Health & Wellbeing

Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice’s ‘Chocolate 5K’ series will be coming to an end for 2016 with a final run in Solihull. Starting from Dorridge Village Hall on Saturday 10^th September, the ‘Chocolate 5K’ gives chocolate lovers the opportunity to burn off the calories whilst collecting sweet treats along the route. Runners will also receive a chocolate medal and Chocolate 5k goody bag as well as gain free entry into the post-run chocolate buffet.

Public Health England has launched a new ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ campaign with the aim of raising awareness of the symptoms of lung cancer, lung disease and heart disease – all leading causes of death in England. Latest figures show that in the West Midland region, around 3,860 people are diagnosed with lung cancer each year. Around 108,367 people have been diagnosed with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease – a common form of lung disease that includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis) and around 199,913 with coronary heart disease.

Coeliac UK, the national charity for people with coeliac disease, hopes to reach people living with undiagnosed coeliac disease in the region with its weeklong pop up event taking place in Birmingham next week. One in 100 people in the UK has coeliac disease, but the autoimmune condition is greatly undiagnosed, meaning there are around half a million people in the UK who are currently without a diagnosis. The charity is bringing its ‘Is it coeliac disease?’ campaign roadshow to cities across the UK in a bid to increase diagnosis rates and this will be the first time it will be in the Midlands.

The UK’s largest hearing loss charity Action on Hearing Loss is urging the 433,500 residents in West Midlands who are deaf or have hearing loss to tell their GP what support they need to help them communicate. The call to the public comes as the charity launches its new campaign, ‘On the Record’, just under three weeks before the NHS England’s mandatory Accessible Information Standard comes into full force.

Walkers who between them have clocked up more than 20,000 walks in one year were invited to the Mayor's Parlour to celebrate their achievements. Some 190 walkers from the popular Walking for Health in Wolverhampton each completed more 120 health walks in just one year, and joined Mayor Councillor Barry Findlay to mark the achievement. The Walking for Health programme was launched in 2001 to encourage people to take more exercise.

Health chiefs are reminding eligible older people to make sure they get their shingles vaccine. Vaccination is the most effective way to protect against the debilitating illness, and from September 2013, the vaccine has been offered routinely free to people aged 70. There is also an ongoing catch-up programme to ensure everyone is offered the vaccine before their 80th birthday. It means the vaccine is also currently available to people who are now aged 79 or who turned 71, 72, 73 or 78 on or after 1 September 2015.

British sporting champions Tom Daley and Becky Adlington have joined forces and are encouraging children to ‘just keep moving’ this summer, as they launch nationwide interactive family swim sessions and a brand new 10 Minute Shake Up campaign – all inspired by the new Disney·Pixar blockbuster, Finding Dory.

Following the development of the new Salk Polio vaccine, Elvis Presley, then at the peak of his powers in 1956, was asked to become a figurehead for Polio vaccination. By agreeing to be vaccinated in front of the press, he instantly spread awareness of the disease and it’s potentially deadly consequences. Now, 50 years later, the Polio movement needs another ‘Elvis moment’ to confront Post Polio Syndrome (PPS).

With peak holiday season fast approaching many of the 3.5 million people living with diabetes in the UK will be looking forward to a well deserved break in the sunshine or planning a long weekend away. Sadly, diabetes never takes a holiday but the good news is it doesn’t need to spoil yours. Preparation can make all the difference. Diabetes UK has loads of useful travel advice at diabetes.org.uk/travel including handy tips about carrying a letter from your doctor, packing extra medication and how to store your supplies.

Yeovil Hospital has announced the launch of an exciting new partnership with renowned health and well-being destination La Manga Club resort in Murcia, south-east Spain. The agreement is another pioneering move for the hospital, well-known both for its innovative work to integrate services across Somerset as part of the NHS' vanguard project and successful track record in commercial partnerships.

People worried about their own memory problems – or those of other people – are invited to a new monthly drop-in session. Memory Matters takes place at Wednesfield Community Hub, Well Lane, on the first Tuesday of the month from 10am-5pm, with professionals on hand to offer advice and guidance to people who are concerned that they are becoming a bit forgetful, or are worried about a friend or relative.

Ahmad Butt, the Head of Support Services at national charity the British Polio Fellowship, has announced he is to personally undertake a 10k run to try and raise extra funds for the charity and the valuable work they do. Ahmad is taking the phrase ‘going the extra mile’ quite literally by partaking in this year’s British 10k, with an aim to collect £3k in funding in sponsorship from 10 July event, which follows a route through central London, and passes by many of the capital’s most iconic landmarks, including the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square and St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Blood cancer charity Cure Leukaemia is celebrating the 10^th anniversary of the Centre for Clinical Haematology (CCH) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham by attempting a world record for the most names included in the design of a running shirt. The charity’s ‘Donate Your Name’ campaign will encourage existing supporters and the general public to donate £20 via bespoke website www.donateyourname.co.uk to have their name or chosen name included in the design of the commemorative shirt.

Memory Walk is Alzheimer’s Society’s flagship fundraising event taking place across England, Wales and Northern Ireland this September and October. This year, the Birmingham Memory Walk, set in the South of the city, will take place on Sunday 11 September at Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham. We are aiming to raise £280,000 and bring together more than 4,500 walkers across generations.

Cancer information and support is coming to the people of Coventry from Saturday 02 July to Sunday 03 July courtesy of Macmillan Cancer Support’s mobile service. A team of cancer information specialists will be stopping off at the Godiva Festival to answer questions, provide support and inform people about local cancer services. It’s open to anyone, no matter what your concern – whether you’re living with or beyond cancer, or are a loved one or carer for someone who is.

Women who have had a diagnosis of ovarian cancer from across the UK put their questions to world-renowned experts at the UK’s leading ovarian cancer conference. The ‘Ask the Experts’ conference, organised by Target Ovarian Cancer, took place at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Birmingham on Tuesday 14 June 2016. Every year, 678 people are diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the West Midlands, and 422 lose their lives.