Health News Update

Diagnosing melanoma without surgery

Health news update on melanoma skin cancers and a detection device called Melafind.

Melanoma is a deadly skin cancer and usually requires a skin biopsy to make a diagnosis. However, this may soon change as the FDA has just approved a device that can scan the skin.

The device known as Melafind was developed to scan the skin for lesions that have features common in a melanoma. In the past, the only way to make a diagnosis of melanoma has been a biopsy and unfortunately, the majority of these turn out to be negative. Besides producing scars, surgery is also costly and often disfiguring. With Melafind, the dermatologist can rapidly scan the skin and identify early melanotic lesions. If the machine does detect a cancer, then the doctor can go ahead with a biopsy. If the scan does not find any features of a melanoma, it does save the individual unnecessary surgery and money.

MelaFind has been tested in a large prospective study and found to be extremely sensitive in identifying early melanomas.

Melanomas are rare cancers but usually have a lethal outcome when the diagnosis is delayed. According to statistics released by the American Cancer
Society, at least 10,000 people  in North America die each year from melanoma and the number of cases are increasing at an exponential rate, especially in young women.

Said Dr Joseph Gulfo, President and CEO of Mela Science “We are extremely pleased with the results of the panel vote and look forward to working with the FDA during its ongoing review of the MelaFind PMA application. Melanoma is virtually 100 percent curable if detected at its earliest stage.”

What remains to be seen is what Melafind scan will cost and how often will be the screening process.

New Wheelchairs on the Market

The Tank Chair gives all-terrain freedom to the disabled

Health news for those seeking a new wheelchair on the market:  There is a new behemoth on the market today, tearing up the streets and carving a path of destruction wherever it goes; a new vehicle that will put hairs on your chest and turn you into a great big strong manly man full of testosterone the very moment you sit down. It’s not a new pick-up truck, however, and it’s not a tank (although you’re close). No, it’s a wheelchair.

The Tank Chair, created solely for the purpose of conquering off-road terrain, offers people who are disabled the chance to go anywhere. Using tracks (like the ones that you find on a tank) instead of wheels, the chair is equipped to travel over any obstacle; snow, sand, mud, rocks, you name it. The bulky size might make it somewhat of a hassle to maneuver around narrow paths and corridors but for an outdoor setting, it’s perfect. It is even capable of climbing up stairs. The following link will be able to tell you more.

Such a revolutionary idea does not come without a catch, though. The Tank Chair has to be custom built to suit people of different weights and disabilities.  A 300 pound person with a T1 spinal break would have a different chair than a paraplegic who weighs 150 pounds. This is an issue for their safety but what this means, unfortunately, is that you won’t be purchasing one on a whim any time soon. But if you’re a wheelchair-bound person and you miss the great outdoors, this may be the perfect investment for you.