A weekly round-up of news affecting your health:
DEPRESSION
Being kinder to oneself can lessen the link between perfectionism and depression, research has found.
Perfectionists often push themselves harder than others to succeed, which can result in positive results, but can also cause problems.
Perfectionism that involves self-criticism, concerns about making mistakes and concerns about being negatively evaluated by others has been linked to various mental disorders.
This "maladaptive perfectionism" can lead to depression and burnout.
An Australian study, published in the journal PLOS ONE has shown that being kind to oneself lessened this association between maladaptive perfectionism and depression.
Researchers recruited about 500 teens from five Australian private schools and more than 500 adults by word of mouth, and the participants completed questionnaires to assess maladaptive perfectionism, depression and self-compassion.
A higher score on the self-compassion scale moderated depression scores, the results showed.
"Self-compassion, the practice of self-kindness, consistently reduces the strength of the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and depression for both adolescents and adults," said lead author Madeleine Ferrari of Australian Catholic University.
CANCER SURVIVORS
A clinical trial has shown cancer survivors who take part in nutrition and physical activity intervention programs better maintain a long-term healthy lifestyle, which reduces their risk of the disease returning.
Cancer Council NSW and the University of Newcastle this week released the results of a nutrition and physical activity trial for cancer survivors.
The data, published in the American Journal of Health Behaviour, showed participants' weight and body mass index remained stable.
Participants also kept up increased levels of physical activity in the 12 months after the trial.
"Both of those factors - physical activity and a healthy weight - have been shown to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and improve the psychosocial health of cancer survivors, so those results are really promising," said Annie Miller, the director of cancer support services at Cancer Council NSW.
A year after the trial, 67 per cent of participants continued to improve their level of physical activity, 63 per cent maintained increased levels of moderate-to-vigorous exercise, and 46 per cent maintained their weight.
Ms Miller encouraged all cancer survivors to join the Cancer Council's ENRICHing Survivorship program to help stay active.
PROSTATE CANCER
The first of 200 patients has been enrolled on an Australian-first nuclear medicine treatment for men with advanced prostate cancer.
The TheraP trial will be carried out at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.
Prostate cancer patients will be injected with a radioactive molecule that specifically attaches to cells with high amounts of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) - a substance found in many men with the disease.
Injecting lutetium-177 PSMA617 (LuPSMA) allows the radioactive molecule to be delivered mainly to the prostate cancer cells wherever they have spread, while sparing most normal tissue.
The study chair, Associate Professor Michael Hofman, says a pilot study has already showed promising results.
The new randomised phase two study will compare treatment with the radioactive molecule Lu-PSMA against cabazitaxel chemotherapy for men with advanced prostate cancer.
Results of the two treatments will be measured in terms of shrinking the cancer, improving pain, delaying the time until the cancer grows again, effects on quality of life, safety and how long men survive after the treatment.
