"Targets" followed by government cancer screener set to kill woman

Breastscreen patients who get letters stating their mammograms show "no visible evidence of breast cancer" cannot be sure they are risk-free until they see a GP or have an ultrasound, a court has found. In a "controversial and far-reaching" case, Christine Ann O'Gorman, 57, was awarded almost $406,000 damages in the Supreme Court in Sydney yesterday after she sued BreastScreen NSW - an arm of the Sydney South West Area Health Service - for failing to diagnose a cancerous tumour that spread to her lungs and brain.

Ms O'Gorman, who is terminally ill, had mammograms every two years from 1994 at BreastScreen but radiologists failed to detect that a lump in her left breast had almost doubled in size between her 2004 and 2006 scans, Justice Clifton Hoeben found. After each scan, the single mother from Moorebank was issued with a letter stating her results showed "no visible evidence of breast cancer".

In his judgment, Justice Hoeben said a letter from BreastScreen was not enough for women to rely on. "I am sure that many women who participate in the BreastScreen program believe that when they receive the pro-forma letter, the presence of cancer is excluded," he said. "That is clearly not the case. The documents which those women sign before undergoing a mammogram and the pamphlets available make it clear that there are significant qualifications applicable when a 'no visible evidence of cancer' result is communicated to them."

Justice Hoeben found that, had radiologists compared O'Gorman's 2004 and 2006 scans, the change in appearance of the lump would have been detected and would have prompted further tests. Instead, Ms O'Gorman felt the cancerous tumour herself in January last year. After seeing her GP and undergoing further tests, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and after chemotherapy her left breast was removed in August last year. The cancer has subsequently spread to her lungs and brain.

Supported in court yesterday by her partner Glen and daughter Kristy, Ms O'Gorman wept when Justice Hoeben awarded her $405,990.15. Outside court, she said she did not want her negative experience with BreastScreen to discourage women from having their breasts checked regularly through the service. But she said compliance standards that urge clinics to "keep down" the numbers of women recalled to less than 5 per cent should be abolished to allow "case by case assessments". "The system has to be changed because even if they miss just one person it's wrong," she said.

In a statement, the SSWAHS said they would be "considering the judgment very carefully".

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People must not be told about help for a medical condition?

Although it is a subject of some mirth, erectile dysfunction is a real medical condition. But the purse-lipped puritans can think of no time on TV when a cure may appropriately be advertised -- "for the children", of course. One suspects that the puritans concerned aren't getting any

The advertising watchdog is set to receive a new wave of complaints when a commercial for erectile dysfunction treatment, banned from billboards, launches on television today. In the Advanced Medical Institute ads a man's voice is heard asking phrases "Are you finishing too quickly?" and "Do you want to get up and stay up?" before a woman's voice cries out "yes". The commercials, which were trialled in regional NSW, will run in the M timeslot of midday to 3pm and after 9.30pm and will not be allowed during school holidays.

But child advocate Julie Gale, director of Kids Free 2B Kids, said there were a lot of children watching TV through the day. "Its naive to think otherwise," she said. "Lots of teens are still watching after 9.30pm. "Kids and young teens simply dont need to be exposed to blatant messages about erectile dysfunction before they've had time to really understand their own naturally emerging sexuality. "The advert gives a warped and limited view about sex - that an erect penis is all a man needs, and all a woman wants."

AMI chief executive officer Jack Vaisman said men have a right to know help was available.

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UK immigration reforms make visas easier to get for Australians

YOUNG Australians wanting to work in the United Kingdom should find it easier under new visa rules being introduced by the British government. Britain is revamping its working holiday visa scheme to allow 18-to-30-year-old Australians to find jobs in their chosen profession for a full two years. They will also for the first time be able to line up jobs to go to in Britain before leaving Australia. Under the old scheme, Australians faced a host of restrictions before being granted a working holiday visa, including how long they could stay in the one job.

British high commissioner to Australia Helen Liddell said the changes would make working in the UK even more attractive for Australians. "Some of the old restrictions are going and the visas will be cheaper by half,'' she said. "Britain's immigration system rewards those who come, work hard, bring their skills and strengthen cultural ties and Australians fit the bill very well.''

The new youth mobility visa scheme will come into force on November 27 and cost STG99 ($255.85), down from STG200 ($516.86) price of the working holiday visa. Those applying for the new visa will also have to show they have the equivalent of STG1,600 ($4,134.9) to cover living expenses for the first few weeks in the UK. Australia is one of just four countries Britain is allowing to take part in the new visa scheme. The others are New Zealand, Canada and Japan.

During the last financial year, the British High Commission in Canberra issued 15,204 working holiday visas to Australians. "Because of the changes, we wouldn't be surprised if those numbers increase next year,'' a British High Commission spokesman said. The changes are part of wide-ranging alterations Britain has been making to its immigration policies, including introducing an Australian-style points system for would-be migrants.

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Forget fingerprints. Your bones will give you away

Identity fraudsters and other criminals will soon be flushed out by the NSW State Government using a James Bond-style computer program that electronically reads people's faces. The facial recognition program will ignore cosmetic features or accessories such as beards or glasses and study the underlying bone structure of a person's face. The biometric technology will take a photograph of someone applying for a licence and then comb through a database of 15 million photographs, searching for matches, suspicious characteristics or tell-tale signs. This could include someone trying to use an assumed name, adopt multiple identities, disguise a criminal past or what is described as "high risk customers".

The program is being tendered for by the NSW Government. It will be operated from within the RTA but also be used as a police database. The initial tender indicated it was simply a processing tool, but an addendum quietly posted by the Government revealed the program was a crime-fighting measure. The RTA told tenderers it wanted to be able to "create an arbitrary list (eg any 50 customers, or all staff members, or 50 high risk customers) on an ad hoc basis". The Government has confirmed the technology's chief purpose was to eliminate criminal behaviour.

"The program looks at the underlying bone structure of a face and checks it against the images on the database, to see if the person is already on the system," Roads Minister Michael Daley told The Daily Telegraph. "This means that if someone tries to apply for more than one licence or photo card, the program can be used to catch them out. "The technology can also be used to confirm the identity of existing licence holders by comparing their previous images on file. "Not only will the new system make it harder for criminals to get licences illegally, it will also protect the rest of the community against identify fraud."

The system is expected to be operating midway through next year. The Crime Commission estimates that identity fraud costs the country more than $3.5 billion a year. Mr Daley said the new system would form part of a national strategy. "It's a considerable step forward in the fight against criminals who try to use false ID for money laundering, drug trafficking, illegal immigration and even terrorism," he said. "Previously, the RTA and NSW Police have prosecuted 114 people for attempted identity fraud, which in some cases, involved people trying to dodge a licence suspension. "This new system will make it easier to catch these illegal motorists."

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