Clinical Update

Diagnosis and treatment of cancers such as leukaemia and myeloma poses unique challenges. In this episode of the Clinical Update podcast, MIMS Learning editor Pat Anderson talks to haemato-oncologist Dr Majid Kazmi about how GPs and specialists can work together to build on progress in this area.

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be better able to:

• Understand the heterogeneity of haematological cancers
• Appreciate important differences in staging and treatment between haematological and other cancers
• Recall key pointers on symptoms, patient history, and presentation patterns that could suggest haematological cancers
• Reflect on how outcomes for patients with haematological cancers have changed in the last 20 years
• Make best use of referral pathways for haematological cancers

You can access the website version of this podcast on MIMS Learning to make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

Useful links

Resources from MIMS Learning

Chronic myeloid leukaemia: staging and management

Skin problems in haematological disease

Abnormal full blood count - red flags

MIMS Learning Live

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Broken heart syndrome, which is left ventricular dysfunction in the absence of coronary artery disease, is so-called because it can be triggered by extreme stress, such as loss of a loved one. Stress can also, in people with existing disease, trigger an acute coronary event and exacerbate arrhythmias.

In this episode, the MIMS Learning editors Dawn Liz Powell and Rhiannon Ashman review how stress — both in the short and long term — can affect the heart. They look at broken heart syndrome (also known as takotsubo syndrome) and how stress can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle and, consequently, is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

The editors also discuss how GPs and other primary care health professionals can support patients who are chronically stressed both by helping them to manage their stress levels and by addressing the risk factors that can develop as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of stress.

You can access the website version of this podcast on MIMS Learning to make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

Further learning on MIMS Learning

• Achieving new cholesterol targets in primary care
• Coronary artery disease in women
• Guidance update: latest NICE guidelines on cardiovascular disease risk assessment and reduction
• Guidance update: latest NICE guidelines on type 2 diabetes in adults
• Guidance update: NICE guidelines on hypertension
• Obesity in adults
• Podcast: Professor Alex Miras on supporting people with obesity
• Podcast: NASP's Monica Boulton on making best use of social prescribing in primary care
• Resources for supporting people to improve their mental wellbeing
• Takotsubo syndrome: clinical review
• Wellbeing masterclass

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Around  25% of the total NHS carbon footprint comes from primary care, and a lot of that relates to medication, Drs Matt Sawyer and Mike Tomson – both former GPs – explain to deputy editor Rhiannon Ashman in this episode of the Clinical Update podcast.

They go on to describe how remembering that there are ‘50 shades of green’ can help practices to make small tweaks – for example, to prescribing – to benefit patients and the planet, do some myth-busting about air pollution, and give examples of practices who have tackled problems in innovative, environmentally (and financially) sustainable ways. 

You can access the website version of this podcast on MIMS Learning to make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

MIMS Learning modules

Guidance update: BTS/NICE/SIGN guidelines on diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management

Podcast: GP appraisal tips and sustainable asthma care

Health outcomes with plant-based nutrition

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MIMS resources

MIMS Table of inhaler carbon emissions

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MIMS Learning editors Pat Anderson and Sangeeta Krishnan discuss the progress that the NHS is making with cancer diagnosis, and pass on some tips for GPs on symptoms and signs of oesophageal and pancreatic cancers.

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be better able to:

• Appreciate how the NHS is making progress with earlier cancer diagnosis
• Reflect on which cancers tend to be diagnosed late and how deprivation can affect stage at diagnosis
• Recall key symptoms associated with oesophageal cancer
• Be more aware of signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer

You can access the website version of this podcast on MIMS Learning to make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

Useful links

Resources from MIMS Learning

Pancreatic cancer - red flag symptoms

Dyspepsia - red flag symptoms

Unintentional weight loss - red flag symptoms

Podcast: NHS England’s Professor Peter Johnson on optimising early cancer diagnosis

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External resources

UICC. World Cancer Day, 4 February 2025.

NHS England. Cancer registration statistics, England, 2022. 17 October 2024.

