Wellington, Sept 3 NZPA - Two GPs are warning that doctors need to be prepared for a wave of new ailments this century caused by climate change, including more accidents, gastroenteritis, skin cancer, depression and dengue fever.

Wellington, Sept 3 NZPA - People with advanced lung cancer could find it much easier to be treated at home with Pharmac announcing an oral cancer drug will now be funded.

As of October 1, the oral drug erlotinib (tarceva) will be funded for people with advanced lung cancer.

Wellington, Sept 3 NZPA - The elderly should be cared for in the community as a way of reducing "rocketing" healthcare costs, business journalist and commentator Rod Oram says.

New Zealanders fighting the country's leading cause of cancer death will benefit following PHARMAC's announcement today of their decision to fund Roche's Tarceva® (erlotinib), a treatment that extends survival and improves quality of life for advanced lung cancer sufferers 1.

Monitoring results from late August 2010 have shown that the human health threat from cyanobacteria in all the tested lakes is now acceptably low, apart from Lake Waikare, where a health warning remains in place as levels are persistently high..

Funding a new drug for people with advanced lung cancer and widening access to two other cancer treatments are features of a new agreement PHARMAC has reached with pharmaceutical company Roche Products (NZ) Ltd.

Overall, national influenza H1N1 activity in the community now appears to be falling. However, there is still regional variation, with some areas experiencing high or increasing influenza activity.

The West Coast District Health Board has received notice from the Association of Professionals and Executive Employees (APEX) that radiographers are withdrawing their labour from 7.00am on Tuesday 7 September until 7.00am Wednesday 8 September.

Wellington, Sept 3 NZPA - Trans-Tasman grocers have called for calm on the issue of bisphenol A (BPA) in food packaging, stating it poses no "danger to humans" at the levels detected.

Auckland, Sept 2 NZPA - Eleventh hour talks aimed at averting a nationwide strike by radiographers next week appear to have failed.