancer is much harder to treat than localized cancer because it can be hard for drugs to reach all the tumors and completely root out the disease.

However, when prostate cancers need hormones to grow, as in Biden’s case, they can be susceptible to treatment that deprives the tumors of hormones.

The health of Biden, 82, was a dominant concern among voters during his time as president. After a calamitous debate performance in June while seeking reelection, Biden abandoned his bid for a second term. Then-Vice President Kamala Harris became the nominee and lost to Republican Donald Trump, who returned to the White House after a four-year hiatus.

But in recent days, Biden rejected concerns about his age despite reporting in a new book, “Original Sin” by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, that aides had shielded the public from the extent of his decline while he was serving as president.

In February 2023, Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer. And in November 2021, he had a polyp removed from his colon that was a benign but potentially pre-cancerous lesion.

In 2022, Biden made a “cancer moonshot” one of his administration’s priorities with the goal of halving the cancer death rate over the next 25 years. The initiative was a continuation of his work as vice president to address a disease that had killed his older son, Beau.