Cancer Research UK. Bowel cancer rates rising in younger adults around the world. 11 December 2024.

Cancer Research UK. Oesophageal cancer. September 2023. 

Cancer Research UK. Symptoms of pancreatic cancer. Accessed 29 January 2025.

Pancreatic Cancer UK. Signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer. Accessed 29 January 2025.

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Biology accounts for about 70% of a person’s predisposition to obesity, Professor Alex Miras says to medical editor Dawn Liz Powell in this episode of the MIMS Learning Clinical Update podcast. However, environmental factors, such as deprivation, also play an important role in whether someone becomes obese.

Professor Miras, who is clinical professor of medicine at Ulster University, also talks about how to sensitively approach the issue of weight with a patient. Additionally, he looks at the use of weight loss medications and their availability on the NHS. 

You can access the website version of this podcast on MIMS Learning to make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

MIMS Learning modules

Obesity in adults

Guidance update: latest NICE guidelines on cardiovascular disease risk assessment and reduction

Register for a FREE MIMS Learning account

https://www.mimslearning.co.uk/register

MIMS resources

Obesity treatments

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More than 2 million people in the UK are living with sight loss, and this is expected to rise to 2. 7 million people by 2030. In this episode, we look at a selection of eye-related symptoms, including thyroid eye disease symptoms, vision loss, double and blurred vision, and eye pain, and considerations for primary care clinicians who may encounter patients with these symptoms.

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be better able to:

• Recall the red flag symptoms for eye pain, vision loss, diplopia, and blurred vision
• Think about when to refer patients presenting with eye-related symptoms
• Learn about the presentation and epidemiology of thyroid eye disease

You can access the website version of this podcast on MIMS Learning to make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

Useful links

Resources from MIMS Learning

Eye pain - red flag symptoms 

Diplopia - red flag symptoms

Blurred vision - red flag symptoms

Loss of vision - red flag symptoms

Thyroid eye disease

MIMS Learning

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External resources

1. House of Commons Library. A blueprint for eye health in England
2. and the devolved nations. December 2022. 
3. Department of Health & Social Care. Vision. December 2024.
4. Action on Smoking and Health. Smoking and eye disease. February 2019.
5. Cleveland Clinic. Diplopia (double vision). June 2024. 
6. Cleveland Clinic. Blurred vision. April 2022.

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In this episode of the Clinical Update podcast, Dr Sarah Bull talks to MIMS Learning editor Pat Anderson about her experience of running a diagnostic clinic for non-site specific symptoms suggestive of cancer.

She describes how GPs make referrals to the clinic, what happens there and how the clinic can speed up cancer diagnosis. 

Through case studies, she presents learning points for GPs on when to consider referral to non-site-specific diagnostic services, and how to prevent patients from `falling through the net’.

Educational objectives

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be better able to:

• Recall why non-site-specific services are important
• Understand how to make a referral and which tests should be performed beforehand
• Recall on what happens in the clinic 
• Reflect on the case studies presented 

You can access the website version of this podcast on MIMS Learning to make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

Resources from MIMS Learning

NHS England’s Professor Peter Johnson on optimising early cancer diagnosis

3 key pieces of the primary care puzzle around earlier cancer diagnosis

Colorectal cancer: clinical review

Other resources

North West London Integrated Care System. Haematology guidelines. Accessed 13 January 2025.

Cancer Research UK. Health professional. Accessed 13 January 2025.

Macmillan Cancer Support. 10 top tips for healthcare professionals. Accessed 13 January 2025.

MIMS Learning

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In this episode of the Clinical Update podcast, Professor Peter Johnson, National Clinical Director for Cancer, at NHS England, talks to MIMS Learning deputy editor, Rhiannon Ashman about the state of play of cancer diagnosis in England. 

He gives an update on the NHS Long Term Plan, discusses proactive case finding, the success of the lung cancer screening programme, and pilots being launched in primary care to pick up specific cancers earlier. 

