Hello and welcome to Week 102 of the Healthy Life Network.
It has been a week built around people. Old friends, a few new connections, and a couple of quiet moments of thanks that mattered more than anything on the business ledger. Tasmania did its part too, showing off at its best.
Let's get into it.
Personal Highlights
Karam Kostner flew down from Brisbane with his father, and Chelle and I got to play tour guides for a few days. The Tahune Airwalk near Geeveston, the drive out to Hastings Caves, and scallops on the barbecue with good conversation running late into the evening. A proper reminder of why we love this place.
Friday night was a quieter kind of gratitude. Dinner with Penny, the writing partner behind the Explained books, all of us, Karam, his Dad, Chelle, Penny and me catching up properly after everything that's gone into getting these books out into the world. Then Saturday brought a book launch celebration, and a real chance to thank the people who reviewed drafts and gave honest feedback along the way. None of it happens without them.
A good week for remembering that the people around us carry as much weight as the work itself.
Did You Know? Why Some Cancers Come Back Years Later
Every so often you hear about someone who was told they were cured, only for the same cancer to show up again five, ten, even twenty years later. It's not a new tumour starting from nothing. It's usually a handful of cells that broke away early on and settled quietly somewhere else in the body, often the bone marrow.
These cells go to sleep. They stop dividing, stop drawing much energy, and just sit there. That's precisely what makes them so hard to find. Most of our scans and tests are built to spot cells that are active. Sleeping cells slip straight past. It's also why they tend to survive chemotherapy and radiation largely untouched, those treatments work by hitting cells that are busy dividing, and dormant cells simply aren't.
What wakes them up years later still isn't fully understood, but ageing, chronic inflammation, stress, and a weakened immune system all seem to play a part. The encouraging news is that the science here is moving. Researchers are working on ways to spot these sleeping cells earlier, drugs that might keep them asleep for good, and personalised vaccines that in early trials have cut recurrence and death by close to fifty percent for some cancers.
If you're a cancer survivor, or know someone who is, the real takeaway is a conversation worth having with your oncologist about your own long term surveillance plan. I go through all of this properly in this week's episode. Have a listen here: EP455: Late Cancer Recurrence, What is Going On?
Professional and Business Updates
OsteoStrong™ Hobart
Membership has just tipped past 225, our highest number yet. Signups have been strong and steady, and the pipeline of discovery sessions keeps the momentum going.
Longevity Lab
Excitement is building ahead of the “Thermal Wellness Pod” or HOCATT™ unit's arrival this week. Real progress too on the website, CRM, and marketing setup, thanks to the work going in with our web partner.
Education, Research, and Partnerships
Some genuinely rich conversations this week. Novartis and Hearts For Heart continue to build momentum around a potential book distribution initiative, with some real champions backing it. A new connection with the Indie School has opened up an exciting stress management collaboration. And our ongoing work with Talius keeps developing on multiple fronts, including some promising cardiology research connections here in Hobart….watch this space.
Featured Reminders
Here are a few products and tools that Chelle and I personally use and have discussed on the podcast.
These are affiliate links and are commercial in nature. They provide a genuine win–win, you receive access at a discount through your association with the Healthy Life Network, and I receive a financial benefit if you choose to purchase through them.
I only share products I personally use or believe may be of benefit, and you should always make your own informed decision.
NuCalm, www.nucalm.com, code DrWarrickNuCalm, 15% off with a 7 day free trial
Fatty15, partners.fatty15.com/WARRICKBISHOP
This is free and I suggest you join if you haven’t already - Community, https://healthyheartnetwork.com/page/community
And, don’t forget your copy of “Cholesterol Explained” here : Cholesterol Book
Quiz Corner
Last week's answer: Breast cancer risk isn't spread evenly across a woman's life. It climbs steadily with age, and the highest rates are actually seen in women over 70, with the median age at diagnosis sitting in the early sixties. Younger women certainly aren't immune, but the great majority of cases occur later in life. As for the social media claim, it simply isn't true. No Scandinavian country has abandoned mammography. Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland all continue to run organised, population based screening programs, generally for women in their fifties and sixties, with growing evidence now supporting extension into the seventies. Mammography remains the best screening tool we have. It isn't perfect, but nothing else comes close for picking up cancers early, when they're most treatable. Please don't let a social media post talk you out of a proven, life saving test.
This week's question: Are people born with asthma, or does it develop later in life? Once someone has it, can they truly grow out of it? And when it comes to triggers, how much do things like infections and pollen actually play a part? I'll share the answer next week.
Final Reflection
A dinner with an old friend. A quiet thank you to the people who helped shape a book. A drive through the forest with someone you've known for years. None of that shows up on a spreadsheet, and none of it needs to. It's just the good stuff, sitting quietly underneath everything else we build.
Sign off
Warm regards, Dr Warrick
Helping people live as well as possible for as long as possible.
Disclaimer: Dr Bishop is unable to provide individual patient advice over the internet due to the complexity and importance of health related issues. Australian guidelines prevent professional specialist advice being offered without an appropriate referral.