Earlier cancer diagnosis is a national priority, and MIMS Learning’s ‘Patient, Presentation, Pathway for Cancer’ campaign aims to help GPs to have a positive influence where they can, during consultations and within referral processes, to ensure the best outcomes for patients. To find more free CPD on this topic, click here.

Educational objectives

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be better able to:

• Describe the roll out and success of the lung cancer screening programme
• Explain the role of primary care in proactive cancer case finding 
• Recall how referral numbers and patterns have changed over the last 15 years
• Understand the barriers that may prevent people with suspected cancer presenting to their GP
• Discuss pilots being trialed in primary care to improve early cancer diagnosis, access to investigations, and safety netting

You can access the website version of this podcast on MIMS Learning to make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

Resources from MIMS Learning

Guidance update: latest NICE guidelines on recognition and referral of suspected cancer. 

Colorectal cancer: clinical review

Cervical cancer: clinical review

Other resources

Cancer Research UK. Cancer risk statistics. Accessed 18 December 2024.

Cancer Research UK. Early cancer diagnosis data hub. Accessed 18 December 2024.  

MIMS Learning

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In this episode, editor Pat Anderson and deputy editor Rhiannon Ashman explain why MIMS Learning has chosen the topic of earlier cancer diagnosis for its 2025 campaign, and the 3 key elements – patient, presentation and pathway – that the campaign will address. 

Earlier cancer diagnosis is a national priority, and the campaign aims to help GPs to have a positive influence where they can, during consultations and within referral processes, to ensure the best outcomes for patients.

Educational objectives

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be better able to:

• Recall the NHS goal for earlier diagnosis of cancer 
• List red flags associated with unintentional weight loss
• Recall which test results should raise concerns about cancer
• Consider the importance of genetics and deprivation in cancer risk
• Be able to find information to support earlier cancer diagnosis

You can access the website version of this podcast on MIMS Learning to make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

Resources from MIMS Learning

Earlier cancer diagnosis campaign page

Guidance update: latest NICE guidelines on recognition and referral of suspected cancer. 

Unintentional weight loss - red flag symptoms. 

Global trends in gastrointestinal cancers. 

Other resources

Cancer Research UK. Cancer risk statistics. Accessed 18 December 2024.

Cancer Research UK. GP and practice insight guides. Accessed 18 December 2024. 

Cancer Research UK. Early cancer diagnosis data hub.  Accessed 18 December 2024.  

King’s College London. Early GP referrals are leading to cancer patients surviving longer. 21 April 2020. 

Macmillan Cancer Support. 10 top tips for primary care professionals. Accessed 18 December 2024. 

NHS. Cancer detection rate. Accessed 18 December 2024.

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We've had some brilliant guests this year, and you'll hear clips from interviews with the experts on health inequalities in cancer care, severe mental illness, how to support members of the LGBTQ+ community, and inspiration for tackling vaccine hesitancy, as well as tips on frailty and care of nursing home residents. Our guests include Dr Ravi Ramanathan, Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham, Dr Susru Sukumaran, Dr Anthony Cunliffe, Dr Mark Nelson, Dr Pipin Singh, Dr Alistair Robertson, Dr Tom Crabtree, and Dr Farzana Hussain.

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be more able to:

• Recall key areas to cover in a consultation with someone experiencing worsening mental health
• Understand the barriers the LGBTQ+ people may face in disclosing drug or alcohol use
• Explain the specific drivers of health inequalities pertaining to cancer care
• Outline five clinical signs that may indicate frailty
• Describe how frailty may affect diabetes management

You can access the website version of this podcast on MIMS Learning to make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

Useful links

Resources from MIMS Learning

Targeting Health Inequalities campaign

Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham on supporting people with severe mental illness

Supporting the LGBTQ+ community and displaced people, and managing PE

Health inequalities

HIV stigma, cervical cancer, and depression

Dr Pipin Singh on best care for nursing home patients

Dr Alistair Robertson on identifying and managing frailty

Breathlessness, diabetes and frailty, and measles

Vaccine hesitancy

MIMS Learning

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